Borders® Expects Christopher Paolini’s Upcoming Fantasy Tale ’Brisingr’ to be One of Hottest Selling Young Adult Titles This Year

Retailer is taking reservations for ‘Brisingr’ in stores and via Borders.com; Paolini scheduled for two personal appearances at Borders stores this fall and will be featured on upcoming “Borders Book Club” episode

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— “Brisingr,” the third installment in Christopher Paolini’s “Inheritance cycle,” will officially go on sale Saturday, Sept. 20. With a first printing of 2.5 million copies by its publisher Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books), “Brisingr” has the largest initial print run ever for a Random House Children’s Books title and follows two earlier “Inheritance” titles “Eragon” and “Eldest,” both of which topped the New York Times bestseller list and together have sold a total of 15.5 million copies worldwide.

Borders began taking pre-orders for “Brisingr” in January and the retailer expects it to be one of the bestselling titles in the Young Adult category for 2008 following on the heels of Stephenie Meyer’s record-setting “Breaking Dawn.”

Borders has teamed up with Shur’tugal (www.shurtugal.com), the world’s largest and most comprehensive “Inheritance cycle” fan web site, to find fans who are interested in actually sitting down with Christopher Paolini for a videotaped book club discussion. As part of the discussion, participants will examine “Eragon” and “Eldest,” as well as theories for “Brisingr”
with Paolini himself. The “Borders Book Club” episode will air on Borders.com beginning Aug. 29 in anticipation of the release of “Brisingr.” More information is available through Shur’tugal at http://www.shurtugal.com/?news=642.

In addition to the “Borders Book Club,” two personal appearances have been scheduled for Christopher Paolini at Borders. Both will include a presentation by the author and a book signing. Tickets are required for both events and can be obtained by contacting the stores as listed below.
· Borders
Novi, Mich.
Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.
For ticket information, call (248) 347-0780
· Borders
Bozeman, Mont.
Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.
For ticket information, call (406) 522-9789

To add to the anticipation building for this title, Borders has been participating in the publisher’s team-based immersive online game (alternate reality experience) “Vroengard Academy,” where players interact both online and offline hunting down clues that help them collect runes, which advance the players and their teams to become dragon riders. Borders is one of the sites where game clues are available to players. In June, Borders and Waldenbooks stores had the first clue available on an “Inheritance cycle” display within the Young Adult section as well as on certain customer receipts. In July, Borders had the second clue visible on Borders.com on the Kids page, and this month, the third clue is appearing on Borders.com’s Kids page and is also printing on receipts for customers who make any Adult or Young Adult Science Fiction fantasy purchase.

“This year will be remembered as a great one for Young Adult books,” said Borders Group’s Merchandising Director Diane Mangan. “Two big books in one year that continue the fun and fascination with two very different, but highly successful book series is a wonderful experience to be able to offer young adults. All of the attention and anticipation for these books and the tremendous sense of fun that comes with their release is such a motivator for teens or young adults to spend time reading. At Borders, we’re thrilled to be a leader in helping to nurture this experience and bring attention to these great books.”