Barnes & Noble Sponsors 2013 World Book Night on April 23

New York, NY – – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, is proud to sponsor World Book Night for a second year in a row on Tuesday, April 23. World Book Night is an annual celebration designed to spread a love of reading and books, person by person, thanks to the generosity of publishers who print special World Book Night editions of carefully selected books and provide them to volunteer “givers” who hand them out to light readers and non-readers in their communities.

Founded in the U.K. in 2010, World Book Night expanded to the U.S., Ireland and Germany in 2012. World Book Night garnered overwhelming support in its U.S. launch last year from givers, booksellers, authors, recipients and the media. More than half a million books were given away by 25,000 volunteers in 50 states. More than 600 Barnes & Noble bookstores, independent bookstores and libraries held giver receptions, author events and readings.

“Barnes & Noble is extremely proud to sponsor World Book Night 2013,” says Patricia Bostelman, Vice President, Marketing. “While giving away free editions may seem like an odd activity for a bookseller, our participation highlights our commitment to literacy, community and lifelong learning. All Barnes & Noble retail stores and 90 Barnes & Noble College stores will participate in World Book Night with store displays and designated stores will serve as pick-up locations for book givers.”

A selection committee of librarians and booksellers, including Barnes & Noble buyers, hotly contested which 30 titles to include on this year’s World Book Night list. The selection features books that appeal to a range of ages and interests, including Margaret Atwood’s Orwellian novel A Handmaid’s Tale, Timothy Egan’s blistering non-fiction saga The Worst Hard Time, John Green’s award-winning young adult novel, Looking for Alaska, and James Patterson’s hilarious Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. This year’s selection will once again inspire the event’s happy givers and grateful recipients.

For more information about World Book Night, visit www.us.worldbooknight.org.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is a Fortune 500 company and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The company operates 677 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). Its NOOK Media LLC subsidiary is a leader in the emerging digital reading and digital education markets. The NOOK digital business offers award-winning NOOK® products and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store™ (www.nook.com), while Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC operates 678 bookstores serving over 4.6 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble is proud to be named a J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Customer Service Champion and is only one of 50 U.S. companies so named. Barnes & Noble.com is ranked the number one online retailer in customer satisfaction in the book, music and video category and a Top 10 online retailer overall in customer satisfaction according to ForeSee E-Retail Satisfaction Index (Spring Top 100 Edition).

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

NOOK®, NOOK Store™, NOOK Video™, NOOK Video Apps™ are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. Other trademarks referenced in this release are the property of their respective owners.

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