The Borders(R) Online Book Club Discusses New Jodi Picoult Book

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders releases the March episode of the online Borders Book Club to millions of subscribers via a link provided on the Borders "Shortlist" and "My Borders Monthly" email newsletters. In this month's episode, members of the book club discuss "Nineteen Minutes" with The New York Times bestselling author, Jodi Picoult. The episode can also be directly accessed at http://www.bordersmedia.com/picoult.

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"Nineteen Minutes" tells the story of a small New Hampshire town torn apart by a horrible act of violence in the community's high school. In this online Borders Book Club episode, Picoult shares how she delved into a raw piece of American history when researching material for this book and the process she generally goes through when starting a new book. In addition, book club members discuss the themes of community, family, and social and economical issues, as well as the blurred lines often found between victims and bullies that are prevalent throughout the book.

Borders launched the online book club program last year. With the online book club, customers are invited to watch and listen to episodes that provide insight into a featured author's thinking in an open, unscripted discussion. In addition, it allows customers the opportunity to attend a book discussion from the comfort of their own home, at a time convenient to them. The book club episodes featured on Bordersmedia.com also provide book title recommendations, reading group guides, discussion questions, and author biographies for each of the selected titles. Previous authors featured on the Borders Book Club include Mitch Albom, Mireille Guiliano, and Lalita Tademy.

Borders worked with Picoult to film an exclusive video-available for viewing at http://www.bordersmedia.com/features/video/picoult.asp-inviting the Borders community to visit http://www.bordersbookclub.gather.com/ to talk about "Nineteen Minutes." Borders and Gather.com(TM), the leader in social media for adults, teamed up under an exclusive agreement to create an online community at Borders.Gather.com in early January.

In addition to the online book club, fans of Picoult will be able to meet the author for book signings at the following Borders locations:

Saturday, March 17 at 7 p.m. Central Borders -- Roseville (The Plaza at Rosedale Center) 866 Rosedale Center Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 633-1344 Friday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. Borders -- Baileys Crossroads Crossroads Center Baileys Crossroads, VA 22041 (703) 998-0404 Sunday, April 1 at 6 p.m. Borders -- Nashua 281 Daniel Webster Highway Nashua, NH 03060 (603) 888-9300 Wednesday, April 4 at 7 p.m. Pacific Borders -- Rancho Santa Margarita 22372 El Paseo Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 (949) 635-2800 About Borders, Inc.

Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc. a $4 billion retailer of books, music, movies and stationery items that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BGP. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders Group, through its subsidiaries, operates more than 1,200 Borders and Waldenbooks stores and employs more than 34,000 people worldwide who serve more than 30 million customers each year. More information on the company is available at http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/.

Contact: Ann Binkley Holley Stein (734) 477-1739 (734) 477-1224 abinkley@bordersgroupinc.com hstein1@bordersgroupinc.com