FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 13, 2002

Contact: Kathryn Kathryn
Ph: (212) 255-0200 ext.263
Email: kblough@publishers.org

Laura Bush Kicks Off Back-To-School
AAP Continuing to Promote the Joy of Reading with New Celebrity Posters and Initiatives

New York, New York -- First Lady and former librarian, Laura Bush, is the newest celebrity "caught reading" for the Association of American Publisher's ongoing "Get Caught Reading" campaign, which promotes the joy of reading. Laura Bush is photographed reading Long May She Wave: A Graphic History of the American Flag in a poster that will be distributed to schools, libraries and bookstores and will be used in advertising for the campaign.

The AAP is also offering new photos featuring comedian and actor Drew Carey (reading Comedy Techniques for Writers and Performers) and Spider Man reading a Hulk comic book.

These celebrities join more than 200 members of Congress who have been "caught reading" at events on Capitol Hill during the last year as well as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Robin Williams, Derek Jeter, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O'Donnell, Sammy Sosa, Dolly Parton, Jane Seymour, Jake Lloyd, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Donald Duck, The Rugrats, and Vernon Jordan, who have all generously lent their support to the three-year campaign. Famed mountaineer Eric Weihenmayer, who is blind, has been caught reading a Braille book, and actress Patty Duke, famed for her portrayals of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan, shares a Braille book with a blind student on one of the new posters. All of these images are also available on the "Get Caught Reading" website (www.getcaughtreading.org).

"The Get Caught Reading campaign helps spread the powerful message that reading is both a real joy and the gateway to a world of opportunity. I invite Americans to Get Caught Reading with a child in celebration of the second annual National Book Festival on October 12 in Washington, D.C." said Mrs. Laura Bush.
"The enthusiastic interest of so many book-loving celebrities has been extremely gratifying," said Pat Schroeder, President and Chief Executive Office of the AAP, who came up with the idea for the campaign. "By lending their images to the campaign, they are helping us to reach more and more people and, we hope, convince them to pick up a good book." The "Get Caught Reading" celebrity ads have been appearing in many newspapers and magazines, which donated the space. Among the publications that have run the ads this year are: TV Guide, USA Today, The New York Times, People, Better Homes & Gardens, Rosie Magazine, Seventeen, Time Out New York, Food & Wine, Martha Stewart Living, and National Geographic.

The National Book Festival, hosted by Mrs. Laura Bush, will take place in Washington, D.C. on October 12, 2002. More information is available at www.loc.gov/today.

Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses, and scholarly societies. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field and a range of educational materials for the elementary, secondary, post-secondary, and professional markets. Members also produce computer software and electronic products and services.