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Stephen King

Makes Move

To S&S

Scribner, Pocket, S&S Audio To Publish King

NEW YORK, NY/ 11/6/97) -- Jack Romanos, president of the Simon & Schuster Consumer Group has announced that Scribner, Pocket Books and Simon & Schuster Audio have signed an agreement with Stephen King to publish three books: Bag of Bones, a novel; an untitled collection of short stories; and an untitled non-fiction work on the craft of writing.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. However, King and Simon & Schuster reportedly will share risks and rewards

Mr. Romanos said, "Stephen King has proven to be as creative with his deal-making as his writing. Our partnership is based on the marketplace value of the works. The actual performance of each title will determine the profit participation. The deal structure puts priority on growing the Stephen King readership to even greater levels."

A Simon & Schuster spokesman said Mr. King's primary interest was in finding a publisher with a fresh and imaginative publishing plan, not simply taking the richest deal offered. Many companies were invited to present publishing plans for Bag of Bones. Following the review of numerous offers, Stephen King's representatives called Susan Moldow, publisher of Scribner, and made a proposal. Mr. King chose Simon & Schuster's Scribner and Pocket Books imprints for their "vision of how to expand his market."

"From the appearance of Carrie in 1974, Stephen King has demonstrated not just an ability to capture an audience of unprecedented size with more than 225 million copies of 38 books in print, but has also demonstrated a unique sensitivity to the dynamics of the publishing industry," noted Carolyn Reidy, President of the Simon & Schuster Trade Division. "His career has been marked by experimentation and collaboration with his various publishers."

Stephen King commented, "I'm happy that the public search for a new publisher has ended so successfully. Bag of Bones contains everything I now know about marriage, lust and ghosts, and it was essential to me that I find the right partner to publish it."

"Mr. King and Simon & Schuster's Consumer Group have created what may be an important new model for S&S and potentially the entire industry," said Jonathan Newcomb, President and CEO of Simon & Schuster.

"Bag of Bones is the work of a writer at the peak of his powers," said Susan Moldow, publisher of Scribner. "It combines a story of a child in jeopardy with familiar elements from King's other works such as a haunted house, an insular and isolated community, and forces no one can control. Its story of the numbing effect of grief, the endless manifestations of the creative process and the emotional richness of a April-October romance, introduce a host of issues and themes of interest to a very broad readership. The book offers an emotional resonance that does not take a back seat to special effects. Bag of Bones is a bag of treasures for a publisher's promotional effort."

Gina Centrello, president of Pocket Books, added, "With Bag of Bones, Stephen King has proven he can still delight and surprise readers. It is exciting to launch King's career with Pocket with this novel. King was one of the first writers to experiment with categories and formats - as seen most recently in the widely imitated serial publication of The Green Mile - and has a history of making deals with publishers that emphasize growth."

Scribner became an imprint of The Simon & Schuster Trade Division when Simon & Schuster acquired the U.S. assets of Macmillan Publishing Company 1994. In the last year, Scribner has published Angela's Ashes, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; the breakaway first novel Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs; Underworld by Don DeLillo, just nominated for a National Book Award; and the highly anticipated, all-new Joy of Cooking, just launched on November 5. Scribner celebrated its 150th Anniversary last year.

Pocket Books was the first mass market publishing house and is currently the publisher of five current New York Times BestSellers, including Diana: Her True Story and Diana: Her New Life by Andrew Morton, My Gal Sunday by Mary Higgins Clark and Hanson by Jill Matthews.

The audiobook of Bag Of Bones will be released by Simon & Schuster Audio simultaneously with the Scribner hardcover release. S&S Audio is the world's largest publisher of audiobooks, and has won a number of prizes in the last several years, including the 1997 Grammy Award for spoken word for It Takes A Village, read by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Simon & Schuster Trade Division, Pocket Books and Simon & Schuster Audio are units of the Simon & Schuster Consumer Group. Simon & Schuster, the world's largest English language book publisher is the publishing operation of Viacom Inc.

New Action TV

Network To Feature

First Run Movies

Fresh Market For Films

LOS ANGELES, CA/11/11/97--Action Adventure Network (AAN), a new $200 million TV network, has signed an agreement with DIRECTV, Inc. to air original television movies and series on the direct satellite broadcast service, DIRECTV. It is the first time in the US that a satellite service willbe the exclusive platform for first-run properties prior to their sale through traditional distribution and syndication.

Telescene Film Group, Richmel Productions and Goodman/Rosen Productions, partners in the new venture, have begun development and production on the first original television movies and series to air on DIRECTV. The satellite service has more than three million subscribers.

The new AAN, working with major creative and acting talent, will arrange for the development and production of original programming for the global marketplace.

AAN has already signed executive production agreements, or is in final negotiations, for John Landis and Leslie Belzberg's St. Clare Entertainment, Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope and Steven deSouza for feature- length, first-run, action-adventure two-hour episodes followed by multiple one-hour episodes based on each initial program.

The programs will be produced or co-produced by Telescene. In its first year, AAN plans to deliver four original two-hour initial episodes with budgets averaging $3 million per picture. Production on the initial programming package will begin in the first quarter of 1998 and air on DIRECTV next summer. Each of the two-hour initial episodes will serve as the series premiere for 20 one-hour episodes in year one, and 22 one-hour episodes in years two and beyond. In year two, AAN will supply four more original two- hour shows followed by series commitments. The programming will air on the DIRECTV TICKET Pay Per View service during primetime.

According to Bruce Moccia, executive vice president of Telescene Film Group (USA), Francis Coppola's first project for the venture is a contemporary version of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", which will be set in Hong Kong. The St. Clare project is an update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles's "The Lost World." Additional AAN projects will be announced later this year.

"DIRECTV gives AAN a prestigious U.S. distribution platform where AAN can market and promote its titles," said Moccia. "This will enhance the value of our properties by creating a recognized brand before the U.S. rights are sold to traditional platforms such as network television, syndication, pay television or cable television."

The agreements were brokered by David Tenzer of CAA, who represented Coppola and Landis, Howard Abrahamson of Behr and Abrahamson, who represented Landis, Eric Weissler of Armstrong Hirsch who represented American Zoetrope and Mark Itkin of the William Morris agency, who represented deSouza. Dan Black of Heenan Blaikie represented AAN.

All television, video, licensing/merchandising and sponsorship rights for the properties in the United States will be marketed by AAN, while Telescene Film Group will market these rights in Canada and the rest of the world.

Richmel Productions is a diversified entertainment company involved in television production, marketing and promotion, and strategic thinking for major media companies. Rich Melcombe, president and CEO of Richmel, created and executive-produced NBC's "Camp Cucamonga" movie, TBS "Our Gang" sitcom and syndication's "The Grudge Match." Richmel has produces major promotional campaigns for NBC, ABC, CBS, Buena Vista Television, Universal Television, Telepictures, Sony and TCI/Liberty Media.

Goodmam/Rosen Productions has been involved in numerous international television ventures and theatrical films over the past decade. Partners Gary Goodman and Barry Rosen have produced nearly 200 hours of syndicated television programming, including "Police Academy", "Zorro: The Legend Continues", "The Mighty Jungle", and "Highlander". They have also produced such highly acclaimed and highly rated television movies as "Quarterback Princess", "The Stranger Within" and "The Cisco Kid".

Montreal-based Telescene Film Group Inc., founded in 1977, has developed and produced award-winning features and broadcast/cable television series, miniseries and movies in both English and French for the global marketplace.Among Telescene Film Group's high- profile projects are the multi-award winning miniseries "Hiroshima" along with the series "Student Bodies" and "The Hunger". Telescene Film Group (USA) is based in Los Angeles and the company's Telescene Entertainment unit is based in New York City. DIRECTV and DIRECT TICKET are trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation.

Hyperion

To Launch

Sports Line

NEW YORK,NY/11/97--Hyperion and ESPN have joined to publish a new line of sports-related books. The first book, titled "1998 ESPN Information Please Sports Almanac," will be released this Fall, and will become an annual publication.

The work will be based on the original "Information Please Sports Almanac, and will feature statistics, facts, rule changes, personality profiles, and comments from network personalities such as Chris Mortensen, Dick Vitale, Dan Patrick, and Chris Berman.

ESPN will back the new line with a national promotional campaign on all ESPN television and radio stations

AOL Publishes

First Chapters

Of Clancy Novel

America Online has accquired exclusive first serial rights to the first two chapters of Tom Clancy's newly-released novel "Power Plays: POLITIKA." (Berkley Publishing Group). The book will have a first printing of 1.6 million.

AOL members will have access to the book's beginning chapters and photos, along with a live chat with Clancy, by doing a keyword search on "Clancy". A contest and link to the book's website will also be featured.

Joy of Cooking

Revised Edition

A Publishing "First"

New York, NY/ 11/5/97-- The all new, all purpose JOY OF COOKING (Scribner; November 5, 1997; $30.00; 1,152 pages) has been unveiled in bookstores nation-wide. The appearance of this sixth revision of the kitchen classic -- and the first in more than 22 years -- is the publishing event of the decade for the culinary world.

For Simon & Schuster, JOY's 500,000-copy release represents a multi- million dollar investment in the renovation of an American icon. "No cookbook has ever had this degree of marketing support," said Jonathan Newcomb, President and CEO of Simon & Schuster.

The JOY OF COOKING was first published in 1931 when widow Irma Rombauer, took half of her late-husband's modest estate and self-published a 395-page collection of recipes. Rombauer and daughter Marion, the book's illustrator, found a commercial publisher for the next edition in 1936, and continued revising JOY until Marion's death in 1976. be Since then, JOY has sold at a rate of 100,000 copies per year, a feat that many front-list titles never achieve. To date, more than 14 million copies have been sold.

The JOY OF COOKING remains a family venture, headed by grandson Ethan Becker. The contract for rights in JOY, however, became part of Simon & Schuster when it acquired Macmillan Publishing Company in 1994. While Macmillan had long sought to update JOY, it was only with the publishing team assembled by Carolyn Reidy, president and publisher of the Simon & Schuster Trade Division, that Becker agreed to negotiate a contract for a new edition. Now, under the care of Reidy's team, headed by Susan Moldow, publisher of Scribner and editor Maria Guarneschelli, the JOY OF COOKING

has been readied for the next millennium. A JOY OF COOKING CD-ROM is planned for Fall of 1998.

Simon & Schuster, Scribner and booksellers nation-wide are treating the arrival of this classic update in a manner usually reserved for a celebrity title. The first print run is 500,000 copies. Simon & Schuster senior executives met with top accounts around the country to develop marketing and promotional plans tailor made for JOY. The success of these efforts is exemplified by the response from accounts: · 2,799 displays have been ordered. Stores nation-wide are staging cooking contests and other events

throughout November and December.

Getting books to stores by publication date was a test for Simon & Schuster's cutting-edge printing technology, and a showcase of skill for the S&S production department. Meeting the publication deadline required the might of 16 copy editors, 30 tractor trailers to haul paper to three printing plants, and 50 typesetters working around the clock.

Finally, in April 1998, Scribner will publish a facsimile of the original 1931 JOY, which has been chosen by the New York Public Library for the centennial exhibition of the 100 most influential books of the century. That first JOY OF COOKING netted a $510.00 profit for its author Irma Rombauer.

Scribner is an imprint Simon & Schuster, the world's largest educational and English and language book publisher and a unit of Viacom Inc.

Ennes' Book

USS Liberty

To Become Film

MELBOURNE, FL/11/10/07-- Interactive Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ITNL) (ITNL) will produce a documentary drama "USS Liberty, " based on a book by James Ennes,"Assault of the USS Liberty" (Random House).

The estimated $1,000,000.00 production will depict the June, 1967 attack of the USS Liberty during the Israeli six day war. More than 200 Americans were wounded or killed during the battle.

According to Perry West, Chairman of Interactive Technologies, initial funding will allow the company to move immediately into development and preparation phases of the film. "This is one of the most important international docu-dramas and long overdue," West said.

Interactive Technologies Corporation, a publicly- traded company, develops television, interactive television and digital media programming.

Torstar Sells

CUC Shares

TORONTO, CANADA/ 11/12/97--Torstar Corporation has completed the sale of 7.1 million CUC International Inc. shares which it held as a result of its recent sale of Hebdo Mag International Inc.

Torstar's proceeds from the sale of the CUC shares amounted to Cdn. $289.5 million , bringing its total cash receipts from the sale of Hebdo Mag to $305.9 million.

The sale of the Hebdo Mag investment resulted in a net gain of approximately $176 million, or $4.50 per share for Torstar.

Torstar Corporation is a broadly based publishing company. Its operations include The Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper; Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing, publishers of community newspapers and distributors of advertising materials; Harlequin Enterprises, the world's largest publisher of series romance fiction; the Children's Supplementary Educational Publishing Division, which publishes and produces educational products for teachers, parents and children under the Frank Schaffer, Tom Snyder Productions, Delta Education, Brighter Vision and Troll Communications names.

IDG Books

To Purchase

Henry Holt Units

IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. has agreed to purchase MIS Press and M&T Books from New York publisher, Henry Holt. The deal is expected to be completed by late November.

MIS Press and M&T are educational publishers, with about 70 titles, ranging from introductory-level subjects to high- level programming. The list will be expanded and repositioned in 1998.

Macmillan, Vitrus

Team To Enhance

Customized Games

INDIANAPOLIS, IN/11/11/97-- Macmillan Digital Publishing USA (MDP) and Virtus(R) Corporation have signed a publishing agreement to produce editing software which will make it easier for consumers to customize the playing levels of their Hexen II(TM) and Quake II(TM) games.

Macmillan Digital Publishing will market and distribute id-authorized, Hexen II and Quake II level editors to more than 10,000 retail outlets, including computer chains, mass retailers and warehouse clubs.

The new level editors will make the creation of custom playing levels for solo and multi-player gaming available to Quake, Hexen II and Quake II enthusiasts for the first time. In an earlier alliance, Macmillan and Vitrus released the highly successful Deathmatch Maker I, praised in major gaming publications and by online sites as the most complete and easy-to-use Quake(R) level editor on the market.

Hexmaker(TM) for Hexen II, the first editor to be released under the latest co-publishing arrangement, is targeted for release in late November. Deathmatch Maker II, the first id-authorized level editor for Quake II will follow the retail release of Quake II. Both level editors feature Virtus' award winning 3D walk-through technology, initially available to the gaming community in Deathmatch Maker I.

Virtus Corporation develops interactive 3D desktop visualization applications and tools for the business, entertainment and education markets by combining market-specific content with innovative, real-time 3D technology.

Macmillan Digital Publishing USA (MDP) is the software and online enterprise of Macmillan Publishing USA, the leading computer book publisher. MDP publishes BradyGAMES Strategy Guides and Arthur Frommer's Outspoken Encyclopedia of Travel Website among other electronic properties.

Macmillan is the reference division of Simon & Schuster, the world's largest English language book publisher. In 1995, Simon & Schuster and Virtus began developing CD-ROM products exploiting Virtus' unique real-time 3-D rendering and texture-mapping technologies. Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom Inc. (Amex: VIA, VIAB).

Simon & Schuster

TV Series Teaches

English In Vietnam

Esso Sponsors Series

HANOI, VITENAM/ 11/10/97-- Esso Vietnam will exclusively sponsor the television broadcast of Family Album, USA, on Vietnam Television (VTV) in Vietnam. The world premier English-teaching series by Prentice Hall Regents, a Simon & Schuster division, brings quality English-language instruction to home viewers and classrooms throughout the world. Episodes will broadcast several times each week for two-years.

Developed in cooperation with outstanding English- language experts, as well as leaders in the US entertainment industry, Family Album, USA has been well received in more than 40 countries. The series' lighthearted soap-opera format focuses on the Stewart family of Riverdale, NY Viewers follow along as the Stewarts experience life events, such as a wedding or graduation, and learn the English language through cleverly written scripts, music and graphics.

Esso Vietnam, a subsidiary of Exxon Corporation, returned to Vietnam in 1994 and now has set up representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Esso's lubricants now are sold in many service stations and outlets throughout Vietnam. Esso hopes to increase its presence in Vietnam in other areas, such as exploration, chemical and petroleum products.

Prentice Hall Regents, a division of Simon & Schuster, is a leading publisher of English as a Second Language and English Language Teaching materials for the K-12 and college markets, domestic and international, including Canada.

Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom Inc., is the world's largest English-language publisher.

Anchor Bay

Introduces Classic

Film Collection

TROY, MICH/11/10/97-- Anchor Bay Entertainment, a division of the Handleman Company's (NYSE: HDL) North Coast Entertainment operating unit, has established a new label, called the Independent Classics Collection.

The collection includes highly-acclaimed, classic theatrical films from a variety of genres such as drama, comedy and adventure. It was inspired by the success of the company's Special Edition collection, which released quality horror and cult films in their cinematic entirety.

First titles to be released in the Independent Classics Collection will include "Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily?"; "Sleuth," starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine; and "The Heartbreak Kid" with Charles Grodin and Cybill Shepard. All three films will be available in January of 1998. The films have been digitally remastered for optimum picture and sound quality. Packaging will include additional rare photos, graphics and production notes placed on the reverse side of the cover sleeve.

Anchor Bay is a leader in the field of home entertainment. With a library of more than 3,000 properties, the company offers an expansive selection of theatrical, fitness, children's and special interest titles.

Handleman Company, with annual sales in excess of $1.1 billion, is the largest supplier and merchandiser of music, video, books and personal computer software products to North America's leading retail chains. The Company's 3,400 employees ship products to approximately 17,300 retail departments from distribution facilities located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

Sushi Bandit

Starts Production

On Teen Web Series

NEWPORT COAST/11/4/97 - Sushi Bandit Productions has begun production on its premier teen entertainment series "The Malibu Horse Club." Mark Hickson, executive producer of the show describes the on-line soap as a girls' "buddy" story, revolving around survival as a 21st century teenager. "We are committed to develop quality family entertainment for the web and Malibu Horse Club is our first focusing exclusively on teen and pre-teen girls."

Launch date for the series pilot is scheduled for this Christmas. A special on-line sneak preview can be seen on the Sushi Bandit home page http://www.sushibandit.com

Sushi Bandit Productions is an online family entertainment production company headed by Former Walt Disney Imagineers, Mark Hickson (Executive Producer & Director) and Linda Feinholz (Director of Operations). Their motto "No Rookies, No Learning Curve" describes a creative team that has among them a SPA Codie Award, Parent's Choice Award, Cable Ace Award, 2 Emmy nominations, Golden Triad Award, and a Golden Cine Eagle Award. Current projects for the web include the animated episodics "Time Traveling Surf Pigs", "Eggheads" and teen adventure "Ocean High."

Macmillan To Market

Training Software

By Kelly Services

Macmillan Publishing USA, the world's largest reference book publisher, has signed an exclusive agreement to sell and distribute Kelly Services' PinPoint(R) software. PinPoint is an innovative Windows-based program that assesses and trains computer users for desktop applications, including the Microsoft(R) Office, Lotus SmartSuite(R) and Corel(R) Office Professional.

Macmillan's computer book division will sell PinPoint to corporations, government, training organizations and educational institutions. Kelly will continue to develop and use PinPoint for training and evaluating employees. Last year more than 400,000 Kelly temporary employees were evaluated and trained using PinPoint for office suite applications. Using patented technology, PinPoint both assesses and trains users while using a "live" desktop application.

Home Network

To Offer Books

Via Amazon.com

SEATTLE, WA/11/10/97 -- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), the leading online book retailer, and @Home Network (NASDAQ: ATHM), the leader in high-speed Internet services via the cable infrastructure, have signed a multi-year agreement in which Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) will be the premier bookseller throughout the @Home service. @Home users will have high-speed, direct access to browse and purchase books from Amazon.com's catalog of more than 2.5 million books.

The services are expected to be integrated into @Home's service by the end of the year.

Based in Redwood City, California, @Home Network (http://www.home.net) distributes high-speed interactive services to residences and businesses using its own network architecture and a variety of transport options including the cable industry's hybrid-fiber coaxial infrastructure. The cable connection provides users significant increases in speed over conventional Internet services.

Amazon.com, Inc., Earth's Biggest Bookstore, is the leading online retailer of books and is the premier bookseller on AOL.com, Yahoo!, Netscape, Excite, the Alta Vista Search Network, and the Prodigy Shopping Network.. The company is headquartered at 1516 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101. Internet address: http://www.amazon.com.

BarnesAndNoble.com

To Sell Books Via

Virtual Emporium

BarnesandNoble.com, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. will become the premier bookseller in Virtual Emportium's online shopping community at www.virtualemporium.com.

Additionally, Virtual Emporium has joined the BarnesandNoble.com Affiliate Network. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Borders To Give

Online Booksellers

More Competition

Borders Books will re-introduce its online book store in mid-January, using the Infoseek search engine and IBM technology to enhance users' ability to find books of interest. Infoseek's Book Channel will provide relevant books for sale by Borders when a user searches for related information.

AWBA Elects

New Slate

Of Officers

The American Wholesale Booksellers Association has installed a new slate of officers for 1998. Frank Daly, vice president business development at Baker and Taylor, will be AWBA president. He succeeds Sandy Jaffe, president of The Booksource. Vicky Eaves, President of Partners Book Distributing, has been named AWBA vice-president

New AWBA Board members include: Bill Hanlon of Brodart, Robert Koen of Koen Book Distributors, and Michael Strauss of Bookazine