Barnes & Noble.com Announces BNTV Author Series

Posted on November 17, 2000

Barnes & Noble.com has announced today the premier of its Behind the Words series on BNTV. The series will feature exclusive interviews with established and new authors. The segments combine streaming video and content with a new interview posted to the Barnes & Noble.com site every Monday through Friday.

Anne Rice, the first author in the series, provides an in-depth look at her new book Merrick, kicking off a week of programming that features Malachy McCourt, Armistead Maupin and Joe Queenan. Future interviews will include Michael Crichton, John Updike and last year's National Book Award winner for fiction, Ha Jin. Each interview is conducted by a published author. Behind the Words will also debut with 30 interviews to its archives, including National Book Award Nominees Francine Prose and Alan Lightman. In all, the Behind the Words series will air more than 250 author interviews.

``Barnes & Noble has always made authors accessible to the community through our retail stores,'' said Steve Riggio, vice chairman of Barnes & Noble.com. ``With Behind the Words, we have taken the connection a step further by bringing authors into the homes of our customers. The segments offer readers daily doses of the literary experience, as well as a better understanding of their favorite writers and the opportunity to explore authors with whom they might not be familiar.''

Behind the Words is produced in conjunction with Rain, an independent film, television and media company. ``We have created a unique opportunity, unprecedented in other media, to connect authors with readers,'' said Ilene Saul, executive producer of Rain. ``These interviews give remarkable insight into the personalities of some of our best contemporary authors. They are incredibly candid commentaries on how these writers see their world.''

Rain, which initiated the bookVideo concept for Barnes&Noble.com, is an independent film, television, and media production company in Silicon Alley. Drawing upon owner and president Ilene Saul's television and entertainment production experience, the two-year old company produces material for film, television and new media outlets. Behind the Words and bookVideos are the result of a two-year creative collaboration with Barnes & Noble.