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Powells.com debuts new feature: exclusive essays by award-winning authors

SEPTEMBER 16, 2002, PORTLAND, OR — Powells.com, the Portland-based independent bookseller touted as the largest used and new bookstore in the world, has begun offering exclusive essays written for its web customers by award-winning and bestselling authors. Dubbed "From the Author," the new web feature debuted this month with original articles by Julia Glass, Neil Gaiman, and Brady Udall.

Glass, whose debut "Three Junes" is the current selection of Good Morning America's "Read This" Book Club, explores her literary influences and inspirations in an 1800-word essay. Gaiman discusses his belief that novels have genders in relation to the process of writing "American Gods," the recently crowned 2002 Hugo Award winner for Best Novel. Udall shares a childhood experience that helped form his idea for the title character in "The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint," a Book Sense 76 selection.

"We're thrilled any time we can bring authors and readers together," said Michael Powell, president and founder of Powells Books. "We host hundreds of author events in our stores each year, but we're always looking for creative ways to provide that author contact online, as well."

Authors, meanwhile, appreciate the opportunity to connect with readers. Julia Glass explained, "As a writer, I sometimes long to talk about myself as a fellow reader, too. Writing my essay for Powells.com satisfied that craving - and will, I hope, guide other readers toward a few of the authors I consider personal heroes."

The publication of each new essay is announced in PowellsBooks.news, a biweekly newsletter emailed to more than 250,000 opt-in subscribers. Contributing authors scheduled for the coming weeks include Booker Prize nominee Yann Martel ("Life of Pi") and cultural critic Shawn Levy ("Ready, Steady, Go").

About Powells.com and Powell's Books
An independent bookseller in Portland, Oregon, since 1971, Powell's City of Books is the largest used and new bookstore in the world. Powells.com offers the inventory of seven Powell's stores and two giant warehouses - more than 1.5 million books in all. The award-winning site features timely content from The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The New Republic, The Christian Science Monitor, Salon.com, Utne Reader, and others, plus staff picks, monthly contests, and exclusive author interviews. Qualified orders over $50 ship free to North American addresses. Yahoo! Internet Life calls the site "a bibliophile's dream." Forbes magazine rated Powells.com "Best of the Web - Spring 2002."

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