'Cathy's Book' Publisher Supports Authors', Reviewers' and Readers' Rights

NEW YORK, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Perseus Books Group today urged book reviewers to make up their own minds about the upcoming title Cathy's Book: If Found Call 650-266-8233 (Running Press, $17.95 hardcover, ISBN:0-7624-2656-X, October 2006) by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman. This is in response to a press release sent yesterday to book reviewers by an organization calling itself Commercial Alert, which called on reviewers to boycott the book due to a marketing relationship with CoverGirl makeup. Commercial Alert referenced a New York Times article from June 12th about the connection.

David Steinberger, President and CEO of the Perseus Books Group responded today, saying, "Commercial Alert's action is troubling. As a publisher in a free society, we feel that it is inappropriate to discourage people from reading, discussing or reviewing a book. Calling for a review boycott is a form of censorship. Cathy's Book is a terrific cutting-edge YA novel that deserves to be read and judged on its own merits."

Cathy's Book is the story of a teen girl who decides to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend. She documents her investigation in a journal, filled with her notes, sketches and pieces of evidence collected in an envelope with the book (post-it notes, index cards, newspaper clippings, old photographs, etc.) An immersive experience, the journal and the evidence are filled with clues that the reader can follow, including callable phone numbers and specifically created websites, to learn important parts of the story.

Steinberger continued, "First and foremost, Cathy's Book is a great read, innovative and involving, and we acquired the novel on that basis. The authors then came to us with the idea of extending the main character's journey (and the reader's experience) from not only the book and fictional websites but onto the real websites of CoverGirl and BeingGirl.com, units of P&G. We were happy to support the authors in their efforts to enhance the Cathy's Book experience. No money was paid for product placement, and the authors brilliantly and creatively incorporated these elements into the manuscript in ways that enhanced both the narrative and the audience that could be reached by this groundbreaking novel."

Said Steinberger, "We support our authors' right to write this book their way, incorporating real-world elements consistent with their vision and involving the partners they choose to make the experience as powerful as possible. We believe reviewers should read the book and make up their own minds. At the 2006 Bologna Book Fair, Cathy's Book attracted extraordinary attention from many of the world's leading children's publishers including Bloomsbury of Harry Potter fame. In addition, rights have been sold in Italy, Germany, Japan, Norway, Denmark and a number of other countries. I think that is a testament to this book's quality."

The Perseus Books Group is an independent company dedicated to enabling the success of independent publishers, whether they are wholly owned, joint ventures or completely independent companies. Perseus publishing programs include Basic Books, Basic Civitas, Counterpoint, Da Capo Press, Running Press and Westview Press, as well as a partnership with PublicAffairs. Through its wholly owned distribution company Client Distribution Services, the Perseus Books Group provides distribution services to more than 50 independent publishers including Abbeville, Assouline, Distributed Art Publishers (DAP), Harvard Business School Press, Planeta, University of Michigan Press, and Taschen.

   Contact: Michael Stewart
   212-340-8103
   michael.stewart@perseusbooks.com