New York, New York – October 25, 2006 – Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced the launch of Barnes & Noble Book Clubs, a new online and interactive community of authors, experts, and readers.  The free Barnes & Noble Book Clubs, available at www.bn.com/bookclubs, offer an unparalleled opportunity for readers to have a direct dialogue with their favorite writers across a wide spectrum of book categories.

Beginning today, visitors to Barnes & Noble.com can join online conversations with authors like Carl Hiaasen, the popular novelist whose latest book, Nature Girl, debuts November 14th. Nearly 30 authors will lead discussions about their books this fall, and Barnes & Noble.com’s Book Club moderators will lead discussions of other popular books, including literary classics and noteworthy titles in such categories as self improvement, personal finance, cooking and health.

Readers can access the Book Club message boards at their convenience, and can enhance their experience by creating user profiles, sharing lists of favorite books and authors, subscribing to e-mail updates, and sending private messages to other users.

“With Barnes & Noble.com’s Book Clubs, readers are now able to find literary companionship 24 hours a day from wherever they are,” said Marie Toulantis, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble.com.  “The new Book Clubs are a natural extension of the thousands of book clubs at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide.  This new online community meets the needs of authors who are eager to reach as broad an audience as possible, and our customers, who want to interact with their favorite authors and with like-minded readers in an online forum with easy-to-use features.”

Author-led Book Clubs this fall include:

• Diane Setterfield, whose literary debut, The Thirteenth Tale, has been compared to Jane Eyre and was chosen as the first Barnes & Noble Recommends selection this fall.
• Adriana Trigiani, a book club favorite, whose latest novel, Home to Big Stone Gap returns to the scene of her bestselling trilogy.
• And Jack Canfield, the creator of the popular Chicken Soup series, who will discuss his inspirational new volume, You've Got to Read This Book.

Barnes & Noble.com has long been a leader in the effort to make a connection between readers and writers online. Barnes & Noble.com’s Meet the Writers program features profiles of hundreds of authors, and includes exclusive video and audio interviews, and new audio podcasts. The new Book Clubs follow a successful series of online book discussions featuring more than 130 authors and tens of thousands of participants over the last three years.