Authors Across America News

National Authors Across America Campaign Unveiled by AuthorHouse

(Bloomington, Ind./San Diego, Calif.) – With the explosion of technology, are books taking a back seat? On Saturday Tom Britt, director of author development for AuthorHouse®, spoke to 400 writers in San Diego and unveiled a new national author program called Authors Across America. “A growing number of authors are 50-plus and have crafted strong writing skills, but admittedly are unfamiliar with the publishing business and the options available to help make a book economically successful,” said Britt. “The Authors Across America campaign was created to help writers become authors and find the right path to publishing this year. It’s also a way for authors to be recognized for their successes; many are motivated to help improve literacy in their communities.”

Best-selling authors Neil Shulman and Eric Spencer of Get Between the Covers: Leave a Legacy by Writing a Book say, “A national author initiative is important. In this technology age, we need to recognize the importance of writing books and the positive impact it has on literacy. New types of authors are emerging and seek the flexibility of author services-based organizations like AuthorHouse.” Spencer adds, “They also need support to get started on their journey to authorship.”

AuthorHouse is the educational partner for the program and will be sponsoring several writing and publishing conferences throughout the year. The Authors Across America campaign will be represented at these events to encourage writers to become new authors as well as help current authors publish again.

A newly established Web site www.AuthorsAcrossAmerica.com is now available and provides resources from publishing experts and successful self-published authors. The Web site includes links to publishing events and writing conferences. State by state spotlights of authors and their journeys to authorship will also be featured.

Britt says authors publish for many reasons, including the hope that their book will positively impact literacy. According to the 2004 National Assessment of Education Progress, more than 8 million U.S. students in grades 4-12 struggle to read, write and comprehend adequately. In recognition of the books published through this program, AuthorHouse will be awarding publishing grants to educational and service-based organizations across the nation.

AuthorHouse spokesperson Erica Dorocke says, “We helped nearly 6,000 authors self-publish in 2006 and we anticipate helping even more authors in 2007. As a publishing leader, we take our responsibility seriously to reach out and support writer and author education in order to stimulate the development of new and exciting literary works that, without our help, may have never seen the marketplace.” Through AuthorHouse’s ‘AuthorCentric’ publishing process, its advances in printing and print-on-demand technology, and distribution through online bookstores, AuthorHouse enables authors to market their books to readers worldwide.

Britt notes, “While bookstore sales have been flat, online bookstore sales have grown 10 percent in the past three years. This new paradigm in publishing is opening doors to a greater number of authors than ever before.”

About AuthorHouse

Headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., AuthorHouse is the leading provider of publishing and marketing services for authors around the globe, last year publishing one out of every 30 titles in the United States. Since its founding in 1997, AuthorHouse has served the publishing needs of nearly 30,000 authors and produced nearly 40,000 titles. Through an exclusive ‘AuthorCentric’ Publishing Process, authors control the creative process of crafting their books and take advantage of a full range of pre-publishing, publishing and promotional services to help them reach their publishing goals. AuthorHouse titles are available at more than 25,000 retail outlets worldwide including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information, please visit www.authorhouse.com

Contacts:

Tom Britt, AuthorHouse, 317-496-3599

Vicki Bohlsen for Authors Across America, 317-535-6437,

Alt. Kenethia Jackson, 317-686-7804,