DELACORTE PRESS BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS TO PUBLISH NEW YOUNG ADULT NOVEL BY ANN BRASHARES, AUTHOR OF THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS

3 WILLOWS: THE SISTERHOOD GROWS
TO BE PUBLISHED IN

A NATIONAL LAYDOWN ON JANUARY 13, 2009

New York, NY (July 2008)—Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, will publish 3 WILLOWS: The Sisterhood Grows (On sale January 13, 2009 / $18.99), a brand new novel about friendship and sisterhood by Ann Brashares, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 3 WILLOWS will be released with a 500,000 copy first printing and will be supported by a major marketing and publicity campaign. Delacorte Press will publish two additional novels that will continue the storylines of the characters. These novels are not yet scheduled for publication. 3 WILLOWS will also be published simultaneously in the United States as an audiobook by Random House’s Listening Library division.

Readers around the world have embraced Ann Brashares’ Sisterhood novels and have longed to emulate the friendship that the Traveling Pants girls share; many have even formed their own Sisterhoods. Inspired in many ways by those fans, Ann has written 3 WILLOWS, which introduces a brand-new group of girls on the verge of entering South Bethesda High School—the very same school that the original Sisterhood attended. Although Bridget, Carmen, Lena and Tibby have graduated, their legend looms large for everyone who walks the halls.

“Ann Brashares has once again captured the teenage experience in a way that is sure to connect with many readers”, said Beverly Horowitz, VP & Publisher of the Bantam Delacorte Dell Young Readers Group. “This new generation of characters is as magical and genuine as the girls who’ve inhabited her earlier novels. With 3 Willows, Ann has proven why she is one of the most beloved authors writing for young adults today.”

When Delacorte Press published Brashares’ debut novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in September 2001,

it received starred reviews and praise from critics across the country and quickly landed on the New York Times bestseller list. Three additional novels about the girls followed: The Second Summer of the Sisterhood in 2003, Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood in 2005 and Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood in 2007. All were instant national bestsellers. More than eight million copies of Sisterhood books have been sold in North America and they have become an international publishing phenomenon as well: foreign rights have been sold in 42 languages. The series currently remains on the New York Times bestseller list.

On August 6, 2008, Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures will debut the highly anticipated major motion picture release of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. The film will reunite the original Sisterhood cast of Blake Lively, America Ferrara, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn. In June 2005, Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures brought Brashares’ first novel to the silver screen with their film adaptation of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The movie was a hit, and the studio was happy to oblige with a sequel.

Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company.