NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest retail bookseller, today announced the launch of the “Barnes & Noble Book Club,” a national book club designed to bring readers in communities across the country together to discuss some of the greatest books being published. The Company will host a free Book Club night seasonally at its 632 stores nationwide, which will be led by its expert booksellers and feature exclusive content and special in-store promotions for book club members. Bestselling author Meg Wolitzer’s novel, The Female Persuasion, has been chosen as the first book club pick for the inaugural Book Club night, which will take place on May 2, from 6pm-7pm local time, at stores across the country.

“Many book clubs and reading groups already meet at Barnes & Noble stores across the country, but customers have let us know that they would love to participate in an official Barnes & Noble Book Club,” said Liz Harwell, Director of Merchandising at Barnes & Noble. “That’s why we are so pleased to bring readers together to engage in a national conversation about books in a way that only Barnes & Noble can.”

Barnes & Noble is excited to launch its seasonal book club this spring with Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion, a novel that showcases one of the country’s great authors, as well as engages readers in a timely discussion around women, work, and power.

“Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings firmly established her as one of the most important writers of our time, and The Female Persuasion further cements her importance with a timely story about a young woman who meets a mentor that changes her life,” Harwell added. “The Female Persuasion is a must read of the year, and we’re looking forward to discussing it at our first Book Club meeting on May 2.”

As part of the new Barnes & Noble Book Club, the Company is offering customers an exclusive edition of the book that includes a special Reading Group Guide and an essay by the author. Customers who come to the free Book Club discussion May 2 will also receive one free regular, tall, hot or iced coffee and one free cookie from the Café, and one signed copy of the book will be given away. Customers are asked to sign up at the Customer Service counter in store to participate.

On May 2, Meg Wolitzer will appear at Barnes & Noble’s Upper West Side store for a discussion, Q&A, and book signing. Customers can visit the Barnes & Noble Store Locator for details.

Pre-orders of the exclusive edition of Meg Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion are available now at BN.com, and the novel will be available in stores on April 3.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is the world’s largest retail bookseller, and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 632 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s premier e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). The Nook Digital business offers a lineup of popular NOOK® tablets and eReaders and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store®. The NOOK Store features more than 4.5 million digital books in the US (www.nook.com), plus periodicals and comics, and offers the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices through Free NOOK Reading Apps™ available for Android™, iOS® and Windows®.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the Company's corporate website at www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

Barnes & Noble®, Barnes & Noble Booksellers® and Barnes & Noble.com® are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates. NOOK® and the NOOK logos are trademarks of Nook Digital, LLC or its affiliates.

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