Salon.com Signs Third Book Deal

Villard Books, a Division of Random House, Inc., to Publish Salon's Travel Chronicles

Published July 8, 2000 12:18AM (EDT)

Today, Salon.com (Nasdaq: SALN) (http://www.salon.com), a premier Internet media company, announced that Villard Books, a division of Random House, will publish "Salon's Wanderlust: Real-Life Tales of Adventure and Romance." The collection, edited by Salon travel columnist Don George and inspired by the critically acclaimed travel writing on Salon.com, will feature nearly 40 first-person essays by such renowned writers as Jan Morris, Isabele Allende, Pico Iyer and Po Bronson. The collection is scheduled for release in October. This is Salon's third book deal within the last two years. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We're thrilled to announce this latest book deal with Random House's Villard," says Michael O'Donnell, CEO and president of Salon.com. "With the success of Salon's first book, 'Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood,' and the upcoming release of two more this year, we continue to extend our premier brand offline and develop a new revenue stream from book publishing."

In May 1999, Villard published "Mothers Who Think: Tales of Real-Life Parenthood," a collection of personal essays about the myths and realities of parenthood that originally appeared on the Salon.com site Mothers Who Think. The book garnered rave reviews from the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle and other leading publications and quickly became a national bestseller. It is now in paperback and, earlier this year, received the American Book Award.

Salon.com's second book, "The Salon Reader's Guide to Contemporary Authors," will be published by Penguin Books in August. Edited by Laura Miller, Salon Books editor, the Salon Reader's Guide is an opinionated and irreverent look at more than 200 of the most fascinating writers of our time -- from Margaret Atwood to Tobias Wolff. The collection features author profiles, reviews and recommended reading lists penned by an international cast of critics and reviewers.

"These book deals are yet another way to access Salon's award-winning content," adds O'Donnell. "Today, as a result of syndication agreements, book contracts and wireless deals, consumers can get Salon.com's award-winning content everywhere, from newsstands to bookstores to wireless devices."

About Salon.com
Salon.com is an Internet media company that produces a network of 11 award-winning, original content sites, maintains Salon Shop, an e-commerce gateway, and hosts two communities -- Table Talk and The WELL. In May 2000, Salon acquired MP3Lit.com, the pioneering Web site offering quality spoken word and audio literature recordings in MP3 and Real Audio formats. Salon.com currently has relationships with more than 325 advertisers including industry leaders such as IBM, Lexus, Microsoft, EDS, Virgin Megastore Online and Intel. In December 1999, Salon.com announced a content and equity agreement with Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation and NBC. Strategic distribution partners include America Online (AOL), Lycos, AltaVista, Reuters, CNN.com and CNet as well as wireless innovators AvantGo and Rocket eBooks. Salon.com content is also syndicated to print publications through United Features Syndicate. The site had 3.7 million unique visitors in March 2000.

SOURCE Salon.com


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