Borders(R) Presents 'MITCH ALBOM LIVE,' New Web Show Featuring Bestselling Author Mitch Albom, Funny, Inspired Interviews Exclus

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 6  /PRNewswire/ -- Borders® today announced the launch of "MITCH ALBOM LIVE," a new, fast-paced online entertainment program featuring bestselling author Mitch Albom, premiering now on Borders.com and mitchalbom.com.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSLOGO)

Produced and co-sponsored by Borders, "MITCH ALBOM LIVE" features candid, unscripted conversations between Albom and other influential creative personalities including actors, musicians and authors. Infused with Albom's unique perspective on world events and American culture, each weekly 30-minute Webisode will also touch on books, music and movies. "MITCH ALBOM LIVE" is the latest program to be featured on Borders.com, the home to a number of highly popular exclusive and original programs including the "Borders Book Club," "Borders Live at 01," and "Borders Kitchen."

Albom is the author of international bestsellers "Tuesdays with Morrie," "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and "For One More Day." His latest title, "Have a Little Faith," released Sept. 29. The show gives Albom -- also a screenwriter and long-time musician -- a unique format to discuss artistic work on multiple levels. "I've been wanting to explore the Internet with a show for a long time, and this gives us a great chance for new, flexible, uninterrupted weekly shows that can be quickly delivered around the world. We mix artists, interviews, laughter, locations and current topics -- pretty much like life itself. The future of storytelling may well be that little box on your desk, or the little screen in your pocket. This program allows me to tell stories - and bring others' stories - right there."

Today's premiere episode of "MITCH ALBOM LIVE", accessible directly at http://www.bordersmedia.com/mitchalbom and http://www.mitchalbom.com/mitchalbomlive, features a delightful interview with actress Drew Barrymore discussing "Whip It," a movie that she both directed and stars in, filmed on location in Detroit, just miles from the Borders headquarters. Future episodes will feature candid conversations between Albom and Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash, author Nick Hornby whose latest title is "Juliet, Naked," as well as Tony Bennett, Kevin Smith and John Pizzarelli. "MITCH ALBOM LIVE" is filmed both on location around the nation and in the WJR studios, the base of Albom's long running "The Mitch Albom Show." In addition to airing on Borders.com and mitchalbom.com, program highlights will be featured on Borders TV, the retailer's in-store television network in major markets across the country. Further, Borders will feature "MITCH ALBOM LIVE" in the Borders Shortlist, a weekly email delivered to millions of Borders Rewards Members, and will be available as a free weekly podcast, available to subscribers on iTunes.

"Our customers have long been aware of Mitch's wonderful books, from 'Tuesdays With Morrie' to his newest bestseller, 'Have A Little Faith,'" said Ron Marshall, Chief Executive Officer for Borders. "All of us in the Detroit area have the added benefit of being able to listen to Mitch's insightful radio program every afternoon. Now on Borders.com, we're able to help share Mitch's unique interviewing style and cultural take with the broader Borders audience across the country and around the world."

About Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom is the author of the international bestsellers "Tuesdays With Morrie," "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," and "For One More Day" which collectively have sold more than 28 million copies worldwide.  His books have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world, and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically acclaimed television movies.  He is also the author of two New York Times bestselling sports books and four anthologies of his newspaper column for the Detroit Free Press.  He also writes screenplays and stage plays. Albom serves on numerous charitable boards, and has founded four charities in the Detroit area.  He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

His latest, "Have a Little Faith," is his first nonfiction title since "Tuesdays with Morrie."

"MITCH ALBOM LIVE" is the latest in Albom's digital initiatives. Albom launched his updated, interactive website in March 2009. A portal to Albom's life and work, http://www.mitchalbom.com/ was designed to create a home for the millions of fans around the world to discover more about his books and his rich variety of work in journalism, radio, TV, film, and theater. Since its launch, the website has live-streamed Albom's daily radio show and run interactive polls that listeners can access via text messaging or the web. Loaded with exclusive video and featuring content translated into six different languages, mitchalbom.com reaches his audience around the globe.  In July of 2008, Albom released, exclusively through Amazon Kindle, the commencement speech he delivered at his nephew's high school graduation in Nice, France.  The speech ranked in the top 100 Kindle bestsellers, and all proceeds from its sale went to S.A.Y. Detroit, a nonprofit charity Albom founded to help the homeless in his hometown Detroit.

About Borders Group, Inc.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE:BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items.  The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/bordersmedia and http://www.youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media. 

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSLOGODATASOURCE: Borders



CONTACT:  Mary Davis of Borders, [phone]



Web Site:  http://www.borders.com/ 

Copyright