Press Release: Teen Recording Artist Chantel 'Chani' Christie Announced to Present at the 19th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Recording artist, model, actress and author, Chantel "Chani" Christie, has been announced to join the star studded line up of presenters at the 19th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards, held August 31, 2009 at 7 P.M. (PT) at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles, California. Chani is the author of the bestselling book "I Want to Live: A Teenagers Guide to Finding Self Love," and has just released her hit web series "Chani's Story." Already a reality television star, she is currently in talks to co-star in a new yet untitled television show about two best friends.

"I'm truly honored to have been selected to present at this year's NAACP Theatre Awards," states Chani.

Chani is currently writing her new book "A Girl has to Look Good! A Teens beauty, fashion and lifestyle Guide." Her new book will be filled with important information. Written by a teen, for teens, it's full of information and advice that today's teens want. Illustrated throughout, this beauty and lifestyle guide will feature chapters on beauty, fashion, lifestyle, self-esteem, fitness and diet. Chantel, the United States Youth Ambassador on HIV/AIDS, continues to reach her peers through her acting, music and writing.

The 19th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards is celebrating the organization's 100th Year Anniversary and will honor a full slate of honorees including Audra McDonald (Tony Award-Winner/Grammy Award-Winner) for Trailblazer Award, Tichina Arnold (CW's "Everybody Hates Chris") for the Spirit Award, Ruben Santiago-Hudson (ABC's "Castle") for Lifetime Achievement, and Sheldon Epps (Director of UPN's "Girlfriends") for the Community Service Award. This year's award show will also include musical performances by Grammy-Nominated artist, Ledisi.

About Chantel "Chani" Christie: Chani is a 16 year old United States youth ambassador for HIV/AIDS awareness, as well as the 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Excellence in Hip-Hop Award-Winner, and star of her new hit reality web series titled "Chani's Story," an original web series about her life. The teen pop sensation has a passion to inspire and encourage youth across the world to follow their dreams.

ABOUT NAACP: Founded on February 12, 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors. The NAACP Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch is committed to the promotion of theatre in Southern California and to providing a viable program for performers and supporters of this art form. For more information on the NAACP, please visit http://www.naacp.org/.

For More Information:

http://www.chantelchristie.com

'The Secret' To Be Revealed for Teens this Fall

(AP) NEW YORK

It's teen time for "The Secret."

Rhonda Byrne's self-help multimedia phenomenon, which has sold millions of copies, will come out this fall in an edition for young people. "The Secret to Teen Power" will be written by Paul Harrington, who produced the DVD version of the original "Secret."

According to Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, the new book will show "how teens can transform their own lives and live their dreams, by understanding and using the power they have in their hands."

Simon Pulse announced Wednesday that "The Secret to Teen Power" will have a first printing of 500,000.

Borders Aims to Capitalize on Teens With New Shops

By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Source: Wall Street Journal

Borders Group Inc. is launching a teens department to capitalize on such hot writers as Stephenie Meyer and Sarah Dessen, as young-adult authors provide a badly needed lift to booksellers.

The Borders Ink shops, which will stock graphic novels, fantasy and young-adult titles together, are expected to be available in 80% to 90% of the 513 superstores Borders operates nationwide by the end of August. Some have already opened in Michigan.

The space for the departments has often been carved from areas that previously sold music and DVDs, whose popularity has faded with bookstore shoppers.

Borders also plans to stock merchandise it thinks teens will snap up, including a variety of goods associated with Ms. Meyer, the writer of the vampire "Twilight" series, such as bookmarks and pencil cases.

"We want this to be about more than just the book," said Kathryn Popoff, vice president of merchandising/trade books at Borders, based in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Borders, the nation's second largest bookstore chain by revenue, has also planted its teen flag on Facebook, where it has created a Borders Ink page in hopes of becoming a "source for info on all things teen lit and graphic novels." One of the lead items posted on Monday featured the Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels created by Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley.

The retailer declined to say how much it is spending on its teen initiative.

At a time when book retailing is slumping, young-adult titles and graphic novels are still delivering growth. Albert N. Greco, a professor at the Fordham University's Graduate School of Business Administration who studies the book industry, estimates that young-adult fiction, fantasy and science fiction will generate $744.3 million in U.S. publisher revenue this year, up 13% from $659.1 million in 2008.

That compares with U.S. publisher revenue of an estimated $9.73 billion for consumer books as a whole, a 4.7% decline from 2008's sales, according to Mr. Greco.

A spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble Inc., New York, the largest U.S. bookstore retailer, said it has long offered separate teen areas.

At one Barnes & Noble store in midtown Manhattan, teen titles are in the lower level, while graphic novels, which Barnes & Noble merchandises as a separate category, are on the second floor.

The teen category is now so attractive that Harlequin, the romance publisher, recently launched a new Harlequin Teen imprint, aimed at readers aged 12- to 18-years-old. Natashya Wilson, senior editor of Harlequin Teen, part of Toronto, Canada, based Torstar Corp., plans to publish three teen titles in 2009 and 17 in 2010, with the first, "My Soul to Take" by Rachel Vincent, coming out next month.

Harlequin Takes Aim at Teen Readers with New Imprint

By Carol Memmott, USA TODAY

Harlequin is feeling like a kid again.

The 60-year-old publisher of classic bodice-rippers is rolling out its newest imprint: Harlequin Teen.

"These books specifically focus on teen protagonists, which is not something Harlequin has done a whole lot of," says the publisher's Natashya Wilson.

Add Harlequin to the list of publishers that have fallen hard for teen readers, thanks to the seismic sales of Stephenie Meyer's teen vampire series Twilight.

"These will be titles specifically developed for readers of Twilight," says Wilson, as well as fans of other popular young-adult authors including Sarah Dessen (Along for the Ride) and Elizabeth Scott (Living Dead Girl).

Other publishers — including HarperTeen and Razorbill — are already benefiting from the growing hunger for teen romances laced with supernatural and paranormal elements.

For good reason: Sales of adult titles are down, according to the Association of American Publishers, but sales of children's/young-adult hardcovers are up 36.4% through May, the latest figures available.

And more adults are reading YA novels.

Harlequin Teen's first titles reflect a Meyer sensibility:

•Up first: My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent, July 28. The novel features a girl who can sense when people will die. Vincent's adult paranormal novel, Stray, made USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list last year.

•Intertwined by Gina Showalter, Aug. 25. The book stars a teenage boy who has four souls living inside him and who is irresistibly drawn to a vampire princess. Seven of Showalter's adult novels have made USA TODAY's list, including two in her Lords of the Underworld series.

In October, Harlequin will add a backlist title to the imprint: Elphame's Choice by P.C. Cast, who with daughter Kristin writes the hugely popular House of Night vampire series.

So far, almost 20 titles are planned for 2010. They will be a mix of paranormal, science fiction and contemporary romance.

Romance, according to Business of Consumer Book Publishing, an industry report, is the biggest fiction category in the USA, with more than 8,000 titles published in 2008. Paranormal romances make up a huge portion.

Harlequin's move is a smart one, says Kathleen Adey of Romance Writers of America.

"The teen-romance readers of today are the adult-romance readers of tomorrow. Courting them when they are younger is probably a good thing."