FastPencil Premiere Provides Best-Selling Authors with Unparalleled Control, Speed to Market and Higher Royalties

CAMPBELL, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- FastPencil today announced FastPencil Premiere (http://premiere.fastpencil.com), a new and exclusive line of general interest titles that provides top-tier and best-selling authors a publishing home with all the benefits of FastPencil's integrated suite of digital and social media publishing services to produce and publish the best in book content. Several best-selling authors are leveraging FastPencil Premiere to use its high-quality services to publish print and eBook versions of their titles in a simple, fast and top-quality fashion, while also gaining much higher royalties with more frequent payout.

"FastPencil exemplifies a fresh way of thinking during a transformative time in the industry and I'm very excited to be working with them," said Guy Gilchrist, an award-winning cartoonist. "With their digital publishing tools they are able to provide me with unprecedented support, speed to market, higher royalty rates and more frequent payments - but best of all, the team at FastPencil is incredibly creative, responsive and professional."

Gilchrist - a skilled cartoonist and children's book author whose work includes the comic strip Nancy, Your Angels Speak, Night Lights & Pillow Fights, Screams, The Poetry Guy, The Muppets and The Rock Channel, has recently selected FastPencil to publish his cartoons in print and eBook formats and his latest book, The Best of Today's Dog, is now available at FastPencil, Amazon and iBookstore.

FastPencil Premiere offers companies and organizations planning to launch new book publishing ventures the best in proprietary and pioneering technology and also plans to break and introduce top-notch new talent to the public. FastPencil's digital and social media platforms provide incredible improvements and advantages over traditional publishing houses, including speed to market, transparency throughout the publishing process and a superior return on investment with a much larger share of royalties.

"More and more mid- and top-tier authors are using FastPencil and we have created a special place tailored to their needs," said Steve Wilson, FastPencil co-founder and CEO. "Best-selling authors no longer need to line up for the tedious traditional publishing "go to market" plan – and instead can take back control of their work and reap all the benefits along the way."

In utilizing a next-generation digital publisher such as FastPencil, authors have the opportunity to move swiftly through the book writing and publishing process. FastPencil provides professional design templates, robust import and tools and collaboration features enabling authors to invite editors and their book design team into the project no matter where they are geographically before moving into distribution. FastPencil's concierge team can provide custom design, editing and marketing services and the publishing wizard ensures that all of the important details in publishing are taken care of including table of contents, ISBN, dedications and copyright details.

At FastPencil authors can sell more books and maintain complete control of content creation, price, distribution decisions and sales activity. FastPencil's relationships with thousands of book and eBook retailers ensures that each of their authors' books are available to the broadest possible audience and the write-once, publish anywhere approach guarantees their books can be read anywhere today and in the future.

FastPencil Features:

• Free book writing tools
• Professional book design templates
• Import manuscripts, turn blogs to books or write collaborative stories
• Connect and share through Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo and MSN
• Author concierge services including consulting, design services and formatting
• Collaborate with your book creation team, personal network of friends or industry professionals
• Integrated self-publishing wizard for step-by-step assistance
• Print on Demand or to eBook formats
• Wide distribution including iBookstore, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About FastPencil

FastPencil is leveraging the disruptive trends of self-publishing, social media, print-on-demand and eBook distribution to deliver a new unified online service that streamlines the book publishing process offering more control and higher margins for authors. The FastPencil writing and publishing service enables authors to create books online, collaborate, publish and distribute from one engaging, simple, cost-effective solution. For more information please visit FastPencil.com.

For regular FastPencil updates follow us at www.Twitter.com/FastPencil

Become a Fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FastPencil

FastPencil is a registered trademark of FastPencil, Inc. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

SOURCE FastPencil

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Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation's oldest children's literacy organization, and US Airways (NYSE: LCC) announced they have teamed up to kick-off the third year of "Fly with US. Read with Kids.®," a program designed to demonstrate the importance of reading with young children. A key component of the program will include the Read with Kids Challenge, where participants can log the amount of minutes they spend reading to children. The nationwide goal is to achieve 10 million minutes between September 1 and October 31. Readers can register to participate and log the number of minutes they read to children on an ongoing basis at www.rif.org/readwithkids.

"Reading, much like flying, takes you on journeys to new places and helps you discover new worlds. By partnering with RIF, US Airways is honored to help children in the communities where our employees live and work discover the joy of reading and provide them with a better foundation for academic and economic success. Because of our past successful Read with Kids Challenges, we've increased our goal, but I know we can reach it by working together," said Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of US Airways.

Since the partnership first launched in 2008, US Airways and RIF have helped log a combined total of 14 million minutes read with children as part of the Read with Kids Challenge.  

RIF encourages children to experience reading as a fun daily activity to help foster early childhood literacy development. The launch of this year's RIF-US Airways partnership coincides with the beginning of the new school year and is a timely reminder that September is National Literacy Month. The Read with Kids Challenge helps promote recreational reading habits that prepare students to achieve more in school and life.  

"Motivating children to read at an early age is critical to developing successful students, and RIF is pleased to partner with US Airways to get more communities reading," said Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO of RIF. "Each year, RIF sets a high goal to achieve during the Read with Kids Challenge, and I'm excited to see our nation strive to reach 10 million minutes of reading with children this year."

As part of the Read with Kids Challenge, participants will be entered to win a grand prize drawing of a Walt Disney World® Resort vacation package from US Airways Vacations, US Airways gift cards, and other weekly giveaways. US Airways, the official airline of RIF, will also reward individuals who join them in supporting RIF. For gifts of $50 or more made through the campaign, US Airways will award the donor up to 5,000 Dividend Miles. Donors can also receive Maisy Takes a Trip, a special edition book by best-selling author Lucy Cousins with a donation of at least $25. To sign up for the challenge or to make a donation, visit www.rif.org/readwithkids. More information will be available on Twitter via @RIFWEB or @USAirways, or RIF's Facebook fan page.

Throughout the duration of the campaign, RIF and US Airways will host reading celebrations in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia, and Phoenix. The events will feature a RIF book distribution where children get to choose a book for their own home libraries, family-friendly activities, and read-alouds where US Airways employees will interact with students and families.

About US Airways

US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,200 flights per day and serves more than 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America. The airline employs more than 31,000 aviation professionals worldwide and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers more than 19,700 daily flights to 1,077 airports in 175 countries. Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix, and a focus city in Washington, D.C. at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. And for the eleventh consecutive year, the airline received a Diamond Award for maintenance training excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration for its Charlotte hub line maintenance facility. For more company information, visit www.usairways.com . (LCCG)

About RIF

Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF), founded in 1966, motivates children to read by working with them, their parents, and community members to make reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIF's highest priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. Through community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory, RIF provided 4.4 million children with 15 million new, free books and literacy resources last year. For more information and to access reading resources, visit RIF's website at www.rif.org.

Discover the Joy!

SOURCE Reading Is Fundamental, Inc.

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On September 10, 2010, the world recognizes World Suicide Prevention Day. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO) use this day to focus public attention on the unacceptable burden and costs of suicidal behaviors. It is estimated that about one million people die by suicide every year. This is a huge global burden and one that can often be prevented.

For those dealing with the loss brought by suicide, conventional wisdom teaches us to turn away from the pain of loss. Trying to help, people say, "Let it go," and, "Get over it." This reaction to grief is often driven by the fear that we'll be overwhelmed by our feelings. "I learned that avoiding pain is not the way to find release from pain," explains Kristen Spexarth, whose son, Colby, died by suicide on December 31, 2001, at the age of 22. "Passing Reflections is the story of my journey of discovery over the first two years after Colby died."

With so many people dealing with grief and trauma, from families affected by war to all those affected by suicide, feelings of profound loss have become a part of our national psyche. Even so, support for those who are suffering loss can be hard to find.

Spexarth explains: "My intention in sharing these poems is to help trauma survivors see they are not alone and help those who would be of service to survivors begin to fathom what it is to suffer traumatic loss."

These poems, presented in two volumes, are meant to be read as a single narrative. As one prominent reviewer says of the work: "The poems show her growth through the grief, which is both raw and enlightening."

"Most suicidal young people don't really want to die; they just want their pain to end," explains Sue Eastgard, Executive Director of the Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP) in Washington State, past president of the American Association of Suicidology, and recipient of the AAS service award for 2010.

According to the YSPP, about 80 percent of the time, people who kill themselves have given definite signals or talked about suicide. The key to prevention is to know these signs and to not hesitate to raise the subject.

World suicide prevention day is dedicated to preventing suicidal behavior, alleviating its effects, and providing a forum for those affected by suicide.

About Passing Reflections

Passing Reflections is a two-volume work published by Big Think Media, Inc. and is available through Amazon.com and your bookseller. A portion of sales will benefit YSPP. For more information, visit http://www.passingreflections.com.

About Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP)

YSPP's mission is to reduce youth suicide attempts and deaths in Washington State. Working toward that goal, YSPP build public awareness, offer training, and support communities taking action. Visit http://www.yspp.org.

This press release was issued through eReleases(R).  For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Big Think Media, Inc.

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In keeping with the rise of pride in national identity engendered in Canada following the 2010 Olympic Games, a new children's storybook featuring a dynamic squad of Canadian Superheroes has just been launched.

The MapleOnes are a team of young, energetic and tech-savvy individuals who come together to fight villains looking to destroy Canada and spread crime around the world. In the first book of the series, titled: "The MapleOnes - Made in Canada," a group of agents belonging to the Canadian security force (TONA) inadvertently discover that they have superhero powers, just in time to fight against a sinister plot being hatched by a renegade agent and Canada's biggest crime boss.

The lead character, called "MapleMan," is a young man with a fierce passion for justice and fairness. After being set up by a rival agent for attempted murder, he discovers that he and some close friends have developed superhero powers to stand for justice and fight against a major crime plot in the country.

The MapleOnes is great reading for kids aged between 9 and 13, with a plotline that has all the themes that the Canadian public can identify with - a love for nature, honesty, fairness and justice. At the same time, there is excitement, danger and action. The superheroes are multi-ethnic, include both men and women, and have a sharp sense of responsibility towards their country, Canada.

The book gives Canada its newest superhero characters and an opportunity for children outside Canada to find out more about the land of the "True North, Strong and Free." It presents Canadian life and experiences in a young, hip and cool way, which is far removed from the staid and unexciting image many outside Canada have about the country.

About the author:

The storybook is written by A.J. Peter, based in Vancouver. This is his first book. He is a family man with three young kids, looking for a way to teach children values that help society, and at the same time, giving Canadian children a superhero to be excited about. His love and passion for Canada is laced through all the pages of the book, as the MapleOnes do battle on behalf of their country.

Book-cover: http://www.mapleones.com/images/bookcover.jpg

Website: http://www.mapleones.com

This press release was issued through eReleases(R).  For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE A.J. Peter

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While the price of textbooks can represent a significant cost to students, college stores around the country are consistently doing their part to save students money. Funding scholarships, employing students, and educating students and their parents about textbook tax credits are among the myriad ways college stores around the nation work every day to make course materials as affordable as possible for students.  

Here are some specific examples from a survey of its members conducted by the National Association of College Stores (NACS):

Buyback – Most college stores do their best to promote a strong used book market through aggressive buyback policies. Over 95% of Cornell students receive personalized e-mails during buyback season. As a result, the store nearly doubled its supply of used books over two years, allowing them to resell used books for even less.

Likewise, the University of Connecticut bookstore launched a buyback web site that informs students how many books the store will be buying and at what price. Combined with other programs, UConn Co-op estimates that it saves its students about $3.6 million annually on textbooks.

Some stores, such as that at California State University-Fullerton, have guaranteed buyback programs to increase used book stock and put a little extra cash in student pockets.

Price Matching – George Fox University, Weber State University and California State-Fullerton are just a few of the stores nationwide that participate in these programs, which practically guarantee students the lowest price.

Creative Concepts – Washington University bookstore hands out $20 bills at random times throughout the year, the University of Illinois-Champaign store helps match used book sellers with buyers, and the University of Arkansas saved students more than $500,000 over two years by discounting books the day before classes begin.

Textbook Rentals – Stores like those at San Mateo (Calif.) Community College are saving students money through textbook rental programs. The San Mateo Community College store estimates saving participating students $79,000 in two years. Typically, college stores rent books to students for between one-third to half the cost of a new textbook.

On top of all this, a 2010 survey of its members conducted by NACS found that college stores contribute an average of $223,691 annually to their college campuses – much of which is used to fund scholarships and help defray tuition costs.

About NACS

Headquartered in Oberlin, Ohio, the National Association of College Stores (NACS) is the professional trade association representing more than 3,000 collegiate retailers. NACS member stores serve America's college students while supporting the academic missions of higher education institutions everywhere. Additional information on NACS can be found online at www.nacs.org.

SOURCE National Association of College Stores

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