Borders(R) Announces 2006 Original Voices(R) Award Winners

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders today announced the winners of the 2006 Borders Original Voices Awards, the retailer's program that spotlights emerging and innovative authors and musicians. Winners will receive $5,000 from the company for their outstanding achievement in producing creative, original books and music.

Kevin Brockmeier's "The Brief History of the Dead," published by Knopf, won top honors in the fiction category. According to members of the Borders selection committee, it is "a powerful first novel. The language was poetic and the intertwining stories were the most lyrical accounts of death ever read." The book, set both on Earth and in "the city" -- a transitory, Earth- like plane -- tells the story of what happens to those waiting in "the city" after death and how the afterlives of the dead depend on the memories of those still alive on Earth.

"The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl," written by Timothy Egan and published by Houghton Mifflin, was the nonfiction winner. For this extraordinary story of the 1935 Dust Bowl, Egan, who received the National Book Award this past November, interviewed several survivors in order to recount the heroism, sacrifice and hardship the families endured during this time.

In the children's picture book category, "Fancy Nancy," written by Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser and published by HarperCollins Juvenile, was named the winner. The picture book follows a perky little girl who lives in a very un-fancy world and sets out to teach those around her to be glamorous. The book won the hearts of the Borders selection committee, who commented that this title is "a cute, playful story with a lot of colorful vocabulary making it fun to read aloud. It's the perfect book for parents and grandparents to read to the aspiring princess in their lives."

"Dairy Queen," written by Catherine Murdock and published by Houghton Mifflin, was named the winner in the young adult category. Members of the selection committee enjoyed the novel about a young girl learning to be comfortable with herself while juggling caring for her uncommunicative family, boys and sports.

In the music category, and from the group of six finalists, "Eye to the Telescope" by KT Tunstall on the Virgin Records America label was selected as the winner. In choosing this title as the award recipient, music committee members said, "KT Tunstall impressed us with her dedication to songwriting and recording. Her joy in crafting songs shines through on every track of this album. Tunstall represents an exciting and fresh perspective in music making."

"We are committed to creating richer, more satisfying lives through knowledge and entertainment. We do this by sharing our passion for books and music with our customers" said Bill Nasshan, senior vice president of merchandising for Borders Group. "The five finalists of the 2006 Original Voices Award exemplify what our corporate office and store employees found to be some of the best new and emerging talent in the publishing and music industry," added Linda Jones, senior vice president of merchandising for Borders Group.

The nominees in each category were chosen by Borders store employees and corporate office employees and the winners were selected by a cross-functional panel of judges at the corporate office, who volunteered to read each book nominated and listen to each CD and serve in several group discussions on the nominated selections.

Throughout the year, Borders' Original Voices program features the works of more than 200 contemporary authors/illustrators/artists from around the world in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, young adult, children's picture books and music. The monthly program highlights innovative and ambitious new books and music from new and emerging talents, as well as works that represent a new direction for established authors and musicians.

About Borders, Inc.

Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc. a $4 billion retailer of books, music, movies and stationery items that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BGP. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders Group, through its subsidiaries, operates more than 1,300 Borders and Waldenbooks stores and employs more than 34,000 people worldwide who serve more than 30 million customers each year. More information on the company is available at http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/.