Upstairs at the Square: WILLIAM GIBSON + MARTHA WAINWRIGHT June 16, 2008

NEW YORK, NY – May 8, 2008 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today announced the next event in its buzzworthy series, “Upstairs at the Square,” held at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan (33 East 17th Street at Union Square). On Monday, June 16th, at 7pm, author William Gibson makes an appearance to discuss the new paperback edition of his latest novel, the New York Times bestselling Spook Country (Berkley, June 3), along with singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright, whose new album is I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too (Zoë/Rounder Records, June 10). They will discuss and perform their work in conversation with journalist Katherine Lanpher, who hosts the program. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

William Gibson (www.williamgibsonbooks.com) is the author of such next-wave counterculture classics as Neuromancer, All Tomorrow’s Parties, and Pattern Recognition. Of the origins of his legendary path in writing, he says, “In 1977, facing first-time parenthood and an absolute lack of enthusiasm for anything like ‘career,’ I found myself dusting off my twelve-year-old’s interest in science fiction. Simultaneously, weird noises were being heard from New York and London. I took Punk to be the detonation of some slow-fused projectile buried deep in society’s flank a decade earlier, and I took it to be, somehow, a sign. And I began, then, to write. And have been, ever since.” The San Francisco Chronicle sums up Spook Country as “Both cool and scary.”

Martha Wainwright (www.marthawainwright.com) is one of the most respected artists in music today, so it’s no surprise that some of the biggest names in music leapt at the chance to work on I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too, the follow-up to her critically lauded eponymous debut. Pete Townshend, The Band’s Garth Hudson, and Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen make appearances, as do members of Martha’s talented family, including brother Rufus, mother Kate McGarrigle, aunt Anna McGarrigle, and first cousin Lily Lanken. The fourteen-song album has twelve original songs, plus her takes on the early Pink Floyd classic “See Emily Play” and the Eurythmics’ “Love is A Stranger.” The daughter of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, Martha’s spent her entire life surrounded by music.

In addition to touring with Snow Patrol, Stephen Malmus, Gomez, Neko Case, and The Swell Season, she’s recorded and toured extensively with her brother Rufus. Rolling Stone’s Barry Waters wrote, “If you think Rufus Wainwright possesses an uncommonly expressive voice, check out his sister.”

Katherine Lanpher (www.katherinelanpher.com) is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist. Springboard Press published her first book, Leap Days.

“Upstairs at the Square,” which celebrates its two-year anniversary this June, has paired authors such as Tom Wolfe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, David Lynch, Anna Gavalda, Min Jin Lee, and Armistead Maupin with musicians including Craig Finn, Duncan Sheik and members of the cast of Spring Awakening, Badly Drawn Boy, Sondre Lerche, Au Revoir Simone, Camphor, Nicole Atkins and more. An archive of recordings of previous events is available on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com/upstairs), where “Upstairs at the Square” is enjoyed by listeners around the world in addition to its live audiences.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 798 bookstores in 50 states. For the fourth year in a row, the company is the nation’s top bookseller brand, as determined by a brand’s overall strength based on its combination of familiarity, quality and purchase intent, according to the EquiTrend® Brand Study by Harris Interactive®. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate website: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

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Official Website: http://www.bn.com/upstairs