Nellie McKay + Antonio Monda "Upstairs at the Square" November 7, 2007

NEW YORK, NY (October 20, 2007) -- Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today announced the next event in its provocative series, “Upstairs at the Square,” held at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan (33 East 17th Street at Union Square). On Wednesday, November 7 at 7pm, author Antonio Monda, whose new book is Do You Believe? Conversations on God and Religion (Vintage, November 13), and singer-songwriter Nellie McKay, whose highly anticipated new album is Obligatory Villagers (Hungry Mouse/Vanguard Records, 2007), discuss and perform their work. Journalist Katherine Lanpher hosts the program. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Described as “the most well-connected New York cultural figure you’ve never heard of” in a recent full-page profile in The New York Times Book Review, Antonio Monda teaches in the Film and Television Department of New York University. An award-winning filmmaker, he is author of A Journey into American Cinema and editor/author of The Hidden God. In his new book, Do You Believe?, some of the most well-known and well-respected cultural figures of our time – including Paul Auster, Saul Bellow, Paula Fox, Spike Lee, Daniel Libeskind, David Lynch, Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Grace Paley, Martin Scorsese and many more – enter into illuminating conversations about their personal beliefs, about belief itself, about religion, and about God. Monda also appears as himself in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic.

Nellie McKay’s (www.nelliemckay.com) music jumps genres – from Tin Pan Alley pop and cabaret to reggae, rap and jazz – that mysteriously gel with her evocative, playful, and bold lyrics. Her new album, Obligatory Villagers, is a nine-song, jazz-informed odyssey that promises to delight listeners who’ve been clamoring for more from the iconoclastic musician since 2004’s Get Away From Me, the first major-label, double-album debut from a female artist. The album was on many critics’ year-end lists and created an ardent following for the artfully eclectic, politically minded songwriter. Her second album, Pretty Little Head, didn’t disappoint. Again she confounded expectations, proving herself a truly fresh, original artist. Last year, McKay portrayed Polly Peachum on Broadway in the Brecht/Weill classic, The Threepenny Opera.

Katherine Lanpher is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist. Springboard Press recently published her first book, Leap Days.

This summer, “Upstairs at the Square” celebrated a year of truly innovative cultural programming, having paired authors such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, David Lynch, Anna Gavalda, Armistead Maupin, Gary Shteyngart and Nick Hornby with musicians including The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, Badly Drawn Boy, Duncan Sheik and members of the cast of Spring Awakening, Sondre Lerche, Au Revoir Simone, Elk City and more. A full archive of recordings of all fourteen previous events is available on Barnes & Noble.com (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 792 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 Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

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