SparkNotes Launches Audio Study Guides; Popular Literature Study Guides Now Available in Downloable Audio Formats, Narrated by Well-Known Actors

Business Wire, Sept 29, 2003

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 2003

When SparkNotes(TM), a leading educational publisher, launched its popular study guides, it changed the way today's high school and college students learn literature in print and online. Now SparkNotes is revolutionizing the way students study once again with the launch of SparkNotes Audio Study Guides. These downloadable audio guides will include readings of the complete SparkNotes literature guides by notable actors such as Phil Morris ("Seinfeld"), Yvonne Craig (television's original Batgirl) and Jason Robards III. Each will be available in three different formats: MP3, Windows Media and QuickTime. Students will have the option of downloading the entire SparkNotes Audio Study Guide or just the sections they need most.

"SparkNotes will also offer versions of each guide that enable the user to read the text while listening to the audio recording. In addition, students can search the audio files for specific words or phrases. We believe that this innovative audio-visual technology will help all students learn more quickly and effectively. It will be especially helpful for students with learning disabilities," said Tammy Hepps, director of technology for SparkNotes. "And the celebrity narration is the icing on the cake."

Each SparkNotes Audio Study Guide will contain the same concise literary summary and analysis that millions of students already use in print and online. The initial launch will include the following titles: To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, The Odyssey, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Scarlet Letter. They will be available for download beginning September 29 at www.SparkNotes.com and at www.BN.com for $4.95.

About SparkNotes(TM)

Founded in 1999 by four Harvard seniors, SparkNotes(TM) (now owned by Barnes & Noble) is producing a new generation of "smarter, better, faster" educational resources for high school and college students to use on and offline. Originally launched as SparkNotes.com, the company has quickly become the world's most popular educational Web site with more than six million registered users. In response to demand from students, parents, and educators who use the site, SparkNotes began publishing educational materials in print with the launch of SparkNotes Study Guides in 2002.