Atria Books and Telemundo Join Together to Publish Bestseller El Deseo Ajeno is the Best Selling book at Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com en Espanol

Atria Books and Telemundo Join Together to Publish Bestseller El Deseo Ajeno is the Best Selling book at Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com en Espanol

NEW YORK, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. and Spanish language television network Telemundo have joined together to publish the bestseller El Deseo Ajeno, a continuation of the hit Telenovela, "El Cuerpo Del Deseo." The publication of El Deseo Ajeno by Erick Hernandez Mora marks the first time a major publishing house and a television network have joined forces to produce a book geared exclusively toward the growing Spanish Language market.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061108/NYW136 )

Since its publication on October 17, El Deseo Ajeno has held its own in crowded bookselling marketplace. The title has been the best selling book (#1) for two consecutive weeks on the Barnesandnoble.com Spanish language list, and #1 on Amazon.com Spanish language list.

"We are thrilled with the opportunity to work with a forward thinking company like Telemundo as they are a leading Spanish language network with original content for the Spanish speaking consumer" said Judith Curr, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Atria Books. The concept of turning a successful telenovela into a published novel came from a collaboration between Telemundo executive Mimi Belt and Atria Senior Editor Johanna Castillo.

"This project was designed to offer Spanish-language telenovela fans the opportunity to experience the continuing story of our hit telenovela, 'El Cuerpo del Deseo,' through the print medium," said Belt. "Viewers and readers will be surprised at the captivating plot twists, passionate new love stories, and endless suspense of El Deseo Ajeno," said Johanna Castillo.

El Deseo Ajeno author, Erick Hernandez Mora, was one of 14 aspiring TV writers to graduate from the Telemundo sponsored course "Taller Telemundo: Escritores" in 2005. Under the leadership of Telemundo Network President Don Browne, the network created "Taller Telemundo: Escritores" in collaboration with Miami Dade College North Campus, School of Entertainment and Design Technology, as an innovative program designed to recruit, train and inspire the next generation of telenovela writers.

"We're very proud that Erick has authored Telemundo's first book," said Browne. "We made a deep commitment to the industry when we launched 'Taller Telemundo: Escritores' and El Deseo Ajeno is just one example of the extraordinary success of this innovative writers' program. As producers of original content, we're thrilled to now offer entertainment across a variety of platforms."

Atria Books is an imprint of Simon & Schuster, part of the CBS Corporation, a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Online, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at http://www.simonsays.com/

Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language television network, is the essential entertainment, news and sports source for Hispanics. Broadcasting unique national and local programming for the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, Telemundo reaches 93% of U.S. Hispanic households in 142 markets through its 16 owned-and-operated stations, 36 broadcast affiliates and nearly 684 cable affiliates. Telemundo is wholly owned by NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.

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Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061108/NYW136
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN11
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Atria Books

CONTACT: Melissa Quinones of Atria Books - Publicist,
+1-212-698-7026, Fax: +1-212-632-8083, Melissa.quinones@simonandschuster.com;
and Elizabeth Sanjenis of Telemundo Network, +1-305-889-7597,
Elizabeth.sanjenis@nbcuni.com

Web site: http://www.simonsays.com/

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