For Immediate Release

March 2, 2006

Contact: Judith Platt
Ph: 202-220-4551
Email: jplatt@publishers.org

Publishers to Honor Good Morning America

America’s publishing industry will pay formal tribute to ABC News’ Good Morning America for its outstanding work in promoting American books and authors, the Association of American Publishers announced today. Good Morning America  has been named to receive the 2006 “AAP Honors,” which will be presented during the Association’s Annual Meeting in New York on March 14.    

 “At a time when coverage of books is losing ground in many media outlets,  Good Morning America continues to spread the word about good reading and noteworthy authors to a  nationwide audience,” said AAP CEO and President Pat Schroeder.  Over the past year the show has featured a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction authors,  including John Irving, Jane Fonda, David Baldacci, Patricia Cornwell, Bruce Feiler, Dr. Christine Northrup, Nicholas Sparks, Jeannette Walls, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Ashley Smith, Elizabeth Kostova and John Berendt.

The award will be given at a luncheon at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York.  Accepting on behalf of Good Morning America will be the show’s Coordinating Producer  Patty Neger, who serves as GMA’s liaison with the publishing industry and produces all of the show’s book segments, and GMA’s Executive Producer Ben Sherwood.  The award comes with a $5,000 donation in the winner’s name to a charity of their choosing.  Good Morning America has designated  Literacy Partners, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that provides free community-based adult and family literacy programs, to receive the gift. 

The AAP Honors were inaugurated in 1997 to acknowledge the contributions of individuals and organizations outside the book industry who have helped focus public attention on American books and their importance in our society. Previous winners have included C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb, National Public Radio, country music legend and creator of the “Imagination Library” literacy program Dolly Parton, The Today Show, Oprah Winfrey, Latino television journalist Jorge Ramos, and USA Today.

The  Association of American Publishers is the principal trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry with some 300  members comprising most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States,  as well as small and medium-sized houses, non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. The promotion of reading and literacy is among AAP’s highest priorities.

###