Indigo Books Announces Popular TV Duo Jessi Cruickshank and Dan Levy to Host
Inaugural Teen Read Awards Event

TORONTO, July 29 /CNW/ - This year's hottest teen event just got hotter as Jessi Cruickshank and Dan Levy sign on to host Indigo's first Teen Read Awards ceremony on September 25^th! As television's dynamic duo and hosts of MTV's top-rated "The After Show" and "The Hills After Show," Jessi and Dan bring a surge of excitement to the bookseller's inaugural event, which has garnered over 150,000 votes from fans to date. The Teen Read Awards is Indigo Books & Music Inc.'s signature event dedicated to celebrating teens and their love of reading.

For Jessi Cruickshank, books were instrumental during her formative years: "I don't think I would have made it to adulthood without my favourite authors… Shel Silverstein got me to laugh, Roald Dahl got me to dream and Judy Blume got me through puberty."

"My parents started reading to me at a very young age, and I've been an avid reader ever since," exclaims Dan Levy. "Books have given me my sense of adventure, taught me about tolerance and acceptance, and ultimately opened my mind to the power of the written word."

"Having two popular Canadians, and avid readers, join the Indigo Teen Read Awards event is a great addition that helps this exclusive program to continue galvanizing Canadian teens around their passion for reading, books and authors," says Trevor Dayton, VP Kids & Entertainment, Indigo Books & Music Inc.

The popularity of teen literature is at an all time high with Indigo experiencing 150% sales growth in young adult fiction over the past five years. The Teen Read Awards encourages teens to share their enthusiasm for reading, support their favourite books and authors while connecting with other fans across the country.

Teens Rock the Vote
In just five weeks, Canadian have cast over 150,000 votes at www.teenreadawards.ca and have rounded out each of the 10 awards categories with a fifth nominee*. The complete list of 2010 nominees and categories now include:

1. Best Read
Shadowland, Alyson Noël
Darkest Powers III: The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater
*Along for the Ride, Sarah Dessen - Teen's Pick

2. Best Book-to-Flick
New Moon, Stephenie Meyer
Whip It, Shauna Cross
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling
Push, Sapphire
*The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis - Teen's Pick

3. Best Hero
Heist Society, Ally Carter (Katarina Bishop)
The Maze Runner, James Dashner (Thomas)
The Curse Workers: White Cat, Holly Black (Cassell)
Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld (Deryn Sharp)
*Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book Five: The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson) - Teen's Pick

4. Best Villain
The Prophecy of the Sisters, Michelle Zink (Alice Milthorpe)
The Carrie Diaries, Candace Bushnell (Sebastian Kydd)
The Necromancer, Michael Scott (Dr. Dee)
Stolen, Lucy Christopher (Ty)
*Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling (Voldermort) - Teen's Pick

5. Best Hottie
Vampire Diaries: The Return: Shadow Souls, L.J. Smith (Stefan)
Along for the Ride, Sarah Dessen (Eli)
Hush Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick (Patch)
Mortal Instruments: City of Glass, Cassandra Clare (Jace)
*Spirit Bound A Vampire Academy Novel, Richelle Mead (Dimitri) - Teen's Pick

6. Best Lip Lock
The Daughters, Joanna Philbin (Lizzie & Todd)
Captivate, Carrie Jones (Zara & Astley)
Will Grayson Will Grayson, John Greene & David Levithan (Will & Tiny)
Sea Change, Aimee Freedman (Leo & Miranda)
*Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer (Bella & Edward) - Teen's Pick

7. Best All Time Fave
The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
*The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins - Teen's Pick

8. Best New Writer
Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver
Fallen, Kate Lauren
Wish, Alexandra Bullen
*Hush, Hush, Becca Fitzpatrick - Teen's Pick

9. Best Canadian Read
Darklight, Lesley Livingston
For the Win, Cory Doctorow
The Uninvited, Tim Wynne-Jones
Word Nerd, Susin Nielsen
* Darkest Powers III: The Reckoning, Kelley Armstrong - Teen's Pick

10. Best Teen Series
Pretty Little Liars, Sara Shepard
Blue Bloods, Melissa de la Cruz
House of Night, P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead
*Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare - Teen's Pick

Category sponsors Cineplex and Indigo Love of Reading Foundation both support the Best Book-to-Flick and Best Hero categories respectively with prizes, promotions and exclusives for Canadian teens.

Excitements Builds for Event Night
Also joining the star-studded cast of entertainers for the fall's hot teen ticket at Six Degrees in Toronto are funny man and past MuchMusic Video Awards presenter Trevor Boris; songstress and winner of YTV's "Next Star" Alyssa Reid; and one of Canada's pop up-and-comers Alex Lacasse. 

Several nominated authors will also be in attendance including:
Best Canadian Read nominees Susin Nielsen (Word Nerd), and Tim Wynne-Jones (Uninvited)
Best Read nominees Kelley Armstrong (Darkest Powers III: The Reckoning), and Alyson Noël (Shadowland)
Best Hero nominees Ally Carter (Heist Society), and James Dashner (The Maze Runner)
Best New Writer nominees Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures), Alexandra Bullen (Wish), and Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush)

More authors, presenters and performers will be announced as event day approaches.

The first-ever Teen Read Awards were launched June 22^nd, 2010, and voting is open in stores and online until September 12^th, 2010.  Created to provide a new and exciting platform to celebrate teens, the books they love and their passion for reading, the Teen Read Awards will culminate with an awards ceremony to announce the fan-selected winners on September 25^th, 2010 in Toronto. For more information on the Indigo Teen Read Awards please visit www.teenreadawards.ca.

About Indigo Books & Music Inc.

Indigo is a publicly traded Canadian company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (IDG). As the largest book and specialty retailer in Canada, Indigo operates in all provinces under different banners including Indigo Books & Music; Indigo Books, Gifts, Kids; IndigoSpirit, Chapters, The World's Biggest Bookstore, and Coles. The online division, www.chapters.indigo.ca, features books, eBooks, toys, music and DVDs, and hosts the award winning Indigo Online Community. Chapters and Indigo are rated as the number one and number two retailers in Canada by the Kubas Major Market Retail Report, and have been on that list since 2000.

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