Blume, Hamill, Rosenblatt, Zelinsky Join ABFFE Author Auction

Bestselling authors Judy Blume, Pete Hamill, Roger Rosenblatt, and Paul Zelinsky have added their names to the list of authors who will participate in next week's online auction sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE).

The ABFFE Author Auction will give booksellers a chance to get to know 15 of their favorite authors, including Michael Moore, author of Stupid White Men ... and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation, which is now topping many bestseller lists.

Judy Blume is one of the best loved --and most frequently censored -- authors. Her novels for both kids and adults have sold over 75 million copies, including Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Superfudge; Blubber; Just As Long as We're Together; Forever; and, most recently, Summer Sisters. Her new book, Double Fudge, will be published by Dutton in September.

Pete Hamill is one of the country's most distinguished journalists. Currently on the staff of The New Yorker magazine, Hamill has covered wars in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Lebanon, and Northern Ireland. He has been a columnist for the New York Post, the Daily News, and New York Newsday. He is also the author of eight novels, including Snow in August, two collections of short stories, and a bestselling memoir, A Drinking Life.

Roger Rosenblatt is the award-winning essayist and senior writer for Time, whose work also appears in the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, New Republic and Men's Journal. He is the author of five books, including the recent Life Itself: Abortion in the American Mind. His new book, Where We Stand: 30 Reasons for Loving Our Country, will be published by Harcourt Brace in June.

Paul O. Zelinsky is an award-winning illustrator of children's books. His works include Rapunzel, which won the Caldecott Medal in 1998, The Wheels on the Bus, and Swamp Angel (by Anne Isaacs). He has also illustrated three novels by Beverly Cleary, including Ralph S. Mouse.

All of the authors in the ABFFE auction live or work in the New York City area and will meet with the winners for an hour and a half on May 4 or 5 during BookExpo.

The ABFFE Author Auction will be held from March 27-29 using software on the ABFFE Web site, www.abffe.com [1]. The two highest bidders for each author will win and may each bring two friends to the meeting. The winners will also receive five autographed copies of the author's latest work. The winners who submit the highest bid for their authors will also receive two tickets to the New York Yankee game against the Seattle Mariners on Friday evening, May 3, at Yankees Stadium.

Participation in the auction is limited to booksellers who are members of ABFFE, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of Booksellers for Children, or one of the regional bookseller associations.