BURLINGTON, N.J. and ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (NYSE Amex Equities US: FEP) announces Clara Sofia Brunetto, representing Argentina, is the grand prize winner of its First Annual Global SpellEvent Championship, which was held on Monday, August 10, 2009 at the Jumeirah Essex House Hotel in New York City. The Global SpellEvent Championship which took two hours to complete, closed with "bizarre" being the grand prize winning word! Seven countries were represented at this first competition of its kind. Clara Sofia Brunetto, the Grand Prize winner, received the championship trophy and a scholarship check of $10,000. The second through fourth place winners received award plaques and cash scholarships and all participants were also awarded a Franklin handheld version of Merriam-Webster's Electronic Speaking Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition and enjoyed an all expense paid trip to New York City, along with a parent or guardian to participate in this historic event. "As a world leader of handheld language learning solutions, Franklin Electronic Publishers is delighted for Clara Sofia Brunetto as she is the very first winner of Franklin's Global SpellEvent," said Barry Lipsky, president and chief executive officer of Franklin Electronic Publishers. "It's a historical moment for Franklin. We are inspired by the pride and enthusiasm that these children have displayed. They are truly excited about learning English and the opportunities that doing so will provide in their future." Franklin Electronic Publishers would like to thank its host, Ms. Tamara Kirson, the New York Times 2009 ESOL (English For Speakers of Other Languages) Teacher of the Year; the official SpellEvent pronouncer, Mr. Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster; and Mr. Brock Brady, president-elect and Ms. Marti Edmondson, treasurer; both from Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) for their participation as SpellEvent judges. SpellEvent partner Teachers TESOL, worked in conjunction with Franklin to coordinate the many local and regional SpellEvent competitions held in various countries leading up to the SpellEvent Championship. Franklin partnered with TESOL because of its global association with English language educators and their network of 100 affiliate organizations around the world. "As advocates of promoting English learning skills throughout the world, TESOL is proud to have been an active partner with Franklin Electronic Publishers for the first ever Global SpellEvent Championship," said Chuck Amorosino, Executive Director and CEO of TESOL. "The SpellEvent was an excellent venue to highlight the importance of incorporating the English language to foster global relationships to students around the world." Over 300 students, ages 15 and under, qualified from among thousands who participated in local and regional final competitions held in Argentina, China, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey. To prepare for their local SpellEvents, teachers and students were provided with a list of practice words that included pronunciations, definitions, word origins and example sentences. The participating schools were also provided with a Franklin handheld version of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, accompanied by a print version of Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary, providing a generous supply of example sentences. In 2010, Franklin Electronic Publishers is looking to increase its SpellEvent competitions from seven countries to 12 with local in-country SpellEvents to launch in April. For a complete list of student finalists or to find out more about the Franklin Electronic Publishers Global SpellEvent, visit http://www.spellevent.org/. About Franklin Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (NYSE Amex Equities US: FEP) is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having sold approximately 41,000,000 electronic books. Current titles available directly or through partners number more than 116,000 in sixteen languages under license from world class publishers, such as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in five genres: Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and Leisure. The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of partners including Adobe, Sun Microsystems and Ademco (a division of Honeywell). Franklin distributes ROLODEX Electronics branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products in Oceania and the European Community. Franklin's products are available at 49,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at http://www.franklin.com/. ROLODEX is a registered trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. SEIKO is a registered trademark of SEIKO Corporation. About TESOL Incorporated in 1966, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), is a global association for English language teaching professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. TESOL encompasses a network of approximately 60,000 educators worldwide, consisting of approximately 12,000 individual members and an additional 45,000 educators within the 100 plus TESOL affiliate associations. Representing a multifaceted academic discipline and profession, TESOL offers members serial publications, books, and electronic resources on current issues, ideas, and opportunities in the field of English language teaching. TESOL also conducts a variety of workshops and symposia, including an annual convention, regarded as the foremost professional development opportunity for English language educators worldwide. TESOL's mission is to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language teaching for speakers of other languages worldwide. Except for the historical information contained in this news release, the matters addressed are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, written, oral or otherwise made, represent the Company's expectation or belief concerning future events. Without limiting the foregoing, these statements are often identified by the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates," "plans," "expects" or similar expressions. In addition, expressions of our strategies, intentions or plans are also forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect management's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties as included in Franklin's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission DATASOURCE: Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated CONTACT: Nelda Carrizales Skevington of Franklin, +1-210-416-0418, ; or John Segota of TESOL, +1-703-518-2513, Web Site: http://www.franklin.com/

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