ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders Group, Inc. has selected Ralph Ashworth, a supervisor at a Borders store in Tarentum, Penn., as the winner of the retailer's fiction writing contest open to its 30,000 employees at Borders, Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores, the distribution centers and the company's corporate office. A panel of judges at the corporate office singled out Ashworth's crime-thriller novel entitled, "The Killer of Orchids," from over 200 submissions. Ashworth will be awarded a book deal under the company's proprietary publishing program and the full support of Borders' merchandising and marketing arsenal. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSLOGO ) Ashworth's winning manuscript, "The Killer of Orchids," follows two amateur sleuths, Xander Pooka, an 11-year old boy who is bright-beyond-his-years, and Jeff Redwing, a single, gay computer genius, as they investigate the murder of two local men by a samurai. Their investigation leads them into an underground ring where murder is the game and they become the hunted. "Congratulations to Ralph! We are elated to discover Ralph and his novel from our many creative employees, and look forward to introducing "The Killer of Orchids" to our millions of loyal customers," said Rob Gruen, executive vice president, merchandising and marketing for Borders Group. "The panel of judges had a strong pool of manuscripts from which to select a winner, making for a tough final decision. We want to thank all of our employees who entered the contest and submitted their works for consideration." "This is all very exciting for me. Two years ago I made a commitment to establish myself as a nationally published author, so this is a dream come true," said Ashworth. "I've written feature articles for a variety of Pittsburgh publications, magazines and even had an antique picture postcard book published, but writing fiction is my passion. I'm thankful for this great opportunity Borders has given me to help me achieve my dream." Ashworth lives in the Pittsburgh area and has worked for Borders since 1994. His first book, "Greetings from Pittsburgh," told the history of Pittsburgh through postcards and was first published in 1994. A video featuring Ashworth and his postcards are part of a permanent exhibit at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. He has also written featured articles for "Pittsburgh Tribune Review" and "Pittsburgh Magazine." Ashworth studied writing at Carnegie Mellon with historical novelist Gladys Schmitt and had the opportunity to attend a master class with 10 writers including E.L. Doctorow, Raymond Carver and Frank Herbert. Borders, under the retailer's imprint State Street Press, will publish "The Killer of Orchids" during the first fiscal quarter of 2009. About Borders Group, Inc. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group is a $3.8 billion global retailer of books, music, movies, periodicals, and gift and stationery items. Through its subsidiaries, Borders Group employs more than 30,000 and operates over 1,100 stores worldwide primarily under the Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) brand names. The company's mission is to be a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment. Borders superstores carry up to 200,000 titles, and customers enjoy a comfortable shopping experience, as well as a host of popular events and community-centered activities when they visit their local Borders store. For more information, visit http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/ . http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060208/BORDERSLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Borders Group, Inc. CONTACT: Kolleen O'Meara of Borders Group, Inc., +1-734-477-1224, Web site: http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/106169.html

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