GLSEN Welcomes Barnes & Noble as Official No Name-Calling Week Partner to Combat Bullying

NEW YORK - Barnes & Noble and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, have joined together to combat bullying.

GLSEN is pleased to announce that Barnes & Noble, the world's largest bookseller, has become an official partner of No Name-Calling Week, presented by Cisco. The eighth annual No Name-Calling Week will take place in thousands of schools across the country on Jan. 24-28. Barnes & Noble also declared that January will be No Name-Calling Month in its stores and online.

"We are excited to work with Barnes & Noble, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Cisco and all of our more than 50 participating organizations to make this the most successful No Name-Calling Week yet," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "As the world's largest bookseller, Barnes & Noble recognizes the opportunity it has to make a difference in young people's lives, and we applaud the company for spreading the message of respect throughout its stores and online presences."

Barnes & Noble has planned the following activities for January:

• All Barnes & Noble stores will host a national story time event on Jan. 15 at 11 a.m.
• Jan. 15-23 will be Barnes & Noble Educator Appreciation Week, during which stores will have No Name-Calling Week materials available for teachers and educators, including book recommendations, tip sheets for organizing No Name-Calling Week events, lesson plans for elementary and middle school students, classroom posters and buttons.
• Several GLSEN Chapters - Orange County, Phoenix, Rochester, Southeast Michigan and Tampa, and more to be announced - will participate in in-store panel discussions during the week of Jan. 15-23.
• Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com/noname) will feature exclusive video content from bestselling children's, young adult and adult authors discussing their thoughts and experiences on bullying.
• Exclusive No Name-Calling articles by James Howe and Jodi Picoult will be featured in the January line-up of the More In Store program available on NOOK, the Barnes & Noble eBook Reader.

"Bringing awareness to the seriousness and severity of name-calling, teasing, bullying and cyber bullying is very important to Barnes & Noble. We're pleased to be partnering with Simon & Schuster and GLSEN for such an important effort," said Mary Amicucci, vice president of Children's Books for Barnes & Noble.

No Name-Calling Week, created by GLSEN and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in 2004, is an annual week of educational and creative activities designed to end name-calling of all kinds, with lessons and activities for elementary, middle and high schools. The week was inspired by the young adult novel "The Misfits" and is presented in collaboration with more than 50 national education and youth service organizations, including the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the National School Boards Association and the National Education Association.

Hundreds of thousands of students have participated in No Name-Calling Week, which is made possible, in larger part, thanks to a grant from Cisco. This is the sixth year Cisco has supported the program.

About GLSEN
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community. For information on GLSEN's research, educational resources, public policy advocacy, student organizing programs and educator training initiatives, visit www.glsen.org