TOR BOOKS AND SCI FI CHANNEL TEAM UP TO BRING THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY TITLES TO FANS WITH THE NEW SCI FI ESSENTIAL BOOKS PROGRAM

Tor Books, the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy in the world, has teamed up with SCI FI Channel, where imagination, science fiction and fantasy live on television, to bring readers and fans the finest new voices in the field. Books from Tor have won every major award in the science fiction and fantasy fields, and for the last seventeen years in a row, Tor has been named Best Publisher in the Locus Poll, the largest consumer poll in science fiction.

SCI FI reaches out to a broad range of fans through the SCI FI Channel with its critically acclaimed and award winning original dramas, reality programs, movies, and miniseries, currently in 85 million U.S. homes; SCI FI Magazine; and through an online presence, including SCIFI.COM; the online publication 'Science Fiction Weekly;' and the online news service SCI FI Wire. SCIFI.COM is the official site of the SCI FI Channel and covers the broad spectrum of science fiction, from daily news and reviews, to original stories by today's top authors. SCIFI.COM is a "People's Choice" Webby Award winner and a Flash Forward Award winner. Stories published on SCIFI.COM have also earned two Nebula Awards and a World Fantasy Award.

Each month, one carefully selected Tor title will receive the SCI FI Essential stamp of approval, which will appear on the spine and cover of the book. Tor readers, the SCI FI audience, and new fans will benefit from an array of special features promoting the new books. These features may include live author chats on SCIFI.COM, and sample chapters and sneak peeks of upcoming books in the program on the site www.scifimonthlypick.com. Possible promotional plans to support the SCI FI Essential program may also include promotion on SCI FI's handheld AvantGo channel, highlights in the SCI FI Magazine books section and on-air coverage of select titles.

"We are very excited about our new partnership with Tor books and the creation of the SCI FI Essentials program," said Adam Stotsky, SCI FI Channel's Senior Vice President of Marketing. "This is a terrific opportunity to extend the SCI FI brand deeper into the world of publishing."

"Tor and SCI FI represent the best the genre has to offer in the worlds of publishing and television," added Craig Engler, General Manager of SCIFI.COM and SCI FI Magazine. "You can bet these titles are going to be exceptional reads from visionary authors."

The SCI FI Essential books program will launch this July with the publication of Cory Doctorow's 'SOMEONE COMES TO TOWN, SOMEONE LEAVES TOWN' (A Tor Hardcover & SCI FI Essential; July 2005; $24.95), a novel of wrenching oddity, heartfelt technological vision, and human pity set on the streets of Toronto today. Doctorow, SF's tech-wonderboy, has established himself as one of the leading voices of next-generation science fiction: inventive, optimistic, and comfortable with the sheer strangeness of tomorrow. His blogger fame has attracted the attention of national and international media while his first novel, 'Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom,' was nominated for a Nebula Award.

For a list of upcoming titles in the SCI FI Essential Book's program, please see the attached sheet.

Continuing in August, SCI FI Essential Book picks include:

--Karl Schroeder's 'LADY OF MAZES' (A Tor Hardcover & SCI FI Essential; August 2005; $24.95) is the second novel selected as a SCI FI Essential selection. His novels 'Ventus' and 'Permanence' have established Karl Schroeder as one of the new stars of hard SF. Now he extends his reach again, into Larry Niven territory, and back to the same distant future in which 'Ventus' was set, to tell the story of Teven Coronal, a huge multiplicity of human civilizations inhabiting a ringworld. Far isolated from the rest of spacefaring humanity, Teven suffers a mysterious invasion, one that will destroy its fragile ecologies and unique human diversity.

--'THE ROAD TO DUNE' (A Tor Hardcover & SCI FI Essential; September 2005; $25.95) by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson is the eagerly awaited next installment set in the Dune universe. Millions of 'Dune' fans can now thrill to an original 60,000 word short novel by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, 'Spice Planet,' based on a detailed outline and extensive notes and excerpts left by Frank Herbert. Readers will also be treated to unpublished chapters and scenes from Dune and Dune Messiah; excerpts from Frank Herbert's correspondence during his years-long struggle to get his innovative work published; and Frank Herbert's piece "They Stopped the Moving Sands," the original inspiration for 'Dune.' 'The Road to Dune' is a treasure trove of fiction, articles, and essays that every reader of 'Dune' will want to add to their collection.

--In October, the fast-paced, suspenseful space adventure 'NIGHT TRAIN TO RIGEL' (A Tor Hardcover & SCI FI Essential; October 2005; $24.95) by master of military hard science fiction Timothy Zahn will join the SCI FI Essential books promotion. Timothy Zahn has written more than twenty science fiction novels and six 'Star Wars' tie-in novels, including the all-time bestselling 'Heir to the Empire.' His YA novel 'Dragon and Thief' was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Zahn won a Hugo Award for his novella "Cascade Point."

--Kage Baker's sixth book in her famed Company series, 'THE CHILDREN OF THE COMPANY' (A Tor Hardcover & SCI FI Essential; November 2005; $24.95), will tell the story of the 24th Century time-travel corporation and Executive Facilitator General Labienus. The action ranges from the dawn of time to the far future, as Labienus's shadow trails across history. Baker, a noted voice in American speculative fiction, draws on her sustained experience in theatre and in education to write with keen and dramatic clarity.

To learn more about this promotion, or to schedule an interview with one of these Tor and SCI FI Essential authors, please contact Elena Stokes, Director of Publicity, at 646.307.5413, or elena.stokes@tor.com.

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 85 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.