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August 29, 2008

Contact: Scott Silversten Phone: (718) 862-7232 E-mail: Public Relations

Acclaimed Authors James Patterson And Michael Ledwidge To Speak At Manhattan College

College to officially launch the next generation of its communication department.

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Best-selling authors James Patterson '69 and Michael Ledwidge '92 will speak at Manhattan College on Tuesday, Sept. 9, highlighting the official launch of the College's “next generation” communication department in the school of arts. The department is designed for students planning to enter the rapidly evolving field of mass communication, and features state-of-the-art facilities, outstanding faculty and an updated curriculum.

The event, to be held at 7:00 p.m. in Smith Auditorium, is free and open to the public. Following their talk, Patterson and Ledwidge will conduct a book signing.

Dr. Thom Gencarelli, chair of the department, will begin the presentation with an overview of the development of the recently completed communication studios in Leo Hall.

“The field of mass communication has always been a fascinating and incredibly fast and vibrant field in which to work,” Gencarelli says. “But this has never been more true than over the past decade. Professionals in the field are faced with changes such as the rise of citizen journalism through the blogosphere and the quantum shift from network television to cable and satellite.”

With YouTube, the introduction of the Internet into the political process with e-mail blasts and social networking sites for candidates, and the changing face of what is now called the “mainstream media,” Gencarelli notes that higher education institutions must adapt new ways to prepare current students for careers in the field.

“The communication department's greatest mandate and its greatest challenge are to teach its students to negotiate these changes while preparing them for professional careers in an ever-changing industry,” he says.

One of the most acclaimed novelists of his time with more than 150 million books sold worldwide, Patterson holds the record with 39 titles on the New York Times best-sellers list. He has written 19 consecutive titles that reached No. 1 on the New York Times' list and is the only author to occupy the No. 1 slot on the Adult Fiction and Children's Chapter Book lists simultaneously.

Patterson has created the two top best-selling detective series of the past decade. His Alex Cross series, featuring Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls, is the top-selling U.S. detective series in the last 12 years. The Women's Murder Club series includes 1st to Die, 2nd Chance, 3rd Degreee and 4th of July. In 2007, he teamed with Ledwidge to launch his third best-selling series, Step on a Crack, featuring fictional New York City police detective Michael Bennett.

Last year, the Women's Murder Club books became a new television series for ABC that stars Angie Harmon. In addition, Spiderman and X-Men producer Avi Arad is at work on the screenplay for a feature film based on Patterson's Maximum Ride series.

The recipient of numerous awards, Patterson was the nationwide winner of the Reader's Digest Readers' Choice Award in 2004. He also is the first-ever author to receive the Bookspan endorsement International Thriller of the Year for Honeymoon (2005).

Born and raised in the Bronx, Ledwidge is the author of The Narrowback. He also has written Bad Connection and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. He also co-authored with Patterson, The Quickie, which was published by Little, Brown in 2007.

Founded in 1853, Manhattan College is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of undergraduate study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science, along with graduate programs in education and engineering. For more information about Manhattan College, visit www.manhattan.edu.