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CHARLAINE HARRIS AND OTHER WRITERS TO APPEAR AT CHICAGO COMIC & ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (C2E2)

#1 Bestselling Novelist Provides Literary Luster at Annual Pop Culture Event

Norwalk, CT, February 28, 2012: Charlaine Harris, the #1 New York Times bestselling author best known for her Southern Vampire Mysteries featuring Sookie Stackhouse, will be a Spotlight Guest at this year's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2). Ms. Harris's enormously popular series is also the basis of True Blood, the HBO series produced by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and starring Golden Globe winner Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie. Providing literary luster at a convention that is brimming with artists, creators and other talent from all segments of the pop culture universe, Ms. Harris will be joined by other Featured Guest writers appearing at C2E2 including: Rachel Caine, Christina Henry, Mari Mancusi, Chloe Neill, and Veronica Wolff. All of these authors, including Charlaine Harris, will be participating in panels and will do a signing at C2E2 where they will meet and greet thousands of fans.

C2E2 will take place April 13 – 15, 2012 in the North Building at the McCormick Place Convention Center. For further information about guests and activities at C2E2 as well as purchasing tickets, please visit www.C2E2.com.

"Charlaine Harris and all these literary guests are a fantastic addition to our developing list of major talent who will be appearing at C2E2," notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for C2E2. "Their participation is further evidence that the pop culture world cuts across all entertainment boundaries and includes artists from every walk of life. I know these writers will be well-received at our show and will find legions of fans anxious to hear them speak and meet them in person."

ABOUT SPOTLIGHT GUEST CHARLAINE HARRIS: #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for thirty years. Charlaine began writing mystery series - the Aurora Teagarden series and the much darker Lily Bard series - but then went on to write Dead Until Dark which broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of people who just enjoy a good adventure. Each subsequent book about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, has drawn more readers. The Southern Vampire books are published in twenty languages. They are also the basis of True Blood, the HBO series produced by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and starring Golden Globe winner Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie. Charlaine also writes the Harper Connelly series.

ABOUT LITERARY FEATURED GUESTS:

RACHEL CAINE is The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Morganville Vampires, Weather Warden, and Outcast Season novels, among many others. She grew up in the badlands outside of El Paso, Texas. General Sheridan famously said, "If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell." Rachel's trying her best, with the Morganville series, to prove him right. (But still, she does lives in Fort Worth, Texas. Not Hell.)

CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the Black Wings series and enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with subtitles in her spare time. Henry used to work in a comic book store and as a result, has boxes of bagged and boarded comics in her attic. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son, and can be found on the web at www.christinahenry.net.

MARI MANCUSI used to wish she could become a vampire back in high school. But she ended up in another blood sucking profession - journalism - instead. Today she writes books for teens and adults. When not writing about creatures of the night, Mari enjoys traveling, cooking, goth clubbing, watching cheesy horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure - videogames. A graduate of Boston University and a two time Emmy Award winner, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob, daughter Avalon and dog Mesquite. You can find Mari online at www.bloodcovenvampires.com.

CHLOE NEILL was born and raised in the South, but now makes her home in the Midwest. Chloe is the author of the fan-favorite and The New York Times bestselling Chicagoland Vampires series. She watches entirely too much television, roots for her favorite college football team, and believes, however unlikely, that she'll one day finish a half-marathon. You can learn about Chloe Neill and Chicago's vampires at www.chloeneill.com.

VERONICA WOLFF, once an aspiring art historian, is an award-winning, bestselling author with a soft spot for kilts and vampires. Known for her Scottish historical romances, she now writes a young adult series called The Watchers as well as an adult contemporary romance series called Sierra Falls. She has lived everywhere from Texas, to Hawaii, to India, finally settling in Northern California where she lives with her husband, two kids, and a houseful of pets. Her unmarketable skills include snowboarding, speaking Hindi, gardening, and knowing an alarming amount of pop-culture trivia.

ABOUT REEDPOP: ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East & West, Star Wars Celebration VI, Fantasy Football Fest, and UFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.