BURLINGTON, N.J. and ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (NYSE Amex Equities U.S.: FEP) announces it will host its First Annual Global SpellEvent Championship (http://www.spellevent.org/) on Monday, August 10, 2009 at the Jumeirah Essex House Hotel in New York City. Seven countries will be represented at this first competition of its kind. The event represents an historic milestone in language learning solutions. "As a world leader in handheld language learning solutions, Franklin Electronic Publishers is proud to have created a competitive event that has engaged young English learners globally who aspire to hone their English language skills and earn the pride of their family and country," says Barry Lipsky, president and chief executive officer of Franklin Electronic Publishers. In-country local and regional final SpellEvent competitions were held in seven countries leading up to this Global SpellEvent Championship. To assist with the undertaking, Franklin Electronic Publishers partnered with Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the global association of English language educators, and their network of 100 affiliate organizations around the world. "TESOL has always supported English language education throughout the world," explains Charles S. Amorosino, Jr., Executive Director of TESOL. "Partnering with Franklin Electronic Publishers for its Global SpellEvent is an excellent fit for TESOL as it has helped bring new English language education techniques and opportunities to TESOL's affiliates in support of TESOL's mission to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language teaching and learning for speakers of other languages worldwide." Over 300 students, ages 15 and under, qualified from among thousands who participated in local and regional final competitions held in Argentina, China, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey. To prepare for their local SpellEvents, teachers and students were provided with a list of practice words that included pronunciations, definitions, word origins and example sentences. The participating schools were also provided with a Franklin handheld version of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, accompanied by a print version of Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary, providing a generous supply of example sentences. First and second place winners from each regional final SpellEvent competition were awarded an all expenses paid trip to the U.S., along with a parent or guardian, and eligibility to win the Grand Prize $10,000 scholarship at the Franklin Electronic Publishers Global SpellEvent Championship in New York City. Hosting this year's Global SpellEvent Championship will be the New York Times 2009 ESOL (English For Speakers of Other Languages) Teacher of the Year, Ms. Tamara Kirson. The official SpellEvent pronouncer will be Mr. Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster and SpellEvent judges will be Mr. Brock Brady, president-elect and Ms. Marti Edmondson, treasurer; both from TESOL. To find out more about Franklin Electronic Publishers Global SpellEvent, visit http://www.spellevent.org/. About Franklin Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (NYSE AMEX Equities U.S.) is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having sold approximately 41,000,000 electronic books. Current titles available either directly or through partners number more than 116,000 in sixteen languages under license from world class publishers, such as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in five genres: Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and Leisure. The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an array of partners including Adobe, Sun Microsystems and Ademco (a division of Honeywell). Franklin distributes ROLODEX Electronics branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products in Oceania and the European Community. Franklin's products are available at 49,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at http://www.franklin.com/. ROLODEX is a registered trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. SEIKO is a registered trademark of SEIKO Corporation. Except for the historical information contained in this news release, the matters addressed are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, written, oral or otherwise made, represent the Company's expectation or belief concerning future events. Without limiting the foregoing, these statements are often identified by the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates," "plans," "expects" or similar expressions. In addition, expressions of our strategies, intentions or plans are also forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect management's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties as included in Franklin's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About TESOL Incorporated in 1966, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), is a global association for English language teaching professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. TESOL encompasses a network of approximately 60,000 educators worldwide, consisting of approximately 12,000 individual members and an additional 45,000 educators within the 100 plus TESOL affiliate associations. Representing a multifaceted academic discipline and profession, TESOL offers members serial publications, books, and electronic resources on current issues, ideas, and opportunities in the field of English language teaching. TESOL also conducts a variety of workshops and symposia, including an annual convention, regarded as the foremost professional development opportunity for English language educators worldwide. TESOL's mission is to develop and maintain professional expertise in English language teaching for speakers of other languages worldwide. DATASOURCE: Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. CONTACT: Nelda Carrizales Skevington of Franklin Electronic Publishers, +1-210-416-0418, ; or TESOL contact, John Segota, +1-703-518-2513, Web Site: http://www.franklin.com/

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