BURLINGTON, N.J., May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. (AMEX:FEP), a leader in developing innovative electronic learning solutions, today announced its support of the 80th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. Once again, Franklin will be awarding the national champion a check for $5,000 and the Franklin Spelling Ace(R) Award. Franklin will also present the top ten finalists with a limited edition electronic of Franklin's Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus. Every Spelling Bee participant also receives a Franklin Spelling Ace T-shirt, a Spelling Ace baseball cap and a gift certificate that can be used to purchase products of their choice at http://www.franklin.com/ . Barry Lipsky, President and CEO of Franklin Electronic Publishers said, "We are proud to continue to support such a valuable and anticipated event. The Scripps National Spelling Bee honors hard working spelling bee finalists from across the country and provides them recognition for their learning achievements. Our participation each year is a small token of our commitment to education and the recognition of those who strive to improve." For over twenty years, Franklin has been producing electronic learning aids designed to help students of all ages excel at spelling, reading and writing. In addition to a new Merriam-Webster Speaking 11th Collegiate Dictionary (SCD-1890) and a new Merriam-Webster Speaking Spanish-English Dictionary (BES-1890), Franklin is also releasing an updated version of its popular Spelling Ace Spelling Corrector (SA-209) in time for the back-to- school season. All three of these new products are being released this month and will be available along with other existing products in select retailers across the country. About The Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee is administered year-round on a not-for- profit basis by Scripps and 268 local sponsors. The National Spelling Bee was launched by the Louisville, Kentucky, Courier-Journal in 1925. The majority of local spelling bee sponsors are daily and weekly newspapers. At the time of the competition, contestants must be under sixteen years of age and not yet promoted beyond the eighth grade. About Franklin Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (AMEX:FEP) is a world leader in electronic handheld information, having sold more than 38,000,000 electronic books since 1986. Current titles available directly or through partners number more than 40,000 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(R) Electronics branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products in North and South America, Australia and the European Community. Franklin's products are available at 43,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and online at http://www.franklin.com/ . ROLODEX(R) 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 herein, the matters discussed throughout this release, including, but not limited to, those that are stated as Franklin's belief or expectation or preceded by the word "should" are forward looking statements that involve risks to and uncertainties in Franklin's business, including, among other things, the timely availability and acceptance of new electronic products, changes in technology, the impact of competitive electronic products, and other risks and uncertainties that may be detailed from time to time in Franklin's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. CONTACT: Robin Kelman of Garfield Group Public Relations, +1-215-867-8600, ext. 244, Web site: http://www.franklin.com/

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