New York, NY — August 18, 2010 — The 39 Clues™ is giving 33 lucky children a reason to celebrate, as Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, announces the eighth round of cash prizes in The New York Times bestselling multi-media book series, totaling $18,060. To date, more than one million children from around the globe have registered at www.the39clues.com to digitize cards, play games and earn points, and over the course of the two-year 10-book series, $125,000 in prizes will have been awarded. Kids ages 6-14 (as of December 31, 2008) can enter to join the hunt at anytime for the chance to win prizes at www.the39clues.com. (Prizes vary according to each country’s rules.)*

Each of the adrenaline-charged books in the 10-book series offers kids an immersive reading and online experience that involves joining one of four branches of the Cahill family (Lucian, Ekaterina, Janus, or Tomas) – the most powerful family in the world. Once part of the family, they can begin their hunt for The 39 Clues, and have chances to win exciting prizes with each book release through the Book Sweepstakes, Online Mission Sweepstakes and Episode Contests **(see below for descriptions). The participant who finds all 39 Clues by the end of the series and discovers the Cahill secret has the chance to win the grand prize of $10,000 (US).

The eighth round of 33 winners has been selected from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and India, and winners will receive cash prizes totaling $18,060. In addition, Australia has also selected 39 more winners in the eighth round and will be awarding alternative prizing including an Apple iPod Touch 8GB and special The 39 Clues prizes. For the full list of winners and prizes, visit www.the39clues.com/winners/episode8. The 39 Clues top eighth round prize winners include:

 Book #8 Episode Contest Winners:
1st prize winner of the Book #8 Episode Contest $1,500
Isaiah M., 9, Norfolk, VA, USA – Tomas

2nd prize winner of the Book #8 Episode Contest $850
Jonathan S., 12, Mobile, AL, USA – Ekaterina

3rd prize winner of the Book #8 Episode Contest $575
Justin H., 11, Encinitas, CA, USA – Ekaterina

Book #8 Sweepstakes Winners:
1st prize winner of the Book #8 Sweepstakes $1,000
Grace S., 12, Tillsonburg, ONT, Canada - Lucian

2nd prize winners of the Book #8 Sweepstakes $750 each
Isaac S., 16, Staten Island, NY, USA – Ekaterina
Sara M., 7, Carneys Point, NJ, USA - Lucian
Ryan S., 11, Elliott City, MD, USA – Lucian
Mikayla T., 10, Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada – Lucian
Hanna M., 11, Bloomfield, IN, USA – Tomas

3rd prize winners of the Book #8 Sweepstakes $475 each
Gavin B., 9, East Lansing, MI, USA – Lucian
Graeme G., 13, Short Hills, NJ, USA – Ekaterina
Travis F., 11, Spring Valley, OH, USA – Ekaterina
Brendan H., 11, Vancouver, BC, Canada - Ekaterina
Abhay D., 11, Fremont, CA, USA - Lucian
Haydn B., 11, Saint Louis, MO, USA - Ekaterina
Olivia T.; 11, Wellington, New Zealand – Tomas
Michael N., 10, Sterling Heights, MI, USA - Janus
William B., 13, Gainesville, FL, USA – Lucian

Book #8 Online Mission Sweepstakes Winners:
1st prize winner of the #8 Online Mission Sweepstakes $850
Katherine C., 14, Toronto, ONT, Canada - Lucian

2nd prize winners of the #8 Online Mission Sweepstakes $500
Dane K., 7, Burlingame, CA, USA - Lucian
Luca P., 11, Mississauga, ONT, Canada - Tomas
Nick B., 9, Eagan, MI, USA - Lucian
James C., 11, Hawthorn Woods, IL, USA – Tomas
Nicholas P., 9, Raleigh, NC, USA – Lucian

3rd prize winners of the #8 Online Mission Sweepstakes $240
Campbell E., 8, Glendale, AZ, USA – Tomas
Nathaniel J., 12, Lancaster, PA, USA – Tomas
Cordelia G., 10, Durham, NC, USA – Lucian
Alexander K., 11, Vienna, WV, USA – Tomas
Justin A., 13, Spencerport, NY, USA – Ekaterina
Maxwell A., 7, Mason, OH, USA – Tomas
Adam M., 11, New Brighton, MN, USA – Lucian
Tyler H., 13, Sycamore, IL, USA – Janus
Catherine Y., 13, Los Angeles, CA, USA – Ekaterina

"As we approach the culmination of the series, the hunt for The 39 Clues heats up, the competition is building, and the number of registered online users continues to grow by the day." said Stacy Lellos, Vice President of Marketing, Scholastic Trade. "We are thrilled that so many kids around the world are engaged in this interactive reading adventure."

"I was so surprised! Winning feels nice!" said Isaiah, 9, the first prize winner from Norfolk, VA, "I'm going to use my prize to visit England. It'll be my own adventure!"

The next series of sweepstakes and contest for Book #9: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park began on May 25, 2010 12:00 AM EST and ends on August 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM ET. But kids can enter at anytime before December 31, 2010 to be part of the hunt and be eligible for the Grand Prize of $10,000 (US). On August 31, 2010, Scholastic will be releasing Book #10: Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

The 39 Clues launched on September 9, 2008, with Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. On December 2, 2008, Book 2: One False Note by Gordon Korman was released and also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Since then, the series, including Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis (March 3, 2009), Book 4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson (June 2, 2009), Book 5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman (August 11, 2009), Book 6: In Too Deep by Jude Watson (November 3, 2009), Book 7: The Viper's Nest (February 2, 2010) by Peter Lerangis , Book 8: The Emperor’s Code (April 6, 2010) by Gordon Korman, and Book 9: Storm Warning (May 25, 2010) by Linda Sue Park, have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. In addition to the ten-book arc, Scholastic announced recently that it will publish The 39 Clues: The Black Book of Buried Secrets, an ultimate guidebook to the world of The 39 Clues with an introduction by Rick Riordan, on October 26, 2010.

Movie rights for The 39 Clues have been acquired by DreamWorks Studios with Steven Spielberg eyeing to direct and Deborah Forte of Scholastic Media producing. The script is being penned by Jeff Nathanson whose credits include "Catch Me If You Can" and "Rush Hour 2." Scholastic Media recently launched The 39 Clues Madrigal Maze App for the Apple iPhone™ and iPod Touch®, which has been ranked among the top “Paid Kids Games” in Apple’s App Store since release. The audiobook edition of “Book 10: Into the Gauntlet” from Scholastic Audio will be released simultaneously with the hardcover on August 31st.

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. For more information on the prizes and prize winners, as well as complete details on how to enter and official rules for sweepstakes and contests, visit www.the39clues.com/info/prizes or visit the media room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/The39Clues.

** Contest/Sweepstakes Descriptions: Episode Contest (US/CA only): participants play games in the “Arena 39” mini-game section of the39clues.com Book Sweepstakes: participants digitize any of the cards that come with the book and are automatically entered into the book sweepstakes Online Mission Sweepstakes: participants initiate activity in an online mission game to be automatically entered into the online mission sweepstakes

Visit Scholastic at our online media room (mediaroom.scholastic.com), corporate blog (www.oomscholastic.com), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/scholastic).

CONTACT:

Scholastic Inc.
Sara Sinek 212-343-6899
ssinek@scholastic.com

Scholastic Inc.
Kristen Joerger 212-389-3343
kjoerger@scholastic.com