HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

BEST-SELLING AUTHOR STEVE ALTEN TO SPEAK AT HARBOR BRANCH

Best-selling author Steve Alten will discuss his new novel, The Loch, set for release May 1, at Harbor Branch on Wednesday, May 4, at 4 p.m. He will also discuss his previous books, including Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, and the "Adopt an Author" program he created for teachers to help them excite students about reading. Copies of The Loch will be available for purchase at the event, and Alten will be available for signings.

Alten's first novel, Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, is about the discovery of and hunt for a prehistoric megalodon shark that escaped extinction in the Marianas Trench. Released in 1995, Meg hit #19 on the New York Times list, and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Alten has also written two popular Meg sequels, The Trench, and Meg: Primal Waters, as well as Goliath, about a nuclear sub hijacking, and Domain and Resurrection, both of which focus on modern day explorations of ancient Mayan archaeology and prophecy.

The Loch is about a marine biologist who, following a near death experience on a submersible expedition in the Sargasso Sea, relives long forgotten memories of nearly drowning as a child on Loch Ness. The biologist returns to Loch Ness and discovers the truth about the monster myth.

In 2001, Alten launched "Adopt an Author", a program that uses science to excite middle and high school students, especially reluctant readers, about reading. The program is free to teachers and schools and to date, over 2,500 schools have signed up. Teachers have created tests and supplemental activities that go along with his books and that are distributed through the program. For The Loch, special programs for educators, including CD ROMS exploring Scotland, marine biology, and other topics, are being developed to supplement the book.

Alten lives in West Palm Beach and is a native of Philadelphia. For more information on about him, see www.stevealten.com. For more information on "Adopt an Author", see www.AdoptAnAuthor.com.

Journalists: To arrange an interview with Altman or to request high-res photos of the author or cover art from The Loch, please contact Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390, schrope@hboi.edu

Steve Alten's presentation will be at the Johnson Education Center on the Harbor Branch campus, 5600 US 1 North, Fort Pierce, at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4. A reception and book signing will follow the talk.

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.