Amazon.com Unveils Semi-Finalists in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Customers Can Now Rate and Review Semi-Finalists' Excerpts for the
Opportunity to Receive a Kindle
SEATTLE--(Business Wire)--Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), today announced that 836
submissions have moved on to the semi-final round of the Amazon
Breakthrough Novel Award, Amazon.com's first writing competition in
search of the next great novel. Each semi-finalist has a dedicated
detail page for their submission on Amazon.com, where customers can
now download a short excerpt of the entry to rate and review.
Additionally, customers who rate and review at least 25 semi-finalist
excerpts will be entered in the ABNA Customer Review Contest for the
chance to win an Amazon Kindle. In the Customer Review Contest, Amazon
will select three customer review contestants based on quantity,
knowledge of the excerpt and use of language used to rate and review
submissions. The three Customer Review Contest winners will each
receive an Amazon Kindle, a $2,000 Amazon gift certificate and a
Hewlett-Packard printer from Amazon and its partners, Hewlett-Packard,
Penguin Group (USA) and CreateSpace.

"We are very excited to enter the semi-final phase of the Amazon
Breakthrough Novel Award, though it was no simple task choosing the
836 semi-finalists," said Russell Grandinetti, vice president of Books
at Amazon.com. "We're eager to find out what our customers think about
the semi-finalists' excerpts, and look forward to giving a Kindle to
each of the three customers who provide the most helpful reviews."

Amazon.com received nearly 5,000 qualified submissions for the
contest. From November 2007 through January 2008, Amazon Top Reviewers
and editors generated over 10,000 unique ratings and reviews to
determine the 836 semi-finalists. "Publishers Weekly" then provided a
full manuscript review of all semi-final submissions. Using reviews
and ratings from "Publishers Weekly" and Amazon Top Reviewers, as well
as input from Amazon customers, Penguin editors now will begin the
process of choosing the top 10 finalists, to be announced on March 3,
2008. Amazon customers will then vote on the 10 finalists to select
the winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, to be announced
April 7, 2008.

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is sponsored by
Hewlett-Packard, Amazon's preferred color print-on-demand vendor,
Penguin Group (USA), and CreateSpace. The grand prize winner will be
announced on April 7, 2008, and receive a publishing contract with
Penguin Group (USA) to publish the winning novel, which includes a
$25,000 advance. To rate and review the semi-finalists' submissions
for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, visit www.amazon.com/abna.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in
Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers
Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc., seeks to be Earth's most
customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover
anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its
customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers
offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories
such as health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food,
sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, DVDs,
electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including
www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp,
www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and the Joyo Amazon websites at
www.joyo.cn and www.amazon.cn.

As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms
include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context
indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ
significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others,
risks related to competition, management of growth, new products,
services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating
results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and
claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial
agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange
rates, system interruption, significant amount of indebtedness,
inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud.
More information about factors that potentially could affect
Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and all
subsequent filings.

Amazon Media Hotline
206-266-7180

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