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Jana Burson

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jana.burson@hbgusa.com

(NASHVILLE, TN) Center Street, a division of the Hachette Book Group, announced today that it has signed national bestselling author John C. Maxwell to a three-book contract. The first title, The Five Levels of Leadership, is scheduled to release in Fall 2011.

This book is based on Dr. Maxwell’s most popular series of motivational messages for business, sales and church leaders.

John C. Maxwell is an internationally respected leadership speaker and author who has sold more than 18 million books. He is the founder of EQUIP, a non-profit organization that has trained more than 5 million leaders in 126 countries worldwide. Each year he speaks to the leaders of diverse organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, foreign governments, the National Football League, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the United Nations. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week best-selling author, Maxwell has written three books that have sold more than a million copies: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His blog can be read at JohnMaxwellOnLeadership.com. His Twitter address, with more than 69,000 followers is: www.twitter.com/johncmaxwell.

“John Maxwell is the world’s most influential authority on leadership. His books and speeches on this topic have changed lives and entire organizations,” stated Rolf Zettersten, Senior Vice President and Publisher for Center Street. “It’s an honor to work with him again and we look forward to publishing his international bestsellers that will extend his influence.”

The books were acquired by Rolf Zettersten from the literary agency of Yates & Yates. Christina Boys will edit the books for Hachette’s Center Street imprint.

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About Hachette Book Group:

Hachette Book Group is a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the second-largest publisher in the world.  Hachette Book Group’s product lines include adult, illustrated, religious, children’s and audio books under the Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, Yen Press and Hachette Book Group Digital Media imprints.  Its bestselling authors include Ansel Adams, Sherman Alexie, Marc Brown, David Baldacci, Jimmy Buffett, Michael Connelly, Nelson DeMille, Malcolm Gladwell, Lisi Harrison, Robert Kiyosaki, Brad Meltzer, Joyce Meyer, Stephenie Meyer, Walter Mosley, James Patterson, David Sedaris, Anita Shreve, Nicholas Sparks, and Cecily von Ziegesar.