The Reverend Billy Graham to Publish Long-Awaited Autobiography with HarperCollins.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 1996--

Publication Planned for 1997, With One million-copy first printing

HarperCollins Publishers announced today that it will publish the long-awaited autobiography of the Reverend Billy Graham.

Graham, who is often referred to as the world's pastor and has been counsel to presidents from Truman to Clinton, has written 17 books of inspiration and spiritual guidance during his long career, but never before the story of his life in his own words.

Tentatively titled Just As I Am, the book will be over 800 pages long, with a photo section of at least 16 pages. The book's title comes from the song that is sung at the end of every crusade, a song by now familiar to over 210 million people. Just As I Am will be published in 1997 with simultaneous global English-language publication in the United States, the UK, Canada, and Australia. HarperCollins has also begun discussions with foreign language publishers.

The first printing will be one million copies. As copublisher in the U.S., Zondervan Publishing House will distribute the book in the Christian marketplace, while HarperCollins will distribute to all other markets. The hardcover edition will be published in the trade under the Harper San Francisco imprint and jointly promoted by the marketing departments of Adult Trade and Harper San Francisco, in conjunction with Zondervan.

"Here is a man who has personally known 10 Presidents, the Queen of England, and hundreds of other world leaders, a man who has spoken to more people in more countries than anyone else in history, and yet he has never written the story of his life," pointed out Clayton Carlson, who acquired the book for HarperCollins after a 10-year pursuit. "There is no figure in the Christian world who crosses denominations and continents the way he does," said Jack McKeown, president and publisher, Adult Trade Group. "This book will satisfy the public's immense curiosity about this great man's life and work." Bruce Ryskamp, president & CEO of Zondervan Publishing House, noted, "Rightly called the leader of the evangelical Christian movement, Billy Graham has had an impact on Christianity that has been, and continues to be, momentous and far-reaching. As a follower of Jesus Christ, he has been a light to the world throughout his eventful life."

Graham, American's best-known evangelist, has appeared on Gallup's Ten Most Admired Men in the World list 37 times since 1955. Since his 1949 Los Angeles crusade propelled Graham into the public eye, he has preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history -- over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through television, video and film. Graham has written 17 books, all of which have become top sellers.

His counsel has been regularly sought by presidents, starting with Harry Truman. He founded Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in 1950, headquartered in Minneapolis, and conducts his ministry through BGEA in a variety of media including the weekly "Hour of Decision" radio program; regular television specials; a syndicated newspaper column "My Answer," with a combined circulation of more than five million readers; Decision magazine, published by BGEA, which has a circulation of 1.7 million and is read in 160 countries; and World Wide Pictures, one of the foremost producers of evangelistic films in the world.

Just As I Am will detail Graham's life in and out of the public eye: his boyhood farm days; his call to preach; his marriage to his wife Ruth; the early Crusade years, his travels behind the Iron Curtain in the '60s and '70s, and to Eastern Europe and China in the '80s; a lifetime of friends from Queen Elizabeth to Dag Hammarskjold, Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton; growing older; his Parkinson's disease; and the future of evangelism.

The manuscript has just been delivered, and the editing process will start immediately. Graham has assigned the book and all royalties to BGEA.

Graham has a long history with HarperCollins. John Pollock's authorized biography of Graham, To All the Nations, was published by Harper San Francisco in 1985. The only authorized biography of Mrs. Graham, A Time for Remembering, was written by the now-famous mystery writer Patricia Cornwell and was published by Harper San Francisco in 1983.

For Clayton Carlson, founder of Harper San Francisco, retired Chairman and Group Publisher of HarperCollins San Francisco, and now Acquisitions Consultant for HarperCollins and Harper San Francisco, the signing of this contract fulfills a long-held publishing dream. "Ten years ago I first heard a rumor that he had started to work on his memoirs. I was very eager to publish them, but was told that Graham was not ready yet." Over the years, Carlson's phone calls were placed more frequently. "For the last six years I've been calling regularly," said Carlson, "so now it is a thrill for me and for HarperCollins to conclude the agreement to publish his autobiography worldwide."

CONTACT: HarperCollins

Steven Sorrentino, 212/207-7045

or

Zondervan

Jonathan Petersen, 616/698-3417