A Stocking Stuffer for the Platinum Reader Barnes & Noble Introduces the $1,000 Gift Card

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2004--

Gift Cards Also Available in Whole Dollar Amounts From $10 to $250

“Books are timeless gifts and what better way to enable someone to build the library of their dreams than with our $1,000 gift card.”

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, announced today the Barnes & Noble $1,000 Gift Card, the ultimate in gift card giving. The limited edition card comes in an elegant presentation box lined with fabric containing a pair of black-stone bookends, laser-etched with a portrait image of William Shakespeare drawn by renowned illustrator Mark Summers. Each card is registered at the time of purchase to provide protection against loss or theft.

"Gift cards are a great solution for the person who has everything, because one never can have enough books," said Steve Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "Books are timeless gifts and what better way to enable someone to build the library of their dreams than with our $1,000 gift card."

Gift cards are one of the fastest growing trends in retail, accounting for $55 billion in the United States. Barnes & Noble, one of the leading retailers of gift cards, sells more than ten million cards annually. The Barnes & Noble $1,000 Gift Card can be used for all products sold in Barnes & Noble stores - from books to CDs, DVDs, games, bookends, even in its cafe. The card is also redeemable online at Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com).

The Barnes & Noble $1,000 Gift Card can be ordered at any Barnes & Noble store or by calling 1-866-822-8001 (9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST, Monday through Friday).

Shoppers are also able to purchase gift cards in whole dollar amounts from $10 to $250 both in Barnes & Noble stores and online at Barnes & Noble.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: High-resolution photos of the gift card in the elegant presentation box with the black-stone bookends laser-etched with a portrait image of Shakespeare are available.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 840 bookstores in 50 states. For the third year in a row, the company is the nation's top retail brand for quality, according to the EquiTrend(R) Brand Study by Harris Interactive(R). Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites and the number-one brand among e-commerce companies, according to the latest EquiTrend survey. In addition to its retail operations, Barnes & Noble is one of the largest book publishers in the world. Its subsidiary, Sterling Publishing, publishes over 1,300 new titles a year and has an active list of over 6,000 titles.

General financial information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/financials.