Burgess' "Cool Calvin on Oprah" campaign features a well-produced video package (search "coolcalvin09" on YouTube.com) chronicling his rise in the world of self-publishing, as well as personal appearances at several elementary schools in Chicago. A reading at Emmitt Till Academy, slated for the morning of September 8, 2009, will formally kick off the campaign. Ralph is hopeful that an Oprah Show staffer will attend.

The first book in the Cool Calvin series, "The Learning Adventures of Cool Calvin,"is comprised of four educational and multi-cultural short stories. Cool Calvin, Burgess' key children's book character, flies to learning adventures worldwide atop a number 2 pencil. With lessons in character education, Cool Calvin quickly became a positive role model to thousands of children nationwide. The second book in the Cool Calvin series, "Cool Calvin's No Bandanas for Me/Staying Gang-Free," is the only anti-gang children's book of its kind. With a third grade readability, it's marketed to grades 2 to 6 and available in English and Spanish.

Burgess' desire to share messages of character education was born out of his own descent into addiction. Ten years ago, Ralph Burgess was losing a battle to a horrific drug addiction which placed him at the brink of death. "I saw myself becoming another statistic, another man who would squander his gifts and leave his children fatherless," said Burgess. "I asked God to bless me with something to occupy the space that my dependence formerly filled. I knew that if I had something meaningful to focus on when I wasn't using, I would have a chance to beat it. Apparently, God heard my prayer and answered it by awakening my previously untapped talent for writing."

Burgess, President of Burgess Publishing and Media Inc., is confident that his Cool Calvin series will touch even more young lives after an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Burgess Publishing and Media, Inc. currently reports book sales approaching 50,000 units. The New York City Department of Education recently purchased 9,600 copies. Operating out of his home, Ralph keeps his books in a storage unit less than a mile away. He donated more than one-thousand books to various organizations in the last year. "Donating so many books may not be the most fiscally sound thing to do for a home-based business," says Burgess, "but the children appreciate it. I can see it in their smiles. It's Oprah who inspires me to give back. Her spirit of philanthropy is infectious."

For more information on booking and appearances, contact Burgess Publishing and Media, Inc. at (919) 763-2500.

http://coolcalvin.com/

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