Genius Brands International Chooses Downtown Bookworks as Publisher for Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club

"How To Grow Your Very First Business" Book To Debut Spring 2015

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/01/14 -- Genius Brands International, Inc. "GBI" (OTCQB: GNUS), a global brand management company dedicated to providing entertaining and enriching 'content with a purpose' for toddlers to tweens, will be collaborating with Downtown Bookworks to publish a new line of books based on the popular television and online series, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club. The first title, How to Grow Your Very First Business, will release in spring 2015, with sales and distribution handled by Simon & Schuster. The announcement was made today by Stone Newman, President, Global Consumer Products, GBI and Julie Merberg, President, Downtown Bookworks.

"Genius Brands created Secret Millionaires Club with Warren Buffett to teach kids to think like entrepreneurs while learning valuable life lessons that can be key to future success," says Newman. "Downtown Bookworks has an established reputation for creating unique packages, great design, learning value and interactivity. Our collaboration with them marks the first of many partnerships we have planned in 2015 as we further expand the brand at retail."

"Financial literacy is really important for kids as they hit the age of independence, yet there isn't a lot of information presented in a fun and simple way for tweens who want to start earning some spending money. Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club -- through its contest and web content, and now through this book -- has the winning combination of authority and kid-friendliness," says Merberg.

Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, created in partnership with and starring an animated Mr. Buffett, features a group of kids who have adventures in business. The brand empowers kids by helping them understand the world they live in, teaching them about the impact their decisions have on their own lives, and encouraging them to have the confidence to be the best they can be.

Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club features 26-webisodes at www.smckids.com; 26 half-hour episodes on Discovery Family Channel in the U.S., and other networks around the world; DVDs from Cinedigm; a book from Wiley, Secret Millionaires Club: Warren Buffett's 26 Secrets to Success in the Business of Life, (by Amy and Andy Heyward, co-authors and co-creators of the brand); and interactive "Business in a Box" play kits, available at retail and through the online store, secretmillionairesclubshop.com

In October, GBI also launched the 4th Annual "Grow Your Own Business Challenge" for kids, sponsored by The Fairholme Foundation. The competition was created to encourage kids to use what they learn from Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club to think entrepreneurial in their own lives and practice good financial habits from an early age. Additionally, the Secret Millionaires Club website, www.smckids.com/learnandearn, features more information about the contest, as well as online educational material for educators, parents, and volunteers to extend the valuable lessons from Mr. Buffett into the classroom, home, and afterschool programs.

For more information on Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, visit www.smckids.com.

About Genius Brands International:
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, Genius Brands International "GBI" (OTCQB: GNUS) is a publicly traded global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia content for toddlers to tweens. Led by award-winning creators and producers CEO Andy Heyward and President Amy Moynihan Heyward, GBI creates "content with a purpose," meaning content that is as entertaining as it is enriching. GBI's growing library of content includes the award-winning Baby Genius, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab and Stan Lee's Mighty 7, the first project from Stan Lee Comics, a joint venture with legendary Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment.

A Squared Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Genius Brands International, is a brand management and licensing company that represents 3rd party properties across a broad range of categories in territories around the world. The company currently represents Psycho Bunny, a luxury apparel line; From Frank, a humor greeting card and product line; Elecktro Kids and MIP both from Wowee Toys; Celessence Technologies, the world's leading microencapsulation company; and Archie Comics, celebrating its 75th Anniversary as one of the most successful and beloved comic book brands of all time.

For more information, please visit www.gnusbrands.com

About Downtown Bookworks:
Downtown Bookworks publishes children's books for tots through tweens with an emphasis on unique packages, great design, learning value and interactivity. From its best-selling DC Super Heroes board books to award-winning Science with Stuff series and Into the Field Guides, every book is carefully designed to keep kids engaged in reading, and in the world around them. In addition to working with Secret Millionaires Club and DC Comics, Downtown Bookworks is launching a line of licensed books with PBS KIDS.

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Source: Genius Brands International, Inc.