FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kellyn Patterson, Simon & Schuster, 212-698-7527, Kellyn.Patterson@simonandschuster.com

New York, N.Y., June 16, 2015 – Simon & Schuster announced today that it will publish the first book from Golden Globe-winning and Critics Choice-nominated actress Gina Rodriguez. In I Can and I Will: Tools My Daddy Gave Me, the star of The CW Network/CBS Television Studio hit series “Jane the Virgin” will bring fans a warm, intelligent, and funny book that narrates her incredible journey and reveals the values that prepare her for success. Publication is scheduled for 2016.

“I knew I found my home at Simon & Schuster the minute I recognized that they understood my heart and my mission,” says Gina Rodriguez. “My father would always remind me to give away your blessings to make room for more. This book has been a dream of mine for many years now, a love letter to a father who has given me strength I only know is right to share with others. If you can move, stretch, teach, inspire, encourage and motivate others by telling your stories why wouldn’t you? Thank you, Simon & Schuster, for giving me an opportunity to share the tools that have empowered me and hopefully will do the same for many more!”

“Gina Rodriguez is as charming and eloquent and wise in person as she is on screen,” says Emily Graff, Editor, Simon & Schuster, who acquired and will work with Rodriguez on the book. “In I Can and I Will, she will share words of wisdom from her father. These are words that give her strength in times of hardship. Through personal stories, she will describe how these words were challenged, and confirmed. This book will be something you can turn to when you are in search of a friend, when you need inspiration and encouragement.”

“Gina Rodriguez embodies the spirit of a new generation,” says Jonathan Karp, President and Publisher, Simon & Schuster. “We believe her voice and her inspirational message will speak to multitudes of readers, and we are grateful to be publishing her.”

Even before her headline-making Golden Globe win in January, Gina Rodriguez was considered television’s new breakout star. Her profile has been rising steadily since her performance in Filly Brown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. She has been named the “Next Big Thing” and one of the “Top 35 Latinos Under 35” by the Hollywood Reporter; the Los Angeles Times has referred to her as “[an] ingénue who deserves to be discussed in the same breath as Elizabeth Olsen and Jennifer Lawrence.” She currently plays the title role in the AFI-, Peabody- and People’s Choice-winning series Jane the Virgin, which debuted to the network’s highest Monday night ratings in three years and has been picked up for a second season. She will soon begin filming Lionsgate’s Deepwater Horizon for director Peter Berg, where she will star opposite Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, and Kate Hudson.

Emily Graff acquired world rights, first serial, and audio rights for I Can and I Will from Carlos Carreras at the Agency for the Performing Arts and David Guillod from Primary Wave Entertainment.

Growing up in Chicago, Gina Rodriguez started performing at age seven. At sixteen, Gina was one of thirteen teens to be accepted into a competitive theater program at Columbia University. She fell in love with New York and NYU called her name—she later enrolled at the Tisch School of the Arts. Gina had four years of intense theatre training at both the Atlantic Theatre Company and Experimental Theatre Wing. Directly after graduation, Gina worked on stage and screen before landing the title role in Filly Brown. Her other indie work includes Sleeping with Fishes.

Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.