EXHIBIT 99.2


Contact:            Richard S. Wallington
                    Chief Financial Officer
                    (205) 942-3737




                         BOOKS-A-MILLION, INC. ANNOUNCES
                           INITIATION OF CASH DIVIDEND


     BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (August 17, 2004) Books-A-Million, Inc. (Nasdaq/NM:BAMM)
today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a one-time  dividend of
$0.12 per share and the  initiation of a quarterly  dividend of $0.03 per share.
The quarterly  dividend will be paid  beginning  with the quarter ended July 31,
2004.

     Both the one-time dividend of $0.12 per share and the quarterly dividend of
$0.03 per share are payable on September 14, 2004, to  stockholders of record at
the close of business on August 31, 2004.  The Company will pay  quarterly  cash
dividends in the future subject to Board approval.

     Books-A-Million  is one of the nation's leading book retailers and sells on
the Internet at www.booksamillion.com. The Company presently operates 202 stores
in 18 states and the District of Columbia.  The Company  operates  four distinct
store  formats,   including   large   superstores   operating  under  the  names
Books-A-Million  and Books & Co.,  traditional  bookstores  operating  under the
names  Books-A-Million  and Bookland,  and Joe Muggs  Newsstands.  The Company's
wholesale operations include American Wholesale Book Company and Book$mart, both
based in Florence, Alabama.


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