GLBA Photo Contest Catches People Reading

The Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA) recently announced its second annual Get Caught Reading Photo Contest. A variation of the Get Caught Reading campaign sponsored by the Association of American Publishers and the Magazine Publishers of America, which features posters and magazine ads of famous people reading, the GLBA contest calls for regular (non-famous) people to shoot pictures of other regular people reading.

"The contest is a great way for stores to communicate with customers," said GLBA Executive Director Jim Dana. "It's a way to promote reading and have fun with customers without going to great expense. Last year, we had 30 to 40 stores participating. This year, we think we'll get a lot more."

Customers are asked to submit photos to participating bookstores in duplicate by May 28. To help stores publicize the event, GLBA has created a press release template and announcement posters.

Readers of the Great Lakes 2003 poster

Each store's winning photos will be entered in GLBA's region-wide competition (the deadline is June 11). From those photos, a regional winner and runner-up will be announced on July 9. The bookstores that send the winning and runner-up photos will win, among other prizes, a trip to GLBA's fall trade show, which will be held from October 9 - 10 in Dearborn, Michigan. Winning customers will receive tickets and accommodations for the fall trade show, a selection of books donated by the sponsors and other publishers, and publication of winning photos on the Readers of the Great Lakes 2004 poster.

Dana hopes that other regional associations will be inspired to hold similar contests. "We're trying to encourage others to do Get Caught Reading events. It's fairly easy for stores to organize. It's fun and something that could be a great repeatable event."

This year's GLBA Get Caught Reading Photo Contest is sponsored by Sleeping Bear Press, Emmis Books, and the Hyatt Regency Dearborn. GLBA's inspiration for the event was a customer photo contest developed by The Wooster Book Company in Wooster, Ohio, in 2002. The Wooster Book Company scanned winning photos and printed them in poster size to display in the store.

For complete GLBA contest details, and to see last year's winning photos, go to www.books-glba.org/caughtreading.php. --Karen Schechner