Sign Up Now to Participate in Campaign to Donate Jason Reynolds’s “Ghost” to Underserved Kids This Holiday Season

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Jason Reynolds
Photo by Ben Fractenberg

Today, author Jason Reynolds issued a call to independent booksellers urging them to sign up to participate in the “Indie Bookstores Give Back on Small Business Saturday” campaign (#IndiesGiveBack).

The American Booksellers Association and American Express are working together with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing to make available 20,000 special edition copies of Ghost, Reynolds’s first book in his New York Times bestselling Track series, this holiday season.

“I’m super honored and super excited to be the spokesperson again for Indies First,” Reynolds says in the video specially recorded for indie booksellers. “This [initiative] is a chance to make a difference. Please sign up. Let’s give back to the community…[and] get kids these books.”

Stores have until 5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 10, to sign up to receive a free 24-copy carton of Ghost. Limit one carton per store while supplies last. In signing up to participate, stores agree to work with a local school, community or literacy organization, or youth group to give the books away to a program or school for underserved or low-income children at an event on or around Small Business Saturday®, November 24.

Stores have the option to purchase additional 24-copy cartons of the title, also for giveaway, at cost and including free freight. The order for extra cartons also must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 10. ABA will invoice stores for extra cartons. 

ABA has named award-winning author Reynolds the 2018 Indies First spokesperson for his second year in a row. Stores that participate in this giveaway will also be invited to enter to win one of two in-person visits from Reynolds in 2019 (check Bookselling This Week for more details in the coming weeks).

All books will ship free freight directly to stores and will arrive by November 15; the books are non-returnable, not for resale, and must be donated. This offer is available while supplies last, so stores are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible. Sign up now to participate.