On Saturday, November 24, more than 500 indie bookstores nationwide will mark the sixth annual celebration of Indies First on Small Business Saturday by giving away free books.
EMMAUS, PA: As part of the “Indie Bookstores Give Back on Small Business Saturday” campaign (#IndiesGiveBack), Let’s Play Books Bookstore is distributing 25 special-edition copies of bestselling author Jason Reynolds’ Ghost to underserved young readers throughout the community this month.
The American Booksellers Association and American Express are working together with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing to make available 20,000 copies of Ghost, Reynolds’s first book in his New York Times bestselling Track series, this holiday season.
Earlier this year, bookstores signed up to give copies of the book away to a program or school for underserved or low-income children at an event on or around Indies First on Small Business Saturday, November 24.
Let’s Play Books Bookstore, located at 244 Main St., is giving away 5 copies to 5 schools. Schools will be able to circulate directly to students, or put in classroom libraries.
“We regularly work with five school districts in the Lehigh Valley, and there are underserved children in all. However, I feel that the benefit of these books will go the farthest in the Allentown School District. We are giving five schools five books, through a teacher or administrator. The book business is not a lucrative one, and we appreciate this opportunity to give books to children that otherwise may not have them. In addition, we are adding an additional box of new and gently used books to each school,” said Kirsten Hess, owner of Let’s Play Books Bookstore. “Through our You Pay Half, We Pay Half Book Drive on Indies First/Small Business Saturday, customers will be able to purchase from a great selection of books at 50% off to donate to the schools, and receive a $5 coupon for future use in the shop!”
Indies First — a collaboration among publishers, retailers, and authors — is an annual campaign launched by the American Booksellers Association in 2013 to celebrate independent bookstores. Hundreds of indies across the country will be holding events on November 24, Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting the local businesses that help create jobs, boost the local economy, and preserve neighborhoods.
Let’s Play Books Bookstore is the only remaining general interest independent bookstore in the Lehigh Valley. Opened in February of 2014, the shop is celebrating it’s 5th year this winter and this will be the bookstore’s 5th Small Business Saturday Celebration!
For more information about Let’s Play Books Bookstore, visit www.letsplaybooks.com
About the American Booksellers Association (www.BookWeb.org)
Founded in 1900, the American Booksellers Association is a national not-for-profit trade organization that works to help independently owned bookstores grow and succeed. The association actively supports and defends free speech and the First Amendment rights of all Americans. A volunteer board of eleven booksellers governs the association. ABA is headquartered in White Plains, New York.
Information and image provided to TVL by:
Kirsten Hess
Let’s Play Books Bookstore
244 Main St.
Emmaus, PA 18049
610-928-8600
