Jason Reynolds will Kick Off the “Indie Bookstores Give Back On Small Business Saturday” (#IndiesGiveBack ) campaign at Miami Book Fair.
Six hundred students in Miami will receive free special edition copies of Reynolds’s Ghost at events with the 2018 Indies First spokesperson
Award-winning author Jason Reynolds, who is serving his second term as the 2018 Indies First spokesperson, will participate in school presentations across Miami, where he will address students, mostly from Title I schools. Students will take home an “Indies First/Small Business Saturday” paperback edition of Ghost, the first book in his New York Times bestselling “Track” series. At the festival, Reynolds will also take part in a public talk and book signing on Sunday, November 18 (visit MiamiBookFair.com for details).
Over five hundred independent bookstores have signed up to participate in the #IndiesGiveBack campaign, for which 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 Reynolds’s Ghost to young readers in underserved communities this holiday season. Through the initiative, participating independent booksellers will receive a free box of special “Indies First/ Small Business Saturday” paperback editions of Ghost, to distribute to children on or around Small Business Saturday®, which takes place on November 24.
Of his second term as Indies First spokesperson and of the #IndiesGiveBack campaign, Reynolds said, “Bookstores benefit their communities in a myriad of ways, and I’m thrilled that I get to sing their praises for another year. I’m grateful and honored that booksellers have this opportunity to share Ghost’s story with thousands of young people across the country who don’t have access to books they feel connected to.” Reynolds will support Small Business Saturday by participating in an event at an independent bookstore in Washington, DC.
Indies First, launched by the American Booksellers Association in 2013 and held each year on Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, brings together authors, readers, and publishers in support and celebration of independent bookstores. Visit the IndieBound.org store locator to find a local independent bookstore.
November 24 will be the ninth annual Small Business Saturday (#ShopSmall, #SmallBizSat). Dedicated to supporting the diverse range of local businesses that help to create jobs, boost the economy, and enhance neighborhoods around the country, Small Business Saturday was created by American Express in 2010 in response to small business owners’ most pressing need: getting more customers. Learn more at ShopSmall.com or connect on instagram.com/shopsmall,facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday.
Jason Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author, Newbery Award honoree, Printz Award honoree, National Book Award honoree, Kirkus Prize winner, two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. His many books include When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (co-written with Brendan Kiely), As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), and Long Way Down, which received both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.