Barnes & Noble Announces 20th Anniversary of Summer Reading Program That Gives Kids Across America the Opportunity to Earn a Free Book
Special Summer Reading Triathlon Kicks off with “Opening Ceremony” at
All Stores Nationwide on June 4
Young Readers Can Vote for Their Favorite Heroes and Places in Books;
Local and National Winners to Be Announced at a Special “Closing
Ceremony” on August 27
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the nation’s largest retail
bookseller and a leading retailer of content, digital media and
educational products, today announced the 20th anniversary of
its time-honored Summer Reading Program, which will feature a special
Summer Reading Triathlon this year. The Barnes & Noble Summer Reading
Program has for years encouraged children to engage their imaginations
all summer long and earn a free book by completing a reading journal
about the books they read. This year, the annual free book giveaway
begins on May 17, during which young readers can earn a free book by
reading 3 books and answering questions in their summer reading journal
by September 6.
Additionally, in celebration of the 20th anniversary, Barnes
& Noble is launching a special Summer Reading Triathlon, which kicks off
with a special opening ceremony on Saturday, June 4, at 11 AM at all
stores nationwide. The new Triathlon will allow young readers to vote
for their favorite heroes and places from a selection of contenders
curated by Barnes & Noble Booksellers that will be displayed at stores
nationwide. Voting runs from June 4 through August 21, with the local
and national winners being announced at a special closing ceremony on
August 27.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Barnes & Noble’s
hugely successful Summer Reading Program with a special Summer Reading
Triathlon event at all stores,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, Vice President
of Business Development at Barnes & Noble. “At Barnes & Noble, we
believe reading, like sports, takes practice and commitment. We could
not be more excited to provide kids with an interactive and
one-of-a-kind in-store experience to help them stay in reading shape
this summer.”
At the opening ceremony, kids will find out who the medal contenders are
and they will be able to vote for their favorite heroes and places in
books between June 4 and August 21. Kids will complete a voting ballot
by choosing their favorite gold-, silver- and bronze-medaled nominees in
each group. They will then deposit their ballots in the voting ballot
box located near the entrance or directly outside the Children’s
Department of their local store, and vote as many times as they’d like
to move their favorites to the top of their local Barnes & Noble’s
leader board in the race to the finish line. Kids are encouraged to come
back regularly to their local store and check the leader board to see
how their nominees are doing.
The opening ceremony will be rounded out with activities and challenges,
including word scramble, puzzle solving and friendly competition
inspired by Chris Grabenstein’s Mr. Lemoncello novels. Free
giveaways including stickers and bookmarks will also be available at the
event, while supplies last. Customers should visit their local store or BN.com/SummerReading
for more details.
On Saturday, August 27, at 11 AM, kids are officially invited back to
their local Barnes & Noble store to find out which favorite hero and
favorite place took home the gold at a special closing ceremony where
they will receive a gold medal of their own, while supplies last. The
books featuring the heroes and places that took home the gold, silver
and bronze medals locally and nationally will be featured on a special
display at the store through September. More details will be announced
about the closing ceremony event over the summer.
Plus, as always, kids will be able to participate in the regular Summer
Reading Program to earn a free book from a selection of books for grades
one through six. All they have to do is read three books and visit their
local Barnes & Noble store or BN.com/SummerReading
to answer three of the four questions on the back of the Summer Reading
Triathlon Journal. They can then bring their completed journal to their
local Barnes & Noble store between May 17 and September 6 to get their
free book.
For more information on the Summer Reading Triathlon event and Barnes &
Noble’s Summer Reading Program, customers should visit BN.com/SummerReading
or ask one of the knowledgeable booksellers at their local store.
About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is a Fortune 500 company, the nation’s
largest retail bookseller, and a leading retailer of content, digital
media and educational products. The Company operates 640 Barnes & Noble
bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s premier e-commerce sites,
BN.com (www.bn.com).
The Nook Digital business offers a lineup of popular NOOK®
tablets and eReaders and an expansive collection of digital reading and
entertainment content through the NOOK Store®. The NOOK Store
features more than 4 million digital books in the US (www.nook.com),
plus periodicals and comics, and offers the ability to enjoy content
across a wide array of popular devices through Free NOOK Reading Apps™
available for Android™, iOS® and Windows®.
General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting
the Company’s corporate website at www.barnesandnobleinc.com.
Barnes & Noble®, Barnes & Noble Booksellers®,
Barnes & Noble.com® and Discover Great New Writers®
are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates. NOOK®
and the NOOK logos are trademarks of Nook Digital, LLC or its affiliates.
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Contacts
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Mary Ellen Keating, 212-633-3323
Senior
Vice President
Corporate Communications
mkeating@bn.com
or
Alan
McNamara, 212-633-3379
Director
Corporate Communications
mailto:amcnamara@bn.com
