Indies Invited to Jump on Board The Boxcar Contest

To celebrate the 70^th anniversary of The Boxcar Children Mysteries Series, Albert Whitman & Company is sponsoring The Boxcar Children Contest, open to all ABA member stores. Promoting the contest to customers is also a way to generate excitement for The Boxcar Children prequel to be authored by Newbery Medalist Patricia MacLachlan and published in September 2012. The store whose customer submits the winning entry will receive a visit from MacLachlan during her fall 2012 tour.

“We wanted to include the independent booksellers in a big way for the launch of the prequel,” said Michelle Bayuk, director of marketing for Albert Whitman & Company. “The opportunity to include their young customers in such a fun and special project for the store will help build customer loyalty. And, the advanced promotions for the prequel should help them sell more books in the fall — and maybe even some extra Boxcar backlist right now.”

To the enter contest, children ages 4 to 12 will submit an original essay or drawing depicting a favorite story from The Boxcar Children Mysteries to a participating ABA member store. An entry form and contest rules will arrive in ABA’s March Red Box mailing. Participating stores will accept submissions from April 1 to May 15. Submissions can be submitted electronically to mbayuk@albertwhitman.com with “Jump on Board the Boxcar Contest” in the subject field. Stores must send all contest entries to Albert Whitman by Friday, May 25. The winner will be announced at the beginning of June.