James Patterson to Give Away $70,000 in Gift Certificates Redeemable at IndieBound Stores

Bestselling author James Patterson has announced the launch of the second annual College Book Bucks program supporting college-bound high school seniors. The 230 winners of the College Book Bucks contest will receive gift certificates ranging from $250 to $1,000 apiece for use at any IndieBound-affiliated independent bookstore.

High school seniors headed for college can enter the competition by visiting JamesPatterson.com and submitting an essay that answers the question “How has your favorite book inspired you toward what you’d like to do in life?”

Patterson and select members from his ReadKiddoRead.com board will read the submissions to find the students who best express their thoughts on how books can inspire real-life efforts. The prizes are: 10 first-place certificates of $1,000 apiece; 20 second-place certificates of $500 apiece; and 200 third-place certificates of $250 apiece. Patterson is donating the $70,000 in gift certificates.

“We know college is awfully expensive these days,” said Patterson. “My hope with these awards is to give some promising students some help picking up the books they’ll need for their studies.”

For each contest submission that comes as a result of a referral from an IndieBound store, the store will have a chance to win signed books and other prizes.

Contest participants are directed to IndieBound.org for a list of bookstores where certificates can be redeemed, or to find their closest independent bookstore. 

JamesPatterson.com began accepting essay contest entries on September 13; the deadline is December 31, 2011. Winners will be announced nationally on March 1, 2012.

Read BTW’s story about some of last year’s recipients and the redeeming bookstores.