08/08/2026
Attention Teachers -- we're giving away $10,000 worth of books for your classrooms and school libraries -- apply to get your $100 golden gift card today!
Who's Eligible: Classroom teachers for all grades, school librarians, school social workers and classroom aides at any school (public or private) within 25 miles of the bookstore.
Who's not eligible (sorry guys, we'll get you next time): private tutors; college teachers; unnamed amorphous homeschool groups, out-of-school sports coaches, and perhaps some other categories we haven't yet thought of -- we support what you do & have done those things ourselves -- but this promotion is for in-school, in-classroom teachers, where the books will be available to as many kids as possible for as long as possible. If you feel like you're in a gray area and should qualify, use the back side of your submission to explain why.
How to apply:
On a 5" x 5" piece of non-white, paper write your name, contact info (email or phone number, which will not be shared), and your school & class. (this side will remain confidential)
On the other side (this is the side that the public will see), write why you are a teacher & how long you've been one. It's not a poster contest, but good handwriting is appreciated. These will be displayed in the store.
That's it -- deliver in person or by mail to us at the bookstore. We will be awarding these gifts/grants ($100 for each winner until we get to $10,000) with facebook announcements over the next few weeks (so you'll need to follow us) & will be building an in-store collage showing all the reasons why all you great people are teachers.
Criteria for winning: It depends on how many submissions we get. We'd love to give away books to everyone who asks. However, if we get overwhelmed, preference will go to submissions that look nice & feel intentional. Dashed-off, disinterested submissions (you're teachers... you know what we mean), will go to the bottom of the pile.
We're also not judging based on your unique reason for teaching -- we're looking for honesty -- and if it happens to be inspirational to anyone, too, that will be great -- but if you're doing it for the paycheck only, we'd like to know.
Submissions must be in-person at the bookstore (805 Caroline St) and must be on a 5 inch by 5 inch piece of non-white paper. Mail-in submissions accepted, too. Deadline for submissions is Homecoming or when we've given away $10,000 worth of books; whichever comes first.
What's in it for us?
Books in the hands of teachers and kids builds a better world - the exact world that we want to live in. If we can nudge our community in that direction, it's worth a try.
