At the ABA Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon at BEA, Neil Gaiman, while making his acceptance speech for the Indies Choice Award for Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book (for The Graveyard Book), spontaneously announced a competition for an in-store event with him sometime in December.
Congratulations to the two independent bookstores that have been selected as Grand Prize winners in The Graveyard Book Halloween party contest:
- Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Ga.
- McNally Robinson in Winnipeg, Canada
More than 40 stores from Canada and the continental U.S. submitted entries to win an event with Gaiman. Five first-prize winners and four second-prize winners were also selected. The Little Shop of Stories will host its event on Monday, December 14, at 6 p.m. McNally Robinson will follow with its event in Winnipeg on Tuesday, December 15, at 6 p.m.
Gaiman launched the contest on his blog on June 12. "Entrants were judged on overall creativity, customer attendance and response, and ability to capture and represent the spirit of The Graveyard Book," according to HarperCollins.