German trade publisher Bastei Lübbe and book retailer Hugendubel "have invented a vending machine where consumers can dump a present and exchange it at the touch of a button for a book," the Bookseller reported. The device will be set up December 28 outside the Hugendubel branch in a Munich shopping center, followed by appearances in Ingolstadt and Nuremberg. Bastei Lübbe is supplying seven frontlist titles by bestselling authors for the campaign, and all the unwanted presents will be donated to local charities.
