Sainsbury's in two-year e-book giveaway

29.01.14 | Lisa Campbell - The Bookseller

E-books by Sainsbury’s has teamed up with Penguin Random House to give away “millions” of free copies of Jacqueline Wilson and James Patterson e-books, in a promotion planned to last two years.

The supermarket's e-book arm is offering children the opportunity to download a free copy of Wilson’s Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather (Random House Children's Books) and Patterson’s Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life and I Funny (Arrow) when they buy any packet of Sainsbury’s own-brand cereal from today (29th January).

Altogether, “millions” of children are expected to benefit from millions of e-book giveaways.
Penguin Random House and HarperCollins are minority shareholders in the E-books by Sainsbury’s platform, which was formerly called Anobii until the HMV Group sold its 64% stake in the company to Sainsbury’s in June 2012. At the time, its chief executive Matteo Berlucchi said the deal would “give Anobii the power to compete with Amazon in the UK".

Tim Lennox, managing director of E-books by Sainsbury’s, said: “We are delighted to be working with Penguin Random House UK and two of the biggest names in children’s books, Jacqueline Wilson and James Patterson. We look forward to offering our customers these brilliant titles in the largest giveaway of its kind.” He added: “We sell over six million boxes of Sainsbury’s branded cereal every year so this is a great way to encourage children to read at no cost to their parents.”

Dame Jacqueline Wilson said she was “delighted” that two of her books were in the “brilliant” Sainsbury's e-book promotion. “As a child I read everything - I could even quote the back of cereal packets word for word because I read them every breakfast time,” she said. James Patterson added: “I am passionate about getting more kids reading because it can open up a whole world of possibilities to them. This isn’t about reading Charles Dickens or Shakespeare, but learning to read with confidence – if they can do that, they can make their way through school, college, work and life!”

Customers can enter the unique voucher code, or scan the QR code displayed on the cereal packet at www.sainsburysebooks.co.uk to download the book to a tablet or smartphone.