It all started with a mystery … well, a mystery author. When Jenny Milchman, author of murder-mystery Cover of Snow, said she’d be coming in town on Monday, we jumped at the chance to sit down with her and ask her all about writing, reading, and her twisted (um, really twisted) characters. Then we remembered that Tuesday is World Book Night — an international celebration of books when volunteers give away thousands of free books (our Church Street volunteers will be giving away hundreds right here in Birmingham). The week of April 22 was already shaping up to be quite the Bookstravaganza, so, we thought … why not just keep the book love flowing?
This Monday we’re starting the (hopefully) first-annual city-wide Book Scavenger Hunt hosted by Church Street. We’re giving away free books (and coffee, cookies and Church Street Frosts) all over Birmingham. The clues are written and the prizes are already in place, so all that’s left is to blast the proverbial starting cannon and start the hunt!
Here’s how it works: Starting Monday morning and lasting all week, we’ll be announcing clues through our Church Street Facebook and Twitter pages (so be sure you’re following us). The clues point to various local businesses around Birmingham.
If you guess where a clue leads, head on over to the business, find an employee, and tell them you’re on the Church Street Scavenger Hunt.
If you’re the first person to arrive, you’ll win a book we’ve chosen, plus a voucher for a free cup of coffee and cookie of your choice from Church Street. If you’re in the top five to arrive, you’ll win a runner-up prize of a voucher for free stuff. (And, really, everyone’s a winner anyway — because we’ve picked some of our favorite places in Birmingham to hide our prizes, and we think you’ll love visiting them as much as we do.)
We’d love to kick the hunt off well by making Monday’s mystery event fantastic — after all, Jenny inspired our Bookstravaganza, so it’s only fitting we have a big event for her: Click here for details on that. Either way, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and get ready to start the search for buried treasure — found within the pages of your free books!