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Free Books For Life: London Bookshop Offers Chance To Win ‘The Library Of A Lifetime’

By Essel Pratt
Published on: 03:30 PST, Oct 2, 2016

A bookstore in London, England is offering one lucky winner a chance to receive free books for the rest of his or her life.

The “Library of a Lifetime” competition is being held to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Heywood Hill bookshop, according to Metro. The winner will receive one new release each month for the rest of his or her life.

According to the Heywood Hill contest page, there will be three prizes total. First place consists of a free hardcover new release that fits their reading taste. The book will arrive each month, individually wrapped for the reader. The second prize consists of a free hardcover book for a full year, equating to twelve hand-chosen books for the winner. Third prize allows a winner to receive a newly released hardcover book every other month for a full year, resulting in six new books for the winner.

“To mark our 80th anniversary, Heywood Hill is proud to present The Library of a Lifetime Prize Draw – the world’s first lifetime literary prize for readers. Win a hardback book a month from Heywood Hill FOR LIFE”

The contest is open to anyone, regardless of where they reside in the world.

Registering for the competition is simple, according to the Guardian. Simply nominate a book that means the most to you and explain why or how it had an impact on your life.

Despite the simplicity of the contest, there are a few rules to ensure the recommended book qualifies the entrant. First, the book must have been published after 1936 and must have been written in or translated into English. The bookstore was founded in 1936, which is why the date was chosen.

Karin Scherer of the Heywood Hills Mayfair bookstore is excited about the contest and is anxious to see who wins.

“for the winner it will be an intellectual adventure of a lifetime … Every reader in the world will want to know about this life-changing prize. Whoever wins the first prize will never have to buy a book again. Instead they can look forward to a lifelong relationship with our bookshop and our booksellers.”

The contest is not open to only readers of the books, but authors are also eligible to enter. Some notable authors that have already registered are Donna Leon, William Boyd, and Kazuo Ishiguro.

The prize was inspired by a service that the Heywood Hills bookstore already offers, which is a subscription service that corresponds with the top three prizes. However, rather than paying for the service, the winners will receive free books based on the winning prize level.

Although the prize drawing will have a sort of randomness to it, the Heywood Hills bookshop is ensuring that the winners receive books that they will enjoy and cherish. Therefore, before the first book is sent out, the staff will sit down and have a discussion with the winners to determine which types of books he or she enjoys and use that information to send out the books, according to Scherer.

“Every person is different. Before we start, we will sit down with the prize winner and find out their reading preferences, and any likes and dislikes,”

It is expected that the competition for the free books will be steep with an unimaginable number of entries. However, the entry period is open until October 31st, so there is plenty of time to get your submission in.

[Featured Image by Africa Studio/Shutterstock]

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