Penguin is attempting to breathe new life into two popular backlist titles and to do good in the process. Its Picture a Book Changing Lives campaign is asking readers to submit photos of themselves holding a copy of either The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns (or both) by Khaled Hosseini. For each photo, Riverhead Books, publisher of both titles, will donate $2 to the Khaled Hosseini Foundation, which provides humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan (where the books are set) by supporting projects that provide shelter to refugees, economic and educational opportunities for women and children, and scholarships to students who have migrated to the U.S. and women pursuing higher education in Afghanistan.
The campaign began in June and runs through August 31. So far, readers have posted 175 photos (campaign rules stipulate a $25,000 maximum donation from Penguin--which means 12,500 photos may be submitted before Penguin stops donating). Among the pictures are ones of Penguin v-p director of paperback sales Patrick Nolan (pictured), the Women’s National Book Association Los Angeles Chapter board members, Spiegel & Grau senior v-p and publisher Julie Grau (formerly of Riverhead), and a man asleep on the couch with a copy of Kite Runner open on his chest. To participate, readers must join Penguin’s online community and join the Hosseini group. They can then log in and upload photos of themselves and/or their friends holding or reading The Kite Runner (which was published in 2003) and/or A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007).
Hosseini said readers often send him letters asking how they can help people in Afghanistan. "With the Picture a Book Changing Lives campaign," he said, "they can directly impact Afghan lives, particularly those of women and children."
