After word broke early this week that Sam's Club is launching a new book club for its members, PW spoke with a rep at the retailer to get details on this new literary promotion. A Sam's Club spokesperson said that the plan is to
pick titles quarterly, and that the chain's buyer will be selecting the books from among the ARCs received. The club's first selection is debut women's fiction —it's the launch title from Pamela Dorman's new eponymous imprint at Penguin, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt—but the chain's rep says books from "all genres and demographics" will be considered. Book club titles will be featured on endcaps in Sam's Club stores next to a promotional sign about the book. (Sam's Club currently features a handful of titles on these endcaps.) The club selections will also feature a burst (pictured, right).
Although CeeCee has not been pushed to Sam's Club members through promotional leaflets, future titles will be touted in things like "direct mail pieces, in club communications, and online outreach," according to the spokesperson. CeeCee, however, is getting a Sam's Club launch event—author Beth Hoffman will be at the Marietta, Ga., Sam's Club on Saturday as the guest of honor at an in-club launch party, which the chain has been advertising locally through the Marietta newspaper and library.
