Who wants to sleep over at a Waterstones bookstore?
After an American became accidentally locked inside a Waterstones location after it closed, the UK book store chain is inviting contest winners to stay the night.
Ann Hermes
As we previously reported, when an American became trapped in a Waterstones bookstore in London after staff closed up for the night, responses to the event on Twitter trended towards jealous.
So Waterstones is inviting patrons to spend the entire night.
According to the Telegraph, the UK bookstore chain will have 10 winners (plus a friend) of a contest stay at Waterstones Piccadilly. The event will be held on Oct. 24, according to the contest page on the website Airbnb, and those who want to participate should say in a single sentence what they would read if they were inside a bookstore all night. (Users must set up an Airbnb account to do so.) According to the site, the night is a “one-time opportunity.”
“With Waterstones Piccadilly all to yourself, saunter up and down our beautiful central staircase, from our Ground Floor Bestsellers to our Fourth Floor’s Russian Bookshop, and let your imagination loose,” the site reads. “Settle down on the comfy airbeds and sleeping bags provided and drift off surrounded by the fantastical tales, incredible true stories, and beautiful books of all shapes and sizes that are packed into the more than eight and a half miles of book shelves.
That’s not all though – there’s plenty of treats and surprises in store. Food (Grazebox and Weetabix to name a few), entertainment, bedding – we got you covered! The only thing you need to worry about is what to read next. And if someone will let you out in the morning… But that wouldn’t be a problem would it?”
There will be a tour of the store and “other treats.”
Participants must be 18 or older, and the contest closes on Oct. 22 at noon GMT. Guests will be in the store from 9 pm that night to 9 a.m. the next day.