Chief booklover Heather Reisman is looking for her own Apprentice.

This month, Toronto-based Indigo Books & Music launched its Junior Booklover initiative, aimed at encouraging kids 10 to 16 to spend at least part of their summer holidays reading.

As part of their ‘job application,’ kids are asked to submit a review of a book, or several books, featured in Chapters/Indigo’s free ‘Summer Book Scene’ reading guide. For salary, five winners will receive a $1,000 gift card; a trip for two to Toronto to meet Reisman; their own ‘My Picks’ section online and in their community Chapters or Indigo store; and a seat on the Indigo Jab (Junior Advisory Board), among other things.

‘We haven’t actively targeted this market before – and it’s a tough market to crack,’ says director of PR and regional marketing Sorya Ingrid Gaulin. ‘But it’s really addressing a fundamental challenge that our industry is facing: Reading is down as a choice of entertainment.’

The contest – complete with a specially designed (‘non-commercial’) microsite at www.juniorbooklover.ca – will run until mid-August and will be supported online by partner www.sympatico.msn.ca.