Sainsbury's to publish 'Extraordinary Lives' series

Sainsbury’s is set to publish its first own-label autobiographical series called “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives” starting with the former athlete Nikki Emerson.

The book tells the story of how Nikki recovered from a near-fatal car crash and went on to win multiple medals on the track for Great Britain.

“Nikki’s story has inspired Sainsbury’s to launch a search for the extraordinary real life stories that seemingly ordinary people can tell,” the supermarket said.

The title is out now in 592 Sainsbury’s stores in print and costs £1.99, or shoppers will get it for free when they buy any other Sainsbury’s book or e-book from e-books by Sainsbury’s.

The company will work with Little, Brown to publish the autobiographical series titles as B-format paperback under the Constable & Robinson imprint.

Sainsbury’s said: “If you have an extraordinary story that you would like to have published please e-mail extraordinarypeople@littlebrown.co.uk with a synopsis of your story in no more than 500 words. The deadline for applications is midnight on 30th September 2014 and the winner will be announced on 1st November 2015.

Phil Carroll, head of books at Sainsbury’s, said: “I first approached Nikki to write her story because I wanted to publish a story about our amazing Paralympic athletes. The results were so inspiring that I thought about all those other amazing stories out there that go untold and wanted to find a way to bring them into the light. This was the beginning of the ‘Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives’ project. I’m looking forward to people coming forward to tell their stories and can’t wait to see the results.”

Emerson added: “I never expected I'd write a book in my life, so it's a huge honour to be part of this series for Sainsbury's. As a London 2012 Paralympic sponsor they made a hugely positive difference to the way Paralympians and in turn disabled people in general are perceived by the public so it's been great to work with them on a project that will hopefully inspire readers to live their lives to the full.”

Sainsbury’s was a sponsor of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The supermarket has previously partnered with Constable & Robinson to publish own brand book titles such as that of Jo Wheatley, the BBC Great British Bake Of 2011 winner.