Relay Books on Trip

Step one of letting go

Start a relay

Tell us about the book. You get a code for it and a plate to stick inside the cover. Then you leave it somewhere and see how far strangers carry it.

  1. 1RegisterYou are here
  2. 2Add the codeInside the cover
  3. 3Leave itFor a stranger
  4. 4Watch it goHand to hand
1 The book
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Not the stock cover, yours, with its creases. It's how people recognise it.

The first thing a stranger reads, and it travels with the book forever. See examples.

2 You

Never shown. We send your private dashboard link here, and one message each time the book moves.

3 Extras all optional

Skip these and the book travels fine. You can change every one of them later from your dashboard.

Give it a goalName a place you'd love it to reach

A city works best. It shows on the book's page and as a gold target on its map, so finders know which way to carry it. A wish, not a route.

Adjust the plateNFC tag, your name, a second language

The plate will then say "tap/scan". The link to program into the tag is in the email you get after this step.

Your name already appears on the public page if you give one. This only decides whether it's also on the paper strangers hold.

Skip it if you don't know where the book is headed. English carries fine on its own.

Ask for it backAfter a number of stops, request it be posted home

Most books never come back, and a book that wanders forever is arguably the better outcome. But if you'd like a shot at it, you can ask.

Nothing goes public until you record where you left it.

After you press the button

Registering is stage one. These are the other three.

  1. 2

    Add the code

    You get the code on screen and by email. Print the plate and stick it inside the front cover, or just write the short link there by hand.

  2. 3

    Leave it

    A hostel shelf, a café, a train seat, a friend. Then mark where on your dashboard. Only then does the book's page go public.

  3. 4

    Watch it go

    An email arrives each time a stranger checks it in, and the line on the map grows. Most books go quiet. A few don't.

  • Free. No account, no password.
  • Your email is never shown.
  • You can edit or retire the book later.

First time? Read the six-step guide, or see what the experiment is.

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