Horn Tailed Horcruxes Host Annual Book Sale Fundraiser

By Marina Montenegro

Editor's Note: Marina Montenegro is the Horn Tailed Horcruxes Fundraising Organizer

The Horn Tailed Horcruxes from South Orange, New Jersey, are hosting their third annual used book sale fundraiser this October.

Photo Credit: Alexis Smith

Starting in 2013, the Horcruxes began to collect books throughout the spring, summer, and fall in preparation for their book sale hosted by the Village Diner in South Orange. Initially, the fundraiser was inspired by the IQA’s annual book drive, which had been run since 2009 to promote literacy. In 2013, the IQA awarded the Horn Tailsed Horcruxes first place for their donation of 580 books to the Better World Books company. As a prize, the team was given 21 exclusive T-shirts from the IQA ProShop, as well as an award certificate. The following year, USQ choose not to continue the event, but the Horn Tailed Horcruxes did. 

“We expanded our book drive a lot since 2013,” said Stephen Baibos, the team president. “In the beginning, it was team members and their family and friends donating books. Now we advertise well in advance and we get our community involved as well.” 

A goal of the team is to make sure that the events are enjoyable. The team’s motivational director, Nick Candido, is in charge of putting together the book-sorting party. 

“Every year we host a book sorting party with pizza and sodas, and we separate the books based on their genre,” said Baibos. “It’s a lot of fun for the whole team. The next day, we sell the books to raise money for [the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship]. We play music, we hang out, and we have fun, even though it is a lot of work. A lot of times, even people who aren’t on the team join us for the party.” 

The team’s fundraising organizer, Marina Montenegro (Editor’s Note: Marina Montenegro authored this article), makes sure to advertise the book drive at every event the team attends. A member of many Facebook groups for the local area, Montenegro posts dates of team practices and events and encourages neighbors to drop off books. 

The team’s vice president, Kylie Tumiatti, says her favorite part of the book drive is giving back to the community. 

“Every year, we donate hundreds of books to Better World Books,” said Tumiatti. “A lot of our work goes into collecting and then selling the books, but so many books don’t get sold. The work never goes to waste though, because even the unsold books are going somewhere. This fundraiser benefits so much more than just our team.” 

Better World Books is a for-profit organization that collects books to promote literacy. Donated books are sold to raise money for their non-profit literacy programs. Some books are used in the programs themselves. If the books are unable to be used or sold, they get recycled, which keeps books out of landfills. 

On Oct. 17, for the third year in a row, the team will be selling its books. According to the team treasurer, PJ Paolino, books are $3 for paperbacks and $5 for hardcovers. 

“The sales usually go really well,” said Paolino. “Last year, this fundraiser covered the entire cost of our team’s trip to [the regional championship] in Virginia.” 

Keeping true to the original IQA literacy movement, the prices are not fixed. Since starting the event in 2013, Montenegro says that the goal is to get these books to readers. If anyone wanted a book, but did not have the money, the book would be theirs. 

For more information on the Better World Books Charity, you can visit their website. 

For more information on the Horn Tailed Horcruxes book drive, you can find their event on Facebook.