Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing has teamed up with Mobile Commons to launch a new texting program for YA readers.

Fans of Scott Westerfeld‘s Leviathan trilogy can text “SCOTT” to a special shortcode to try to win a coffee date with him, talk about his books and learn more about future contests. Fans of The Blessed author Tonya Hurley can text “BLESSED” to a special shortcode to try and win a guitar. What do you think of this new marketing venture?

Here’s more from the release: “The Simon & Schuster author campaigns will use the consumer relationship tools on the Mobile Commons user dashboard, which include message editing, data segmenting, targeting, URL tracking, QR codes, and MMS (multimedia messaging). Simon & Schuster will also use the platform’s real-time analytics and reporting to help them better personalize their communications with their teen readers.”