Published November 24, 2014 9:49am EST | Updated January 8, 2015 2:56pm EST

Barnes & Noble's Black Friday Weekend Secret Weapon: 500,000 Signed Book Copies

Book seller Barnes & Noble Inc. is competing with Amazon.com Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. this holiday season with the help of more than 100 authors, from George W. Bush to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Each of them has signed at least 5,000 copies of their books for the New York company's Black Friday weekend promotion. In total, Barnes & Noble will have 500,000 signed copies from 100-plus book titles targeting all ages at its more than 650 stores. Barnes & Noble shares rose 1.7% in early trading.