Bookstores all over the country will spend Saturday, May 2 celebrating the independent bookstores in their cities and towns. With major corporations taking over all the time, there’s no better time than the present to celebrate the indie spirit and support our beloved small bookstores.
Sundance Books and Music is marking the day with some fun events: the first 25 customers to make a purchase will receive a Roz Chast tote bag with a bookish surprise inside. Jack Harpster will also be doing a reading from his new book, Lumber Baron of the Comstock Lode: The Life and Times of Duane L. Bliss, from 1 to 3 pm.
The first national IBD is sponsored in part by Penguin Random House and the American Booksellers Association. “It’s a privilege for Penguin Random House to be the first publisher sponsor of Independent Bookstore Day, and we are excited about supporting it in a variety of ways, including author appearances and specially created merchandise that celebrates the event,” says Jaci Updike, president of Sales of Penguin Random House U.S.
Writer and former bookseller Samantha Schoech has created Independent Bookstore Day in conjunction with the Northern California Independent Bookstore Association and the American Booksellers Association. “The entire purpose of Bookstore Day is to celebrate our collective success and thank our customers and the community of readers,” says IBD program director, Samantha Schoech. “For so long, the message about indie bookstores was all doom and gloom, but the truth is, there are more indie bookstores this year than last, and more last year than the year before that. Independent bookstores are actually opening around the country. We want people to know that.”
Independent Bookstore Day will take place May 2 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
