Happy Independent Bookstore Day!
Here are some simple things you can do to support and celebrate the Indies in your life.
TODAY, APRIL 27, IS INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY
This is a wonderful celebration of the all-important Indie Bookstore, which is such an integral part of the publishing, author, and reading ecosystems, as well as just an important part of our local communities. Independent Bookstore Day takes place every year on the last Saturday in April.
A key source for my love of books and publishing came from hours spent in a local independent bookstore in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, CA: The Blue Door Bookstore. It was filled with eclectic books, journals, and zines, a long, multi-level display table running down the center of the store serving as a vessel of discovery and imagination. A perfect day back then would always entail an extended meander through the shelves. It was energizing to see all these ideas, concepts, and words encapsulated in the perfect package of a well-designed book, and truly inspired me to publish my own zines and journals, which ultimately led me down the path of becoming a published author and working in books.
The inspirations of the The Blue Door have continued on, lit up every time I walk into both familiar and new bookstores.
On this Independent Bookstore Day, here are a few simple things you can do to support and celebrate the indie bookstores in your life.
Get to your local indie and buy a book or ten.
Seek out a new local bookstore that you haven’t been to before but have been meaning to get to.
If you can’t physically get to your local shop, place an order through the store’s website.
If you are lucky enough to be on the road and traveling in some wonderful new place, make part of the day’s plan to check out the town’s best indie bookshop.
Give a shout out on your socials to your favorite bookstores, using the hashtag #IndieBookstoreDay.
If you’re an author who has recently had an event at an indie, (re)share the event photos and thank the bookstore (again).
On your author website, take a moment to update the buy link section of your site and include some links to your favorite indies.
All simple things, the most important one being to just get to your local indie and buy some books. This isn’t so much a task as it is an ingredient to having one of those perfect Saturday afternoons.
CITY LIGHTS
Speaking of a perfect afternoon — the pictures at the top of this newsletter were taken a few years ago when my wife and I were visiting San Francisco. We know the city well, having lived there for a few years. Getting to stop by City Lights is always a highlight, for the storied history of the store, the memories of our years living in SF, and just being able spend time in a classic/iconic bookstore filled with amazing, eclectic books.
Of note is that Paul Yamazaki — the longtime bookseller and buyer for City Lights, has an exciting new book out: Reading the Room: A Bookseller's Tale. Cannot wait to get my hands on this book. In fact, I will be seeking it out today.
Can’t think of a better person to do Shelf Awareness’s “Reading With” feature — Read Yamazaki’s here.
You can also read an interview with Yamazaki at The Paris Review (excerpted from the book).
And here is Yamazaki’s tour schedule for the book, underway right now — what a great list of bookstores!
WINDOW DISPLAY DREAMS
On this day when bookstores are top of mind, I wanted to note one thing that indie bookstores do better than any other type of bookselling operation: the window display. It can truly send an author over the moon to know that their book is prominently featured for all to see in the window of one of their favorite bookstores. It’s a thrill for all of us working on the book. Getting featured in a window display is a culmination of a beautiful book/cover design, a discerning bookseller, a well-run campaign, a great sales rep, and perhaps a strong relationship between the author and the bookstore. Maybe a combination of all those elements. Above is a picture of the window display at McNally Jackson at Rockefeller Center, featuring For the Love of Dog by Pilley Bianchi (illustrated by Calum Heath), published by PA Press. I had the good fortune of getting to work with Pilley and the PA Press team on the campaign for the book, which I highly recommend, especially for all the dog lovers out there. It’s a wonderful celebratory moment to see evidence of the book in the wild like that, and we knew things were going well for the book when we saw that photo of the display in a bookstore known for its elegant designs and showcases. (Photo courtesy of the author’s agent, who I believe had it sent her way by a colleague.)
SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITY
is currently running their first ever poetry prize. Deadline is April 30. All the details can be found here:Note there is a submission fee of $15 to enter, but it also includes a two-month premium subscription to the
substack.And as we close out National Poetry Month, here’s some verse mapping out poetic inspirations for the poet in all of us: “The Poet’s Path” by Daniel Henderson. Found this poem in the Contemporary Verse Anthology published in 1920.
Thank you for reading and subscribing to the newsletter. Given that today is Independent Bookstore Day, and it’s also National Poetry Month, seems like a great day to head out to your favorite local indie and pick up a book of poetry. Then sit outside somewhere and turn your mind over to the poems on the page. Who knows where the poems with take you.
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ABOUT THE WRITER OF THIS NEWSLETTER
I’m a long-time publishing professional, and also a published poet. You can read some of my poems here, here, and here. Visit my website for more information and to learn how to work with me on your book project, whether that’s a collection of poetry or something else (I’ve worked on books in pretty much every genre). I look forward to hearing from you — I’m very open to being a resource wherever you are on your book publishing journey.
San Francisco sunrise skyline. Great indie bookstore town: City Lights. Books, Inc. Book Passage. Booksmith. On Waverly (New!). And many more. I have especially fond memories of Cody’s Books in Berkeley (no longer there). Was instrumental as a place to discover, buy, and sell zines.