How Bookstores Are Celebrating The 10th Indie Bookstore Day!

In celebration of the 10th Independent Bookstore Day (April 29), independent bookstores have been sharing their plans, including special events, speakers, and bookshop crawls. If you are interested in partnering with a store or want to connect to learn more about their plans, feel free to reach out. Additionally, if you have something planned for Indepedent Bookstore Day this year, let ABA know. 

Find resources, assets, and more on the Indepedent Bookstore Day page. We’ve also compiled a list of ideas on BookWeb.org to help!  

Here are how some bookstores plan to spend the day, listed by state:

Alabama

The Haunted Book Shop

Area fan favorites will be signing copies of their books, representing a few of our favorite genres — young adult, middle grade, romance, and thriller.

The Snail on the Wall

The Snail on the Wall is hosting a Pop-up Store on April 29, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm at Huntsville's Constitution Hall Park in downtown Huntsville. Information can be found here: Pop-up Store: Independent Bookstore Day

Arkansas

Pearl’s Books

ARC giveaways, treat giveaways, drawings and pre-order by a local children’s illustrator, and songtime with a local children's author/illustrator.

California

A Seat At The Table Books

• 11:30 am storytime with Jeff Kubiak
• 12:00 pm discussion of trans representation in children’s books with Lisa Bunker and Sarah & Ian Hoffman
• 1:00 pm discussion of fantasy series writing with Andrea Stewart and Megan Reyes

Bookshop West Portal

Bookshop West Portal is thrilled to be resuming its annual Llamapalooza celebration for Independent Bookstore Day (IBD) on Saturday, April 29, 2023. The event will feature a visit from the gentle llamas of Circle Home in Sonora, CA, as well as special games, prizes, treats, and exclusive merchandise.

In addition to the llamas, there will be a variety of other activities and events for all ages, including:

• Children’s storytime from 10:00 am – 12:00pm
• Treats from local restaurants
• Special giveaways and prizes
• Raffle entry with purchase
• And more!

Casita Bookstore

We will be hosting “Cafecito and Cuentos” featuring a Drag Story Hour with coffee (or tea) for the community at 12:00 pm.

Crawford's Books

Read the Region book tour with nine independent bookstores in Sacramento. Coffee and bagels available in the morning. Live music in the afternoon. Children’s scavenger hunt all day.

Face in a Book

Our mystery-themed Independent Bookstore Day includes a bookish scavenger hunt for kids (win a prize) and one for adults (win a chance to attend a mystery dinner at the bookstore!). We'll offer treats and prizes all day, and “staff recommends” presentations every other hour.

The Last Bookstore

We’ll be hosting a special promotion with American Express. The first 200 Amex Card Members that visit the store on IBD will receive a complimentary $25 gift card to The Last Bookstore to spend at our store. 

Linden Tree Books

• Storytimes with local authors throughout the day (we had 13 authors participate last year; still finalizing this year's list)
• Every customer spins our Mystery Wheel during checkout which includes discounts (up to 100% off!) and giveaways
• Free Linden Tree buttons, stickers, and other goodies, too!

Napa Bookmine

A local picture book author will be personalizing signed copies of her books and taking polaroids of kids dressed up as royalty, and giving away paper crowns to decorate. We’ll be moving soon to a location with a cafe, and plan to have tasters of the baked goods we'll be offering for people to try.

Meet Cute Romance

We will be participating in IBD by offering IBD exclusives, as well as participating in the San Diego Book Crawl 2023!

Octavia’s Bookshelf

We’ll be hosting a special promotion with American Express. The first 200 Amex Card Members that visit the store on IBD will receive a complimentary $25 gift card to Octavia's Bookshelf to spend at our store. 

We will have instant poems on a typewriter, food, a scavenger hunt, snacks, prizes and an illustrator to draw cartoon portraits for customers.

Readers’ Books

• “Choose your own Discount” by pulling a number from our special bag.
• Free gift with every purchase (wrapped arcs).
• Poem in your pocket — our favorite poems placed in all bags.
• We will be participating in the Sonoma Author's Festival free event  “Authors on the Plaza” between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. Authors Dave Barry, Ada Limón and Abraham Verghese will be reading their from their latest works. Signed copies will be available for sale.

The Ripped Bodice

We’ll be hosting a special promotion with American Express. The first 200 Amex Card Members that visit the store on IBD will receive a complimentary $25 gift card to The Ripped Bodice to spend at our store. 

We are hosting an author event at 5:00 pm PT with Laura Thalassa.

San Marino Toy and Book Shoppe, As You Wish Toys and Books, & Clever Bear Toys and Books

• Guess the Shredded Book Raffle
• Balloons
• Mystery Grab Bags (marked with age groups for ARCs)
• Scavenger Hunt
• Book Themed Cupcakes
• Storytime at 11:00 am
• Character Dress-Up: Come as your favorite book character, take a photo and receive 30% off your book purchases

Sistah Scifi

Sistah Scifi Author Expo celebrating indie Black and Indigenous Speculative Fiction Writers in collaboration with the Bay Area Book Festival: Eventbrite Link

Wild Sisters Book Company

We are participating in a Bookstore Crawl with local bookstores. The crawl will run from Friday to Sunday for an Independent Bookstore Day Weekend. Stores are hosting vendors, music, author signings, kids activities and so much more! You can learn more on the Read the Region website and follow Read The Region on instagram. @read_the_region

Colorado

32nd Avenue Books, Toys & Gifts

Special discounts and give away with purchases. A Children's event: “Making Artists with Gia”

Shop at MATTER

We are planning a special newsletter for the event, and we are participating in the Colorado Independent Bookstore Month Bingo in collaboration with Colorado Indie Bookstores and Libro. We are also celebrating in store and online by dressing up as our favorite books and book characters/authors, with awards of small type swag for participants.

Connecticut

The Hickory Stick Bookshop

This year The Hickory Stick Bookshop will have exclusive IBD merchandise for sale, prize giveaways, a “guess the shredded book” competition, blind date with a book, and celebratory mimosas for customers.  We'll also have a special hidden Golden Ticket — if you find it a big prize awaits!

We will also be hosting two authors for book signings in the afternoon — Ann Leary, author of The Foundling at 1:00 pm, followed by Ralph White, author of Getting Out of Saigon at 3:00 pm.  

We are part of the CT Passport program which encourages people to visit all participating indie bookstores in CT over the course of the weekend to win huge prizes.

We're super excited and can't wait to see everyone!

Florida

Books & Books at The Studios

In Key West, we're having a party, with doughnuts and mimosas, and giveaways, and exclusive Bookstore Day merch.

Little Bus Books

Lakeland Booksellers will host the 2nd annual Lakeland Book Crawl, a week-long event where all six of the Independent Bookstores will have a designated day to highlight their store through an event, discount, promotion, etc. Attendees will have the opportunity to win a giveaway that includes a gift certificate to each store.

Little Bus Books will be featured on Friday, April 28, in which 50% of proceeds will go towards the purchase of Spanish translated books. These books will be provided to community partners who participate in our non-profit initiative, No Covers — Free Mobile Bookshop, where LBB gives away books to individuals and families within the community who lack adequate access to libraries or bookstores.

Georgia

Book Bound Bookstore

A local author signing, discount scratch off cards, Golden Ticket promo with Libro.fm, and giveaways.

The Crazy Book Lady

We are going to have a Tent event with over 10 Independent/Self-published authors, 10 vendors and 2 food trucks.  We will also have giveaways and special items for sale. More details on our Facebook event page.

Underground Books

• Buy 4 books get the 5th free sale (*5th book is of equal or lesser value)!
• Make a purchase of $150 and get a totebag full of advance reading copies (ARCs)! (*While supplies last. This is in addition to the free Underground Books tote-pak or t-shirt we always offer at $150!)
• Take 20% off the rare books in the glass case!
• Find the single Golden Ticket hidden in the bookstore and win 12 audiobook credits — a year of audiobooks! Plus our audiobook provider Libro.fm will have some of our all-time favorite audiobooks on sale for $5 and lots more! (Learn more about Libro.fm's IBD plans, and be sure to select Underground Books as your bookstore to support when creating an account or starting a subscription!)

Illinois

Peoria Book Rack

We are hosting an Alice in Wonderland Very Merry IBD Party! The whole store will be decorated in Alice in Wonderland decor; I will be dressed in an Alice costume and my husband will be the White Rabbit. He will be running all around the store with a watch, saying “I’m Late, I’m Late”. We will have an Alice backdrop for photo ops for the customers, an entire Alice themed dessert bar that is free. We have 15 local authors and bookish vendors setting up out front. We also have a mobile candy truck coming and a local company that makes cookies! Lots of free giveaways including Alice themed totes that say “We're All Mad Here at the Book Rack”! And sales all day long on books and sidelines! It’s going to be so fun!

Read Between the Lynes

• 10:30am: Storytime with Woodstock Willie
• 12:00 pm: Book signing with Charlie Donlea
• 2:00 pm: Dueling Poets with Terry Loncaric and June Sawers
• 3:30 pm: Book signing with S.A. Barnes
• 4:00 pm: Puzzle competition with author S.A. Barnes
• Golden Ticket Contest: Win Audiobooks from Libro.fm
• Raffle baskets
• Tote bags filled with bookish goodness raffled every hour

SE Wisconsin and NE Illinois Bookstore Passport
(Little Bean Books, Reads by the River, Studio Moonfall, Blue House Books, Boswell Book Co.)

Visit the 5 participating stores from April 24 – April 30 and have a bookseller stamp your passport with a purchase. Turn in your stamped passport and be entered to win a grand prize with books and merch from the stores.

Women & Children First

Yet again, we'll be participating in the Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl! More than 40 independent bookstores in the greater Chicago area — from Lake Forest to Beverly, and Naperville to the Loop — are collaborating on a third annual Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl, which encourages book lovers to indulge in bookstore tourism by visiting 10 or more stores in a single day.   

• Visit TEN stores in one day and get 10% off at all participating bookstores for an ENTIRE YEAR!
• Visit FIFTEEN stores in one day and get 15% off at all participating bookstores for an ENTIRE YEAR!

After visiting 10 or 15 participating bookstores, on your last bookstore visit show your passport and receive a limited-edition pin!

We will also be hosting a Bake Sale for Abortion outside of the bookstore in support of Chicago Abortion Fund!

Indiana

Fables Books
Inviting customers to gear up for Independent Bookstore Day with IBD Spirit Week.

• Tuesday: Plaid Tuesday. Dress in plaid for a free advanced reader book.
• Wednesday: On Wednesdays, We Wear Bookstore Shirts. Where a bookstore shirt from another bookstore and recieve a free advanced reader book.
• Thursday: Book Character Dress-up Day. Visit the store dressed as your favorite book character and receive a free advanced reader book.
• Friday: Story Time & Stuffie Sleepover. Kiddos are invited to come in their jammies for storytime, then leave their stuffies at the store. We’ll post photos of the stuffies playing and reading around the store without their humans. Then the next day, families come in to pick up their stuffies and enjoy the Saturday Festivities.

On Saturday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, meet three local authors:

• Adam Fleming, author of Old Roads, New Friends, a memoir.
• Chelsea Williams, author of There's Something About “I Love You”, a children’s picture book.
• Roger Carlson, author of A Celebration of Mothers in Rhyme, a children’s picture book.

All day Saturday, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, enjoy treats, prizes, exclusive items, and more.

• Every purchase gets to Spin the Prize Wheel
• Purchase $25+: Pick a Mystery Galley Book
• Guess the Shredded Book giveaway

MacArthur Books

• Kids fair from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm with crafts and balloon artist
• “Bookselling Can Be Murder” event from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm featuring four mystery authors with book signing
• MacArthur Books anniversary party from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Iowa

Dog-Eared Books

Here's our write up for a press release we're sharing locally:

In recognition of the unique contributions independent bookstores offer their communities, and in celebration of their loyal customers, seven central Iowa bookstores have joined together to plan a weekend of literary festivities, including a road-trip challenge and prize giveaway. Joining hundreds of bookstores in all 50 states, central Iowa’s proprietors will celebrate the 10th annual national Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30.

The seven businesses participating in the weekend-long road-trip passport challenge include: Dog-Eared Books in Ames, Dungeon’s Gate in Ankeny, Beaverdale Books and Storyhouse Bookpub in Des Moines, Raccoon River Press and Reading in Public in West Des Moines, and Pageturners in Indianola. The group represents several of more than a dozen independently-owned Iowa bookstores that have opened since 2021, heralding unprecedented growth in an industry strengthening local economics and, more importantly, creating unity in the communities they call home.

“Independent bookstores build community and offer inclusive books, thoughtfully curated with their community in mind, and you can’t get that from big box stores or online,” said Melissa McCallister, owner of Dungeon’s Gate.

Participating businesses will offer special events, exclusive books and gifts, free maps of all of the Midwest’s independent bookstores, and many more fun perks over the course of the weekend. Customers, new and established, are encouraged to visit a participating bookstore to collect a road-trip passport, which can be stamped by each of the bookstores at which they make a purchase during the course of the weekend. Customers who collect all seven passport stamps by end-of-business Sunday can turn their passports in at any of the participating bookstores for a chance to win one of seven grand prize collections of central Iowa bookstore swag.
    
As an aside: Dog-Eared Books will be offering free store-branded Indie Bookstore Day stickers with every purchase, free coloring pages, and balloons for kids. We are working on additional plans moving forward.
 

Swamp Fox Bookstore & Swamp Fox Kids

We will be hosting an author fair featuring local authors plus an appearance by NYT Bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.

Kentucky

Butcher Cabin Books

• Free exclusive merch like bookmarks, stickers, and mini notebooks
• Activities for kids
• Special book deals and bundles
• Mystery grab bags with books and goodies, free with purchase
• Free mini book pins, made in-store throughout the day
• Free tote bags with $100+ in purchases
• Plus other surprises!

Louisiana

We will be rolling out activities going on all day at Octavia Books. You will be also find some fantastic (and often quirky) literary gifts here created exclusively for Independent Bookstore Day 2023. We are offering tote bags, gifts, prizes and more.
 
10:15 am – 11:30 am: Kind Kids — Whitney Stewart

Let's celebrate KINDNESS. Whitney Stewart, award-winning author of Kind Kids: 50 Activities for Compassion, Confidence, and Community, will present kids craft activities to foster kindness to yourself and your community. Join the fun! (Ages 4 and up.)

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Krewe du Teux — Phil Hoose and Sandi St. George

Krewe du Teux — also known as Phil Hoose and Sandi St.George — have been singing and writing songs together for 15 years. Sandi is a well-known washboardist, mandolin player and percussionist.  Phil’s instruments include guitar and harmonica.  Phil is the author of fourteen books. His Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice won a National Book Award and a Newbery Honor. His Hey, Little Ant, co-written with his daughter Hannah Hoose, has sold more than a million copies, many in independent bookstores! Following the performance, Phil will sign copies of his newest book, Duet: Our Journey in Song with the Northern Mockingbird, and for which Krewe du Teux has a song.

The New Orleans Passport Challenge Bookstore Crawl

Octavia Books is proud to be teaming up with other New Orleans independent bookstores for a city-wide literary “crawl” with a chance at a grand prize of $175 in giftcards for those who visit and get their IBD “passport” stamped at all seven participating bookstores, including Octavia Books, Baldwin & Co., Blue Cypress Books, Community Book Center, Frenchmen Art & Books, Garden District Bookshop, and Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Book Shop.

This year, the New Orleans Passport Challenge will take place over two weeks instead of just one day! One lucky reader will win a $25 gift card from each of the participating stores (that’s $175 total).

Pick up your “passport” starting on Independent Bookstore Day at any of the participating bookstores; get it stamped at each stop along the way; and turn it in at your last. You may also collect other goodies along the way, to be determined by each store.You will have from April 29 until May 13 to visit all seven stores.

More at our event page.

Maryland

Atomic Books

Sale on all genre fiction books, crafts and coloring for kiddos, Libro Golden Ticket for a year of free audiobooks, and a prize drawing for a tote bag stuffed with great books!

Massachusetts

All She Wrote Books

• Drag Story Hour
• 10% off the entire store!
• ARC bundles for purchases over $50 (online and in-store)
• Book Fair tote bag with a “book surprise” raffle for purchase over $100

Belmont Books

Full Event Page

9:00 am — Authors and illustrators Heather Lang and Jamie Harper will be signing copies of their newest book, Supermoms! Animal Heroes.

12:00 pm —  Author and illustrator Ryan T. Higgins will be reading and signing his newest book, We Don’t Lose Our Class Goldfish.

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm — Local musician Sam Taber will be playing music outside (weather permitting) for all to enjoy.

All-Day Perks

• Purchase or pick up Independent Bookstore Day exclusive merchandise.
• Snag a Belmont Books 5th birthday t-shirt at a steep discount!
• Join Libro.fm to get audiobooks. Use the code BOOKSTOREDAY to receive a free audiobook, and support Belmont Books by choosing us as your bookstore! Sign up here!
• Enjoy some sweet treats and cafe samples from our Black Bear Cafe throughout the day to keep you fueled and in the mood to celebrate.
• We have two talented artists on staff! Benjamin Stalnaker and Haro Serrentino will be showing some of their newest pieces for sale all day.

Book Ends

11:00 am: Storytime with Jamie Spencer, author of The Train to Maine
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm: Performance by the Radcliffe Pitches, a Harvard acapella group
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Wine tasting led by owner Lauren
All day: $25 gift certificate raffle — earn 1 ticket for every $25 spent!

Author Meet-and-Greets
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Weina Dai Randel, author of Night Angels
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Kim Savage, author of In Her Skin
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Andy Ellis, author of 1% Leadership; Jessica Martin, author of For the Love of the Bard
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Jane Healey, author of Goodnight from Paris

Booklovers’ Gourmet

We are hosting author Tom Ingrassia from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, who will be signing and talking about his book One Door Closes: Overcoming Adversity by Following Your Dreams, which is celebrating 10 years in print. We will also have exclusive items for sale and special giveaways. Everyone who stops in will have a chance to win a $25 gift card.

Cape Cod & the Islands Bookstore Trail

Our bookstore trail runs from April 29 – October 7. 24 stores on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket are participating in the trail this year. Grab a passport at any of the participating stores and enter to win a gift card to the store of your choice! Check out the Bookstore Trail website.

High Five Books

All day long, kids from our community will wear our bookselling aprons and take turns as Junior Booksellers, sharing their readers’ advisory picks for shoppers. Shifts will change on the hour, and outdoors we’ll have our friends from Wake the Dead Donuts frying up hot mini-donut sundaes!

Hygge House Books

Question: What better way to celebrate Indie Bookstore Day than with a ’90s themed grown-up book fair? Answer: None!

Hygge House Books will be popping up at Redemption Rock Brewing in Worcester for a book fair complete with all the puffy stickers, cat posters, scented pens, erasers, and ALL the novelty and nostalgia you can imagine — including a laser-background school photo backdrop to take pics of your haul.

Add in a great selection of books for all ages — bestsellers, beach reads, 50% off sale, IBD exclusives — PLUS great beer + a ’90s band, and you've got what we call a 10th anniversary celebration to remember!

lala books

Surprise discounts & prizes at register, free ARCs with purchase of $50 or more, raffles, and select discounts.

Storybook Cove

Storybook Cove is excited to welcome Candido Bretto, local author, musician, music teacher, to participate in our Independent Bookstore Day festivities. He will be available to sign his book The Falling Star Repairman, and for conversation and discussion about his inspiration for his story and working with an illustrator to bring his book to fruition. 10:00 am to noon.

We will have Exclusive Books and Literary Items for purchase in the store starting at 9:30 am. LIMITED QUANTITIES, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

FREE Giveaways! Choice of one per purchase while supplies last. FREE Giveaways with purchase or preorder of related book(s) while supplies last.

All Day Offer: For every $10 spent (by cash, credit card, check) receive $1 in cold hard cash!

More info on our event page.

Word on the Street

Three Book signings! 

• Jarrett Lerner, 10:00 am – 11:00 am
• Maddie Frost, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm and
• Susan Tan, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm 

Spend $75 and receive a canvas tote bag filled with surprises (while they last). Special sales, games, and giveaways all day. Dublin the Therapy Dog 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm.

Minnesota

Buffalo Books & Coffee

Exclusive IBD Merch; in-store drawings and giveaways; book signing with Beth Leipholtz (The ABCs of Inclusion: A Disability Inclusion Book for Kids) from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm; and more!

Paperbacks and Pieces

Meet local authors:

• Shawn McGuire 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Andrew Pruett 10:00 am – 4:00pm
• Klover Rae 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Niki Bergler 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Jolene Goodman 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Ruth Bures 10:00 am – TBD
• Local Winona Driftless Kettle Corn will be setup outside selling tasty treats from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm (possibly later).

Rain Taxi

Rain Taxi publishes the Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport and coordinates the program on behalf of the numerous independent bookstores of the Twin Cities. Stores give out passports in the week leading up to IBD; readers get their passports stamped when they visit these stores, with opportunities to win prizes and earn discounts. Full information about the program can be found at Rain Taxi's literary calendar site beginning April 1.

Zenith Bookstore

• Local authors meet-and-greet
  • Stuart Getty, How To They/Them (Sasquatch Books)
  • Timothy Cochrane for Making The Carry (U. of MN Press)
  • Sheila Packa for Surface Displacements (Wildwood River)
• Free Advance Reader Book giveaway
• Free Hot Cocoa and Cookies
• 10% of sales will be donated to the Building For Women in Duluth for repairs.

Missouri

Bliss Books & Wine

Bliss will be celebrating with a day-long extravaganza featuring a local author expo, poetry readings, musical performances, art displays, book and wine pairings, giveaways and food trucks. Check out our full event page.

The Book House — St. Louis

• Special IBD Merchandise
• Giveaways
• Raffle
• Free Book Bags
• Bookstore Crawl

KD’s Books

We’ll be having fun all day:
Treats from Cookie Jar Bakery and Nothing Bundt Cakes

Make a purchase at an participating downtown business and be entered in drawings to win $25 gift cards from Main Slice, Whistle Stop, Frost, Taco Holics Club, or Poppy’s!

Kids’ Storytimes at 10:30 am AND 3:00 pm

Local musician Adam Chiarelli will be performing 2 sets LIVE!
11:00 am – 12:00 pm/1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Buy any 4 books and get the 5th one free all day long!

Plus, enjoy amazing deals on audiobooks via Libro.fm, find exclusive IBD 2023 merchandise, take a picture with your favorite book in our awesome photobooth, and pick up your FREE copy of the 2023 Indie Roadmap!

River Reader Books

• 10:30 am: Storytime & Personalized Bookmark Craft
• In-Store Selfie Scavenger Hunt
• In-Store Face Painting with Look At My Face, Face Painting — Prices from $8-12
• Selfie Photos with Cowbell
• Local Young Artist: Madison Flanigan will have her artwork on display, Madison will have Custom Designed “Cowbell” Merchandise for Sale
• Local Musician Kerry Beach will providel live music, weather permitting.
• Drawings and giveaways throughout the Day!
• Discounts on Select Sections
• Local Kindergarten 4th Grade Students: In honor of “Children’s Book Week” May 1–7, 2023, River Reader Books is hosting its 2nd Annual Bookmark Contest.  Students have been asked to design and draw a bookmark using the theme “Read Books to Spark Your Imagination”.  Voting will take place In-Store and on Our Facebook Page, Saturday, April 29. Winners will be Announced, Monday, May 1.

Stonecrest Book & Toy

For Kids: Storytime, crafts, scavenger hunt 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
For Adults: Book signing w/3 regional authors, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, author readings 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Michigan

Fenton’s Open Book

Our theme is books are the art of the mind. We are using an artist palette with books all around, lithograph prints, giveaways, mystery bags with lithograph T-shirts, prizes, balloon artist, local authors and illustrators, and more.

Island Books & Crafts

Book reading/signing with local author Sue Harrison with her new book The Midwife's Touch from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. ARC giveaway with each purchase.

MI Book Hop

Announcing the inaugural MI Book Hop, where you hop from indie bookstore to indie bookstore for a chance to win a gift card. Simply pick up your Bingo card at any participating store on Independent Bookstore Day and you’re off!

MI Book Hop kicks off on our favorite day of the year, Independent Bookstore Day, and continues through Mother’s Day. Visit stores and complete other fun bookish activities to fill squares on your card for a chance to win a grand prize $300 gift card to BookShop.org or one of several $20 gift cards to your favorite participating indie bookstore. No purchase necessary, but definitely appreciated. You may participate in one or more of three regions — Southeast, Mid, and Southwest Michigan

For a list of participating stores and full details go to mibookhop.com.

Hope to see you on MI Book Hop!

Serendipity Books

We’ll be celebrating with custom cookies, a "Grape Expectations" mocktail, LOADS of free ARC giveaways, a prize drawing, and a bookmark coloring contest!

Montana

This House of Books

Throughout the day, we will have regular drawings for FREE gift giveaways, several local authors will be on hand at various times to sign books, and at 1:00 pm, we will have a special National Poetry Month performance of selections from Chaucer and Beowulf in the original language with a related discussion about the evolution of English.

Nebraska

Chapters Books & Gifts

Bookstore crawl with nearby stores, author signing with ten Nebraska authors, and a book release celebration for author Tosca Lee’s new book, as well as spirit week and exclusive merchandise.

New Hampshire

Gibson’s Bookstore

• Indie Bookstore Day Bingo
• Local Authors as Booksellers for a Day
• Raffles
• Libro.fm Golden Ticket Promotion
• ARC Giveaways
• Write a Love Letter to the Bookstore
• Coloring Activities for Kids
• Special #BookHaul Photo Spot

New York

Alice, Ever After Books

• Four local authors as guest booksellers
• Buffalo Bookstore Passport
• Three “performers” throughout the day
• Cookies from local bakery
• New t-shirt/swag design

Black Walnut Books

Black Walnut Books, Beldame Books, and Ghosts Books are all located in the historic Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, New York. We will be celebrating IBD with a giveaway basket of books and a scavenger hunt that will lead you all around the Shirt Factory! We will also have lots of delicious local treats like cookies and cupcakes.

The Bookworm & BW Gifts

Raffles, Local authors Jon Kaledin (11:00 am – 1:00 pm) and Dennis Adams (1:00 pm — 3pm), coffee sampling from Kornerstone Cafe & Juice Bar 

Book Club Bar

We’ll be hosting a special promotion with American Express. The first 200 Amex Card Members that visit the store on IBD will receive a complimentary $25 gift card to Book Club Bar to spend at our store. 

Greenlight Bookstore

We’ll be hosting a special promotion with American Express. The first 200 Amex Card Members that visit the store on IBD will receive a complimentary $25 gift card to Greenlight Bookstore to spend at our store. 

Strand Book Store & Strand at Columbus Avenue

In-store events, online discounts, giveaways, events, and more!

The Lit Bar

We’ll be hosting a special promotion with American Express. The first 200 Amex Card Members that visit the store on IBD will receive a complimentary $25 gift card to The Lit Bar to spend at our store. 

The usual party and giveaways, but this year we're also launching a Lit. Bar x Vans x Kith apparel collection.

The Treehouse Reading and Arts Center

We are excited to have a special visit from Esteban the Green Crayon, from The Day the Crayons Quit. The character visit will feature a story hour and crafts.

In addition to the IBD giveaways and exclusives, we'll also highlight partnerships with local businesses as well, especially a local “green” business that offers composting and food scraps pickup services!

Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria
Giveaways all day!

North Carolina

Bookmarks

We are going to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day with the launch of our third annual Book with Purpose summer initiative, featuring the book Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas. Guests can come pick up their copy of the book, make donations to support book donations to schools and other community organizations, and create art about what it means to be American. Guests will have several opportunities to enter a giveaway to win the chance to create an endcap for one month this summer to showcase their own identity.

We will also be holding a special edition of our monthly Book Trivia hosted by our Inventory Manager. In honor of Independent Bookstore Day, trivia teams can draft a Bookmarks staff member to join their team — while supplies last!

Editions Book Store & Coffee Shop
15 bookstores in the greater Charlotte area are planning a book crawl. We are starting the beginning of April and really focusing on April 29–May 1.

Flyleaf Books

Special children's storytime event at 11:00 am! Free cookies & beverages for customers (while supplies last)

Page After Page
We will host adult and children’s authors, free refreshments, games and prizes!

South Main Book Company
We are so excited to be a part of the #greatercharlottebookcrawl this April! Check out the Greater Charlotte Book Crawl site for all the details — and you can even print your passport to visit the 15 participating stores in our area!

Oregon

Annie Bloom’s Books

We’ll celebrate the support of our neighborhood and beyond!

Broadway Books

• Sale on hardcover books and bookstore swag
• Live music
• Libro.fm Golden Ticket
• Book psychic
• Spinning wheel for prizes
• Cupcakes
• Free totes with qualifying purchase

Roundabout Books

• First 50 customers get a $10 Independent Bookstore Day Tote bag filled with free books and gifts. The total minimum purchase required is $50 (including the $10 tote).
• Author Event from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Leila Philip presents Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America. Co-sponsored by Deschutes River Alliance, and with an appearance by Chewy the Beaver.
• Exclusive Independent Bookstore Day Merchandise All Day
• Lots of spirit week fun from April 24 to April 29
• Free giveaways, free popcorn and snacks all day long!
• All month long — contribute to our community mural and share your Oregon Love!

Powell’s Books

Each of Powell's three Portland-area stores will have giveaways and prizes, as well as a selection of exclusive Independent Bookstore Day merchandise. Additionally, we have an exclusive tote designed by Powell’s for IBD as a gift with purchase while supplies last at all locations.

Pennsylvania

Cupboard Maker Books

We will be hosting a scavenger hunt and a social media contest as well as participating in the IBD instagram display contest. Details for our activities will be made available on our Facebook events page.

The Doylestown Bookshop

11:00 am – 1:00 pm — Local Author Expo featuring local authors:

Andy McPhee
Rebecca & Sallyann Majoya
Susan Dalessandro
David F. Martin
Tyree Scott
LCW Allingham
River Eno

1:00 pm — Lolly is back with a special storytime!

11:00 am – 2:00 pm:

• Raffles every hour on the hour beginning at 11:00 am
• Galley Giveaway
• Post a picture of yourself in front of The Doylestown or Lahaska Bookshop tagging the bookstore and #IndieBookstoreDay to be entered into a drawing to win a private shopping hour at the store of your choice with four friends! The winners will be notified on Tuesday, May 2.
• Order at least $25 worth of books from www.doylestownbookshop.com on Saturday, April 29, to be automatically entered into a drawing or receive a secret gift in their package.
• Share with us what your favorite book of all time is on our larger-than-life book banner (located on our cafe window at the Main Street entrance).

The Lahaska Bookshop

12:00 pm – 3:00 pm — Meet Our Booksellers

The Lahaska Bookshops booksellers will be on hand to talk about their favorite authors and books!

Jenn: 12:00 pm
Hilary: 1:00 pm
Marguerite: 2:00 pm

11:00 am – 2:00 pm:

• Galley Giveaway
• Post a picture of yourself in front of The Doylestown or Lahaska Bookshop tagging the bookstore and #IndieBookstoreDay to be entered into a drawing to win a private shopping hour at the store of your choice with four friends! The winners will be notified on Tuesday, May 2.
• Order at least $25 worth of books from www.doylestownbookshop.com on Saturday, April 29, to be automatically entered into a drawing or receive a secret gift in their package.
• Share with us what your favorite book of all time is on our larger-than-life book banner.

Let’s Play Books Bookstore
We are opening our SECOND STORE, at 3055 Tighlman St. in Allentown. Join us to see the new space, and meet and greet a number of local authors including Robin Gow and Maria Rodale.

Main Point Books
We are celebrating our 10th anniversary and store expansion on IBD. It will be our grand re-opening with an expanded children’s space and dedicated event space. So far we have signed up 12 local children’s authors and the number is increasing daily.

Rhode Island

Curiosity & Co.
Independent Bookstore Week at Curiosity Bookstore & Winebar

• Wednesday, April 26 @ 6:00 pm — Join us at Curiosity Store for a wonderful evening of conversation with author and activist Jan Krause Greene as she sits down to discuss her latest novel, The Space Between Dark and Light.
• Thursday April 27 @ 6:00 pm — Join us at Curiosity Store for an incredible evening of conversation as acclaimed author Rachel Beanland (Florence Adler Swims Forever) sits down with Reading with Robin’s Robin Kall to discuss Beanland’s latest novel, The House Is on Fire.
• Friday April 28 @ 6:00 pm — Flight Club: Kiss the Book! Celebrating local, independent bookstores and the exceptional workers who make these spaces of wonder possible. Flight Club Friday is an exceptional four-wine flight curated by resident sommelier Emma McLaughlin, a stack of incredible vinyl records to set the groove, and truly dope humans like yourself taking a minute to toast to the goodness that is wine and books.
• Saturday April 29 @ 1:00 pm — Stories In The Key Of Life: An Afternoon with Valerie Tutson. Join us at Curiosity Store for a sensational afternoon of storytelling with acclaimed storyteller and educator Valerie Tutson. Steeped in inspiration from folktales, personal recollections, and historical stories with an emphasis on Black traditions, Stories In The Key Of Life is an experience the whole family can enjoy.

South Carolina

Itinerant Literate Books

Join us as we celebrate Independent Bookstore Day and go on a fantastic voyage through all of our favorite magical realms.

• 

In-Store Specials
• 20% Off Blind Dates
• Live Typewriter Poetry with @ellewarrenwrites

• Buy 5 Books, Get Free ARC (pre-publication book)

• Limited Edition VIP Packages
• Make-Your-Own fairy crown and wizard hats
• Black-Out Poetry Station
• Special Events
• Magical Story Time — 11:00 am
• Not-Scholastic Boozy Book Fair @ @commonhousealeworks (12:00–5:00 pm)
• Local Fantasy & SciFi Author Showcase (1:00–3:00 pm)
• Elle Warren Poetry reading
• Magical Relics Scavenger Hunt (2:00–4:00 pm, $10)
• Herbology Workshop (5:00–7:00 pm, $25)

Tennessee

The Book & Cover

Please plan to join us Saturday, April 29 for a full day of merry making, starting with a group audiobook run/walk from the shop (Free! A chance to win a year of audiobooks from Libro.fm!) and ending with a grown-up cocktail book fair (tickets available soon!).

MoonPie General Store and the Original Book Warehouse

We are having an author signing with multiple authors. Also giving out free mini MoonPies to all guests!

Parnassus Books
Story time, special coloring sheets, local author signing lines (featuring Tyler Merritt, Jeff Zentner, Ann Patchett, and more!), and an online auction whose proceeds will benefit the Parnassus Foundation, which buys books for students in Metro Nashville Public Schools and other local organizations.

Utah

The Book Bungalow

• We’re part of a big (about 20 stores) state-wide Bookstore Crawl
• We’re welcoming customers on our front porch with “Puppetry on the Porch” (not set yet) and/or “Poetry Poser on the Porch” (a volunteer dressed up as Emily Dickinson, spouting some of her poems...this is set) as they get their bookstore maps stamped
• We’re hoping to host a special Story Time at Noon with local author/illustrator Micah Player talking about his new book, La Guitarrista (not set yet)
• We’re definitely hosting poet Michael Lavers with “Proper Poet on the Patio” at 2:00 pm as he reads from his new anthology, The Inextinguishable
• And of course we’re doing some giveaways throughout the day, including a special $50 gift coupon in one of the capsules in our GAP machine (a gumball machine with 2" capsules inside containing either poetry or art), which we're debuting on April 1 in honor of National Poetry Month

Texas

Copperfield's Books

For IBD 2023, Copperfield's customers receive a book lover’s swag bag with every purchase, including our IBD exclusive Josheph Brodsky quote tote, sticker and themed cookie, plus choice of bookmark, store coupon for their next visit, and a spin on our IBD Prize wheel for a special gift or discount!  It’s just our way of saying THANKS to our customers for shopping small and choosing Copperfield’s Books!

Curio Mrvosa

We’ll have free coffee and treats for early birds and Curio Mrvosa giveaway items with every book purchase all day long: 2023 Indie Bookstore Day zine, bumper sticker, sticker sheet, retro clic pen, and tote bag. Spend $100 and get all of the freebies! While supplies last. We'll also have a new, limited-edition T-shirt for sale.

Fabled Bookshop & Cafe

We are going with the theme “Readers are Leaders“ and dropping a new line of shirts for adults and kids with this theme.  Our graphic designer drew portraits of 9 national literacy leaders that we will have printed on 3x4' boards and posted around the store: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barack Obama, Laura Bush, Oprah Winfrey, LeVar Burton, Dolly Parton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Steph Curry, and Richard Branson. We are also going to have a huge portrait that is empty for people to use to take pictures of themselves as a future “Reader Leader.” 

We're doing a tote giveaway for orders over $50 (online and in-store) and a free sticker sheet with the portraits on it for all purchases over $20. For the kids, we will have a in-store scavenger hunt with prizes for all who complete it, as well as “Today's Reader / Tomorrow's Leader” portrait stickers they can write their names on and additional giveaways. We're doing a children's story time in the morning and our city’s police chief, Sheryl Victorian, will be reading at the story time! Lastly, we are syncing up with the Imagination Library team in our city and hosting a fundraiser that evening to help raise funds and awareness for Imagination Library.

We’re excited for this special day! Long live the bookshop!

Vermont

Bridgeside Books
Reveal of 2023 One Town One Book read, 2 local authors, free ARCs, prize wheel, and reveal of our new tote bags.

Phoenix Books Essex

Phoenix Books in Essex will celebrate Dav Pilkey’s unparalleled impact on young readers with a Dog Man sing-a-long, crafts, and snacks, plus we will have IBD exclusives, freebies, and general merriment.

Virginia

Birch Tree Bookstore
Birch Tree is thrilled to host an afternoon farmer’s market style fair spotlighting our local and aspiring authors located in our newly-renovated outdoor space with live music and a local wine or beer tasting! 

Food Temptress Cookbook Store

The Food Temptress Cookbook Store is having its first Pop-up Shop on April 29 to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day. It will be held at the Virginia Beach Winery from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Details on our website.

New Dominion Bookshop
Shop Local on Saturday, April 29
Come visit the shop on Independent Bookstore Day. We will be open from 9:30 am to 8:00 pm.

Buy Books, Get Gift Cards!
This year, we will be offering a special Independent Bookstore Day promotion. For every $100.00 you spend in the shop on April 29, you will receive a $10.00 gift card to the shop, good for May 1, 2023–May 31, 2024. Gift cards are only good towards future purchases. Purchases must be made on Saturday, April 29, in the shop to qualify.

Join Us for Our Annual Rose Garden Party
Our Rose Garden Party is back! Join us out in the Rose Garden from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm for refreshments and a general celebration of spring. Everyone is invited. Our Rose Garden is located outside, behind the shop, and is accessible from the alley off 4th St. In the event of rain, the Rose Garden Party will be held inside the shop.

Enjoy a Free Balloon (For Kids!)
We will have free balloons available in the shop for children, while supplies last!

Check Out Our Independent Bookstore Day Exclusives
Keep an eye out on social media for a preview of the exclusive Independent Bookstore Day items we will have in-store. These exclusives are made just for independent bookstores, and in years past, we have featured everything from signed books to limited edition prints, and even literary onesies! Please note that we are not able to put Independent Bookstore Day exclusives on hold, and we are not able to sell them until Independent Bookstore Day.

Share the Love on Social Media
Share a photo of your book haul (or a selfie in the Rose Garden or in front of the shop), and tag New Dominion Bookshop in the post. You can find us on Instagram at @new_dominion_bookshop, on Twitter at @ndbookshop, or on Facebook at facebook.com/newdominionbookshop. We will share our favorites throughout the next week!

Scrawl Books
Visits from the following authors and illustrators:

• 11:00 am – 12:00 pm: INK Publishing (Story Time)
• 12:00 – 2:00 pm: Alma Katsu
• 2:00 – 3:00 pm: Lillie Lainoff
• 3:00 – 4:00 pm: Ben Hatke
• 4:00 – 6:00 pm: Margaret Rodenberg

Winchester Book Gallery

We’re filling the day with puzzles for everyone — word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, and more…something for everyone all day! We will also have the exclusive Independent Bookstore Day themed items and great snacks from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm!

Wisconsin

Mystery to Me

We are partnering with several local bookstores in Wisconsin in a bookstore passport opportunity! Customers can pick up their passports at any of our stores, and with every store they visit, they are entered into a raffle that will be giving away 14 different book-ish giftcards!

SE Wisconsin and NE Illinois Bookstore Passport
(Little Bean Books, Reads by the River, Studio Moonfall, Blue House Books, Boswell Book Co.)

Visit the 5 participating stores from April 24 – April 30 and have a bookseller stamp your passport with a purchase. Turn in your stamped passport and be entered to win a grand prize with books and merch from the stores.

Washington

Ballast Book Company
We will have door prizes of delightful plants every hour on the hour, and other mystery giveaways!

Main St. Books Monroe

We’ll have cupcakes, author signing, and a bookstore crawl around Snohomish County.

Sistah Scifi

There will be a Sistah Scifi Author Expo event in Seattle! Eventbrite Link for Seattle event.

Wyoming

Wind City Books

Book Signing with Dr. Guyla Greenly, giveaways while supplies last.