Session details are now available for the upcoming IndieCommerce Institutes, to be held on September 19 in New Orleans and on October 2 in San Francisco. 

Following last year’s success, ABA –– with the support of IndieBound’s publisher partners –– is reprising the Thanks for Shopping Indie promotion this holiday season.

Though “Banned Books Week in a Box” promotional kits are all gone, booksellers can still take advantage of Ingram’s additional discount on a list of 200 banned or challenged books. ABFFE is also offering a promotional kit, including bookmarks, buttons, bumper stickers, and more, for $25 plus free shipping.

Author Sherman Alexie has launched Indies First, a grassroots movement that calls on authors to show their support for independent booksellers by signing up to work at their favorite indie bookstore on Small Business Saturday, celebrated this year on November 30, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

A new film, created for the Lewisburg Literary Festival and now available on Vimeo, features booksellers from across the country discussing books, bookselling, and how bookstores contribute to the health of communities nationwide. Several well-known authors also make an appearance.

Nine e-book promotions were recently added to the IndieCommerce Publisher Promotions page. Categories include cooking, gardening, harvest celebrations, religious titles, children’s books, and a special promotion for The Explanation for Everything by Lauren Grodstein (Algonquin) as announced today in BTW.

Over the next few months, ABA will be rolling out a totally redesigned member database. In the coming weeks, the association will be reaching out to member stores via telephone to confirm that their data on file is correct and up to date.

Algonquin Books, Kobo, and ABA have teamed up to create The Explanation for Everything e-sampler promotion, which encourages customers to sign up for Kobo eBook accounts through indie bookstores. The promotion runs from September 12 to October 12, 2013.

Booksellers have praised Hannah Kent’s debut novel, Burial Rites (Little, Brown), for its evocative imagery, attention to detail, and lyrical prose. Here, Kent talks about the inspiration for her impressive first novel, the process of writing and researching, and the line between fact and fiction.

After challenging New York State’s sales tax fairness law three times — and losing three times — at the state level, Amazon.com and Overstock.com have taken the fight to the nation’s highest court.