Party Planning Underway for Independent Bookstore Day

Independent booksellers are planning in-store celebrations for the first annual Independent Bookstore Day, on May 2, that run the gamut from a Mad Hatter tea party to a literary trivia challenge to a live writing competition.

More than 350 bookstores will also be selling special literary-themed merchandise created just for this year’s celebration. Customers can find stores selling these literary pieces on the interactive Independent Bookstore Day map.

For its celebration of the inaugural national Independent Bookstore Day, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café in Asheville, North Carolina, will test local readers’ minds with a Literary Trivia Challenge Party.

The store’s booksellers will be creating the literary questions and categories, including one titled “Independence,” and local businesses will be invited to contribute prizes for winners. Treats for guests will include hors d’oeuvres, champagne, and live music, as well as a sheet cake with the Independent Bookstore Day logo.

Malaprop’s has printed festive Independent Bookstore Day bookmarks with teasers highlighting the exclusive literary pieces that will be available on May 2. “We’re already giving these bookmarks out with purchases to build interest and create possibilities to discuss Independent Bookstore Day with customers,” said General Manager Linda-Marie Barrett.

Store staff will begin wearing T-shirts with the Independent Bookstore Day logo on the front and Malaprop’s logo on the back ahead of the event to generate excitement for the celebration among store customers. Malaprop’s is also sending press releases to local media and is advertising on its local NPR station to get the word out.

Downtown Books & News, Malaprop’s used book store, is also celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with a live music performance and special commemorative hoodies for sale.

In Houston, Texas, Brazos Bookstore is debuting a coloring book specially created for Independent Bookstore Day. Hemingwasted: A Loving Look at Literary Lushes features Illustrations of famous writers with witty quotes revolving around the subject of alcohol. Brazos is wholesaling copies of the coloring book to other interested bookstores as well.

“We just liked the idea of doing a coloring book,” said Marketing Director Ben Rybeck. “We were looking for something to make for Independent Bookstore Day and thought it would be fun to celebrate the authors we all love.”

In the evening on Independent Bookstore Day, a literary competition at Brazos will pit four local writers against one another in a live writing challenge, with their works to be judged by a panel of Houston-area writers. Each contestant will play for a literary charity, and beverages from local breweries and wineries will be on hand for attendees to enjoy.

Moscow, Idaho’s BookPeople of Moscow will kick off its Independent Bookstore Day celebrations with a visit from Curious George and a reading of Curious George Goes to a Bookstore by H.A. Rey (HMH Books for Young Readers). The bookstore is borrowing the character’s costume from the publisher for Children’s Book Week, which runs May 4 to 10.

In addition to specials, giveaways, and the literary Independent Bookstore Day merchandise, BookPeople of Moscow will offer customers donuts in the early morning and beer tasting later in the afternoon. The store is also inviting members of the local high school’s arts collective to draw cartoon illustrations of customers’ favorite book characters in exchange for a small donation.

“Since independent bookstores are such community hubs, we decided to get collaborative with other downtown businesses and organizations,” said Events Coordinator Jamaica Ritcher.

San Francisco’s The Booksmith will host a Mad Hatter Tea Party for its California Bookstore Day celebration, complete with decorated front windows, a table decked out for tea time, a tea leaf-reading psychic, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland decorations posted throughout the store.

The party will be “full of Bay Area writers, literary magazine editors, literary organization pros, publishers, enthusiastic readers, beloved customers, and all the people we can think of who make our store a success!” said Events Coordinator Whitney Ochoa.

Authors visiting the store to celebrate, mingle, and sign books include Lisa Brown, Rabih Alameddine, Laura Fraser, and illustrator Christian Robinson, as well as the editors of online literary magazine Midnight Breakfast.

“We’re hoping to create a festive and casual way for writers and the larger literary community to participate in California Bookstore Day,” said Ochoa.

Greenville, South Carolina’s Fiction Addiction is planning an all-day party to coincide with its 14th anniversary.

Starting in the morning, the first three dozen customers through the bookstore’s doors will get a Krispy Kreme donut and have a chance to buy some of the special Independent Bookstore Day merchandise.

Noontime festivities will feature a musical adventure story time for children and their families. The first 50 kids through the door will get a free gift, and the afternoon fun will be topped off with a birthday cake celebration for Fiction Addiction.

Come evening, customers will join in the launch of Joni Tevis’ The World Is on Fire: Scrap, Treasure, and Songs of Apocalypse (Milkweed Editions), a May 2015 Indie Next List pick, and will be treated to adult refreshments (possibly including something with flames).

Booksellers can learn more about Independent Bookstore Day here. Stay tuned to Bookselling This Week for updates about the celebration and follow Independent Bookstore Day on Facebook and Twitter.