Submit your nomination for the ABA Board now! Booksellers are welcome to nominate themselves or someone else. The deadline to nominate is Sunday, October 17. Here’s more information about the ABA Board of Directors Elections process.

The ABA Board has proposed changes to the association’s bylaws (which mostly account for clarity of expression and presentation.) Review proposed changes here. Vote here.

Thank you James Patterson! We’re grateful to James Patterson for once again supporting independent booksellers with a revival of his Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program. Anyone can use this form to nominate yourself or a bookseller you know by Monday, November 15, to be considered for a holiday bonus of $500.

And, take a look at marketing assets you can use to encourage customers and everyone at your store to spread the word about the program, available now on BookWeb.org. 

Random House invites independent bookstores to participate in a one-night virtual event with Brené Brown to celebrate the publication of Atlas of the Heart. Find more information and sign up here.

ABA acknowledges Indigenous
Peoples' Day, Monday, October 11, and to celebrate our Indigenous booksellers and stores. 

Learn more about the history of the day, see reading lists, and find additional resources for honoring indigenous peoples.

For the 2021-2022 season, Penguin Random House (PRH) has eliminated the minimum requirement for its 2-Day holiday transit program. PRH stated in a press release: “Booksellers can now submit orders in whatever amounts work best for them, on their schedule, without having to build up to a minimum-retail-value threshold.” Find more information in the Book Buyer’s Handbook (BookWeb login required).

Marketing assets for Indies First are now available. Select from social media graphics, including quotes from Indies First Spokesperson Roxane Gay about the importance of shopping at independent bookstores.

Booksellers, don't forget to take advantage of the Q3 Employee Retention Tax Credit (worth up to $28,000 per employee for 2021). The tax credit can be claimed on quarterly tax filings. Learn more here.

Formatted Indie Next List printable shelftalkers are back from ShelfWiz! Highlight the Indie Next List selections on your shelves each month by downloading and printing the PDF and slipping the review sheets into a ShelfWiz clip.

There’s still time to submit applications for the 2022 Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists and the 2022 Indies with Impact Award, a Penguin Random House/Binc Foundation community engagement project. The deadline to submit is October 11.

Here is the November/December Kids’ Indie Next List preview. Top pick? Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson.

Read a Q&A with Maleeha Siddiqui, author of Barakah Beats, a Summer/Fall 2021 Indies Introduce young adult selection. Brein Lopez of Children’s Book World in Los Angeles, California, called the book a “joyful debut that features a diverse cast of Muslim characters headlined by a superstar in 12-year-old Nimra.”