The 2022 Duende-Word BIPOC Bookseller Awards celebrate and uplift the Black and Brown independent booksellers whose dedication to indie bookstores and their communities have touched and influenced countless lives. Nominations are still open until Monday, September 19! Read more about the Awards on BookWeb and nominate!

We are collecting bookstores’ plans for Banned Books Week to share with other ABA members AND to promote on IndieBound.org and accompanying social media platforms. We’re excited to see what stores are doing. Feel free to add links to pages for more details and/or as much detail you're able to share. Please use this form to share your display photos/videos by Friday, September 30.

We need your help! We need at least 759 more signatures to help us pitch booksellers’ opposition to book banning for a national media story. We are urging booksellers to sign and share ABFE’s banned books petition. The petition is for independent booksellers to collectively condemn the growing partisan attacks on books and offer support to schools and libraries. We need signatures in time for Banned Books Week so we can do a press release. We have 1,241 signatures and we need at least 2,000 to let the media know that thousands of booksellers across the country oppose book bannings and make that the story. Sign the petition then ask 10 bookselling friends and colleagues to sign. Our aim is a powerful national story about how indie bookstores are fighting for the right to read!

Advance Access — Underrepresented Voices centers perspectives from the BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and Disability communities. As the upcoming September Advance Access — Underrepresented Voices newsletter approaches, publishers are asked to submit their title submissions by Friday, September 16. ABA reminds publishers that there is a nominal fee of $25 per title submitted for ABA Associate members and their distribution clients. ABA is committed to keeping the costs of this program to publishers low to ensure that booksellers hear about these books. Publishers may submit titles by emailing them to peter@bookweb.org.

As we approach the busiest time of the year for retailers — here is an opportunity to save on shipping this holiday season. ABA members can access exclusive FedEx discounts. Save 50% on FedEx Express and 30% on FedEx Ground shipments. Enroll for the discounts anytime in September and you’ll also be entered to win a “Peak Season Survival Pack” chock-full of goodies — treats, a $50 Visa gift card, and other surprises to share with your team. Only one entry is counted per enrollment and the winner will be randomly chosen — sign up today for your chance to win!

With over 100 submissions, we’ve narrowed down the list of names for our new beloved Bookstore Cat to five! Now is your chance to vote for the winning name to be used in marketing campaigns throughout the year to promote indie bookstores. Click the name you’d like to become the ABA cat mascot name by Tuesday, September 13!

• Abacus
• Ampersand (“Sandy” for short)
• Deckle
• Isbn (pronounced is-bin)
• Stacks

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated Thursday, September 15, through Saturday, October 15, we’d like to celebrate some of our self-identified Latinx bookse lers who have been mentioned recently in the news! Two of those members, Libros Bookmobile, a Latina-owned mobile bookstore in a converted school bus in Taylor, TX and Los Amigos Books in Berwyn  IL, were highlighted in a New York Times article.

All month, we will highlight Hispanic and Latino owned bookstores in our membership ranks. Please update your membership information if you identify yourself as part of this community and want to be celebrated!

Back in November 2019, Danny Caine of the Raven Book Store in Lawrence, KS, released a zine called How to Resist Amazon. The zine was so successful, Caine published it as a book. In advance of the release of the revised edition, David Grogan, Director of ABFE, Advocacy, and Public Policy, for ABA, sat down with Danny to discuss his book, antitrust, and, of course, how one exactly does resist Amazon. Read more on BookWeb.

Hiron Ennes is the author of the novel Leech, a Summer/Fall 2022 Indies Introduce adult selection. Here, Ennes and Ellen McLaren of Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, WA discuss Leech.

Here is a preview of the titles that will appear in this year’s Indie Gift Guide for Genre Lovers. The guide includes Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller, Graphic Works, and Poetry titles. Read more

Because it’s already time to start thinking about next year…we’re excited to share that Independent Bookstore Day, our favorite day and the biggest one-day national celebration of indie bookstores, will be held on April 29, 2023. Sign-up to receive dedicated IBD emails with logistics and steps to participate in Independent Bookstore Day through the Email Subscriptions tab on your Member Dashboard. Don’t have a BookWeb.org login? Request one.

We have compiled handouts of various holidays and observances for October through December as well as example captions and ways to share. See what makes sense for your store's displays, events, newsletters, and social media posts in celebration or observance of these dates. This is not intended to be used in place of your marketing plan, but to supplement it. Refer to this list when you have space in your event and content calendars. Get creative!