43 Days until Indie Bookstore Day!

Sign-ups to participate close March 31, 2024*. You must be a logged-in ABA member** to access the form. If you do not know your login credentials please email us at [email protected]. 

*If you have already ordered exclusives, you do not need to complete this form.

**Independent Bookstore Day is open to those who are members of ABA, as well as their regional booksellers association.

What's New:

Bookmark Sponsorship

Some stores have started to receive their March box mailings, and included in those boxes are packs of Indie Bookstore Day bookmarks, with one set being a book that was published by Little A (an imprint of Amazon publishing). It is unfortunate that they chose a book published by Amazon, but that book can also be purchased through Ingram and on Bookshop. 

Our Independent Bookstore Day sponsors are currently allowed to promote any books in their catalog as long as they do not contain hate speech. We fully understand and support your decision if you do not want to use these bookmarks. This decision is up to you. 
New Indie Bookstore Day assets

New Assets, Product Descriptions with ISBNs Available

Share how your customers can best prepare for Spirit Week and Independent Bookstore Day with these new graphics for social media! You can also find the exclusives product descriptions and ISBNs on BookWeb.    

IndieCommerce Webinar Replay

On Monday, March 11, IndieCommerce pushed the Indie Bookstore Day 2024 exclusives to all participating IndieCommerce and IndieLite sites. This update and the Independent Bookstore Day feature on IndieCommerce (IC 1.0) and IndieLite websites were covered in this week’s webinar. (Recording and Help Document are now available.)

Highlights from the Webinar and Help Document include:

  • How to manage the exclusive product listings
  • Create custom pages and calendar entries
  • Display on-hand quantities (IndieCommerce only, not IndieLite) and limit how many of an exclusive customers can purchase
  • Adjust the on-sale date
  • Manage orders for Indie Bookstore Day exclusives
  • Sell the Bonfire T-Shirt ahead of April 27
    • The Bonfire T-Shirt is the only exclusive that can be sold prior to Indie Bookstore Day
  • Other available resources

Sharing Your Plans on IndieBound!

We are compiling a list of plans for an IndieBound blog post which will be promoted in April on social media. Plans will be added on a rolling basis as they are submitted! Submit your plans to ABA (including crawls and passport programs).

March To-Do's:

We recommend checking out the Planning Guide regularly for upcoming to-do’s! Now is a good time to:

  • Start marketing Indie Bookstore Day.
    • If you ordered the free Indie Bookstore Day bookmarks, they will arrive in your March Box Mailing.
    • Mention the day and any details in your newsletter and on social media. Make your announcement and share teasers using these digital assets and exclusive item images on BookWeb.org.
    • List special events in your events calendar.
  • Send a Press Release to your local media.
    • Download the template, enter your specific bookstore information (we provided examples!), and you’re ready to send it off.
    • Arrange for media sponsorship — radio, newspapers, websites — in your area if possible.
  • Keep an eye out for your Ingram Order on ipage.
    • Exclusives will start shipping in early April. When you receive your order, the label and invoice will have a PO Number with your Ingram Account (ie. Ingram Acct#_IBD2024). You can track your order by locating the “Find My Order” button at the top of ipage in your Ingram account and enter your Purchase Order Number or EAN/Product Code. For step-by-step instructions on tracking your order, locate “Ingram’s ipage Enhancements” feature in the Bulletin Board on your account dashboard. Stores whose accounts are not in good standing with Ingram will not have their order completed or shipped.  

Key Dates to Know:

  • March 31, 2024: General Participation Form closes
    • If your store is in multiple locations, you must fill out a form for each store location or RDC.
  • April 5, 2024: Indie Bookstore Day Searchable Map goes live on IndieBound
  • Early- to mid-April: All exclusives ship to bookstores
  • April 22–26, 2024: Indie Bookstore Day Spirit Week
  • April 27, 2024, the last Saturday in April: Independent Bookstore Day

Stay tuned for future updates via our newsletters. Missed an issue of the Indie Bookstore Day Newsletter? Catch up on them all on BookWeb.

Questions? Contact Courtney Wallace, Independent Bookstore Day Program Director at [email protected].

Independent Bookstore Day
[email protected]

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