Thank you all for celebrating Independent Bookstore Day! It was our biggest Indie Bookstore Day yet, and Google saw a record number of searches for “Independent Bookstore Day!”

The ABA team was also out celebrating. Here are some staff photos from this weekend.

We've heard from many stores that Indie Bookstore Day has become their best day of the year. Were your sales up or down compared to last year's Independent Bookstore Day?

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Stores that ordered exclusives received an email with the subject line, “Submit your Indie Bookstore Day Sell-Thru Data!”, with instructions to submit the survey by Friday, May 3. This information will help us work with publishers as we determine next year’s exclusives.

Independent Bookstore Day 2025 will be Saturday, April 26! 

We recently added a Black Booksellers Affinity Group. This new affinity group offers Black booksellers, Black bookstore owners, and those who have not previously had a chance to engage with that part of their identity a place to gather for connection, support, community, resources, and networking. This group will meet on the fourth Monday of each month.

Booksellers interested in attending should visit their Member Dashboard and join through the Email Subscriptions tab. If you don’t have a login, you can request one.

You can also visit BookWeb to see a full list of the ABA Affinity Groups.

Take a second to tell us how your store is doing. Compared to January–April of last year, are your sales up or down since January 1, 2024?

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Join Loyalty Bookstore's co-owner Christine Bollow and Belmont Books' Audrey Huang in a virtual meetup for AAPI Booksellers on Monday, May 13, at 7:30 pm ET.

Interested booksellers should email Christine to receive the meeting information. If you're unable to make this meeting but are interested in attending future meetups, please reach out to Christine to receive future updates!

This event was organized by members, not ABA. Please reach out to Christine for more information.

Did you know IndieCommerce gives weekly updates on e-commerce, IndieCommerce migration, and other relevant news?

Check out their latest update to see how 2024’s Q1 online bookstore sales compare to 2023.

Did your bookstore's website see similar sales trends as the 2,500 bookstores on IndieCommerce 1.0, 2.0, IndieLite, and Bookshop.org? 

Independent booksellers across the country have chosen Lindsay Currie’s The Mystery of Locked Rooms (Sourcebooks Young Readers) as their top pick for the May/June 2024 Kids’ Indie Next List. Here, Bookselling This Week and Currie talk about The Mystery of Locked Rooms.

Zoë Bossiere is the author of Cactus Country, a Winter/Spring 2024 Indies Introduce selection. Here, Bossiere and Frances Metzger of Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, MT, discuss Cactus Country.

Here are the 25 Indie Next List and 6 Now in Paperback picks on the June 2024 Indie Next List flier. Top pick? Fire Exit by Morgan Talty. And, to mark the start of a new month, May Indie Next List and May/June Kids’ Indie Next List social media assets are live on BookWeb.

Here is the Indie Poetry Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending April 28.

Are you looking to buy or sell an independent bookstore? We can help!

Anyone interested in buying or selling an independent bookstore confidentially can contact [email protected] to be connected with interested parties. You can also check (or submit!) listings on ABA's Classifieds Ads page.

Booksellers should note that claims in the Mastercard/Visa class action settlement are due May 31. The Merchants Payments Association, of which ABA is a member, is recommending that every business that took credit cards should file claims for the monetary settlement.

As a note, ABA filed an objection last week to the injunctive relief settlement, which does not involve money and only addresses Visa/Mastercard rule changes. The monetary settlement is distinct from the injunctive relief settlement, and it has gone through approval and appeals and is in the claims process. Anyone who does not file a claim is simply leaving money on the table with no advantage.

ABA is happy to announce a new partnership with RISEWITHUS. ABA members now receive a discount on RISEWITHUS training, starting with the Rise to Resolution trainings in June and July.

Over four online sessions, attendees receive a participant workbook and expert strategies with practical application. This program includes live workshopping of difficult scenarios, allowing you to sharpen your skills and develop actionable solutions. 

Learn more about the ABA member discount on BookWeb. You must be logged in to view details.