Independent Bookstore Day is this weekend! 

With the announcement of the Am*zon Book Sale (April 23–28), now’s the time to keep putting indie bookstores front and center during our biggest party of the year.

Make sure your store's Indie Bookstore Day events are easy to find on your website and social media. 

We’ve created graphics and customizable assets and suggested copy for stores to use and send the message loud and clear: Algorithms don’t throw parties. Indies do. 

Check out Good Morning America’s coverage of Indie Bookstore Day, featuring ABA CEO Allison Hill and several ABA member stores!

It’s Indie Bookstore Day Spirit Week! Take advantage of our logos and other digital assets, use the hashtag #BookstoreSpiritWeek, and take part in the daily themes leading up to Indie Bookstore Day on April 26.

Here’s a photo of ABA staff showing off their indie bookstore merch!

We’re thrilled to announce these keynote speakers will be joining us at Children’s Institute 2025 (Ci2025)!

em dickson (e/em/eir/she) (Children’s Lit MA/MFA, Simmons) is a school librarian, competitive sailor, and sea shanty enthusiast. When not reading or writing, e can be found harmonizing to random sounds, collecting trinkets in eir pockets like a dragon, or promoting the color teal. 
Book: Beyond They/Them: 20 Influential Nonbinary and Gender-Diverse People You Should Know (Andrews McMeel)
Session: June 13: There Is No Such Thing as a Silent Ally

Petra Lord is a biracial trans author. She has a BFA in TV Writing from New York University, which she uses to recommend TV shows to her parents and predict the endings of movies. Queen of Faces is her debut novel. 
Book: Queen of Faces (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)
Session: June 13: There Is No Such Thing as a Silent Ally

Claribel A. Ortega, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Squad and the Witchlings series, and Pura Belpre and Eisner Award-winning author of the graphic novel Frizzy, is a former reporter who writes middle grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. 
Book: Scepter of Memories (Scholastic)
Session: June 13: There Is No Such Thing as a Silent Ally

ND Stevenson is the award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator of Nimona and The Fire Never Goes Out, the co-creator of Lumberjanes, and was the showrunner for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. 
Book: Scarlet Morning (HarperCollins)
Session: June 13: There Is No Such Thing as a Silent Ally

Lee Wind writes the books that would have changed his life as a young Gay Jewish kid. His latest nonfiction book for readers 11 and up is The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie. He is also the author of YA novels including A Different Kind of Brave.
Book: Like That Eleanor: The Amazing Power of Being an Ally (Cardinal Rule Press)
Session: June 13: There Is No Such Thing as a Silent Ally

Samira Ahmed is the New York Times  bestselling author of Love, Hate, & Other Filters, Internment, This Book Won’t Burn and the upcoming release, The Singular Life of Aria Patel. She is on the national leadership team of Authors Against Book Bans. 
Book: The Singular Life of Aria Patel (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Session: June 14: Breakfast Keynote

These speakers, in addition to Mychal Threets (June 12: Opening Keynote) and Mac Barnett (June 14: Closing Keynote), are sure to deliver engaging, educational, and inspiring talks that you won’t want to miss!

Haven’t registered for Ci2025 yet? Save your spot now! 

• Thursday, April 24 at 1:00 pm ET: LGBTQIA2S+ Affinity Group Bi-Yearly Forum
• Saturday, April 26: Independent Bookstore Day
• Tuesday, April 29 at 3:00 pm ET: ABA Staff Office Hours
• Tuesday, May 6 at 3:00 pm ET: New Member Series: Store Ownership 101
• Friday, May 9 at 3:00 pm ET: Ci2025 Virtual Institute Orientation
• Tuesday, May 13 at 3:00 pm ET: ShopTalk
• Tuesday, May 20 at 3:00 pm ET: New Member Series: POS Power Hour
• Thursday, May 22 at 2:00 pm ET: ABA’s Annual Meeting and Community Forum
  

Congratulations to our newest Booksellers Advisory Council (BAC) members!

• Eric Brooks, Black Pearl Bookstore, Austin, TX
• Revati Kilaparti, Old Firehouse Books, Ft. Collins, CO
• Kalli King, Rediscovered Books, Boise, ID
• Kate Larson, Ballast Book Company, Bremerton, WA
• Ashley Marie Mireles-Guerrero, Judging By the Cover: A Bookstore, Fresno, CA
• Lizzie Mattson, Henry's Books, Spearfish, SD
• Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Decatur, GA
• Jamie Thomas, Women & Children First, Chicago, IL

Booksellers: Please Respond to TikTok Survey

ABA needs booksellers to provide us with data on TikTok’s importance so we can quantify why an Amazon purchase of TikTok would be bad news for the bookselling industry. We are asking booksellers (especially those that use TikTok) to fill out a survey regarding how you use TikTok for marketing and sales, how many staff hours are dedicated to the platform, and your concerns regarding Amazon's potential acquisition. 

Oral Arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor

American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) is carefully monitoring proceedings in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which was argued before the Supreme Court yesterday. The case concerns whether parents should have the right to receive advance notice and opt their children out of any lesson featuring a book they object to on religious grounds — particularly LGBTQIA2S+ books. While the case does not have a direct impact on booksellers, ABFE stands with librarians, educators, authors, illustrators, and publishers in defense of diverse books.

Free Expression Legislation

In Florida, HB 1539 could have a floor vote tomorrow. This bill would skyrocket the number of book bans in Florida schools. It’s not too late to write to your representative asking them to oppose it. 

In North Dakota, HB 2307 is headed to the governor for a signature. It’s not too late to write in and ask for a veto.

In Texas, two bills targeting books are moving this week:

• HB 1375 would impact bookstores, authors, publishers, and distributors by creating civil liability if minors access material deemed harmful to minors. Because this is already illegal in the Texas penal code, the bill does nothing but create a pathway for frivolous lawsuits. Thank you to the booksellers who testified against the bill in the capitol today. We will update you when more information is available.
  
  
• HB 3225 would lead to book bans in public libraries for anything containing sexual content, regardless of its merit. It opens a new front in the war on books in Texas. The Texas Freedom to Read Project has an action alert you can use to register your opposition.