• Check out the new ABA Fall campaign, including new assets and suggested copy for social media!
• Order ABFE merch for yourself or your store.
• Read the latest ABA 125th Anniversary interview featuring Pete Reynolds.
• Join AMIBA’s 2026 Choose Indie Local Campaigns.
  

On Thursday, August 7, Indian police raided bookshops in Kashmir, seizing 25 books banned for perceived criticism of the Indian state under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE), the free expression initiative of the American Booksellers Association, condemns these actions, which are clearly meant to chill speech. Seized works include works by Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy as well as respected historians and academics. 

ABFE’s stance is clear: an attack on bookshops anywhere is an attack on bookshops everywhere. We stand with the impacted bookstores, authors, and patrons and support their rights of free expression.

We’re thrilled to introduce this year’s fall campaign: It’s Giving…Community, Cozy, Connection.

This campaign invites readers to embrace the community, cozy vibes, and real connection that indie bookstores provide.

It’s Giving…Community, Cozy, Connection assets are now available on BookWeb, along with recommended language for newsletters and social media!

• Tuesday, August 19 at 6:00 pm ET: Board Office Hours
• Monday, August 25 at 3:00 pm ET: Meet the Vendors: Sidelines Edition
  
• Tuesday, August 26 at 3:00 pm ET: ABA Staff Office Hours
• Tuesday, September 2 at 3:00 pm ET: ShopTalk
• Tuesday, September 9 at 3:00 pm ET: New Member Series: Meet the Partners
  

August is Women in Translation Month! This is an annual celebration of women around the world who write in languages other than English. 

Need a few titles to recommend? Several translated titles written by women have been featured recently as Indie Next List picks!

• When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén, translated by Alice Menzies (An Indies Introduce title and the #1 pick for the August 2025 Indie Next List)
• Discontent by Beatriz Serrano, translated by Mara Faye Lethem
• Make Me Famous by Maud Ventura, translated by Gretchen Schmid
• Women, Seated by Zhang Yueran, translated by Jeremy Tiang
  

Book Bans in Florida

American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) is disturbed by the escalating intimidation by Florida officials targeting parents, school boards, and superintendents who defy their extralegal orders to remove a list of books they don’t like.

As Kelly Jensen of Book Riot reports, Florida officials including the Attorney General and Education Commissioner have sent letters demanding districts remove books they falsely deem “pornographic,” and superintendents have been called before the State Board of Education to be badgered, in several cases ultimately acceding to the demands over the protests of their school boards. Unlike in South Carolina and Utah, there is no legal structure to enable statewide book bans in Florida. 

If you are in Florida and want to know how you can help, contact the Florida Freedom to Read Project.

Fall Fly-In

Booksellers are encouraged to join us in Washington, DC, on October 7, for a fly-in to advocate on behalf of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which would introduce competition into the credit card processing market and lower fees.

To sign up or learn more, email [email protected].

More Tariff Changes, De Minimus Exemption to End

The tariff landscape continues to change as the White House announced new tariffs last week. Among the key announcements:

• Effective August 29, 2025, the US is suspending the de minimis exemption for low-value commercial imports, which means shipments valued at $800 or less will generally no longer be exempt from duties and formal entry requirements.
• As of August 1, 2025, the US raised the tariff rate for Canadian imports not covered by USMCA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement) from 25% to 35%. 
• The US and China extended a tariff truce for another 90 days, pushing trade negotiations to the fall. During this period, the US tariff on Chinese goods remains at 30% (down from 145%), while China's tariff on US goods is 10% (down from 125%).

These tariffs may indirectly impact bookstores by affecting book and shipping prices or consumer spending. Things are constantly in motion, but we will continue to update the Advocacy tariff page.