We are set to have the largest Independent Bookstore Day to date with over 2,000 stores participating! You can continue to submit your plans to ABA (including crawls and passport programs) to be added to our IndieBound article. The deadline to submit plans is April 17. Marketing and Promotions:Send Us Your Display Photos - Leading up to Indie Bookstore Day, we’ll be sharing store photos across social media! Email your Indie Bookstore Day display photos to [email protected]!
- Orders are arriving in stores now! Feel free to post unboxing videos and pictures of your displays using the hashtag #IndieBookstoreDay, so we can reshare on our social media platforms. However, exclusive items may not be ordered, pre-ordered, or added to a cart by customers until April 25. Blackwing pencils are being sent separately from the vendor.
Partner Promotions Content Creators We’re excited to collaborate with content creators across the country to help spread the word about Indie Bookstore Day! Take a look at who we’re working with this year and give them a follow:
Share Your Media Mentions Is your store being mentioned in local news outlets? Email the story to [email protected] to be added to the IndieBound Indie Bookstore Day Media Webpage. There’s still time to send an Indie Bookstore Day Press Release to your local media! Download the template, enter your specific bookstore’s information (we provided examples!), and you’re ready to send it off. Spirit Week Starting Monday, April 20, join fellow booksellers for Independent Bookstore Day Spirit Week! Feel free to share the digital assets, use the hashtag #BookstoreSpiritWeek, and take part in the daily themes leading up to Indie Bookstore Day on April 25. Here are the Spirit Week holidays: Reminders:- Add exclusives to your IndieCommerce websites.
- Stores that ordered exclusives, be on the lookout for a Sell-Thru Survey email on April 27 with the subject line, “Submit your Indie Bookstore Day Sell-Thru Data!” This information will help us work with publishers as we determine next year’s exclusives.
Key Dates to Know:- Now! Early- to mid-April, 2026: All exclusives ship to bookstores
- April 20–24, 2026: Indie Bookstore Day Spirit Week
- Monday, April 20: Silly Sock Day
- Tuesday, April 21: Plaid Tuesday
- Wednesday, April 22: On Wednesdays We Wear Bookstore Shirts
- Thursday, April 23: Book Character Dress-Up Day + World Book Day!
- Friday, April 24: YOUR store’s Spirit Day
- April 25, 2026, the last Saturday in April: Independent Bookstore Day
- New! April 27: Sell-Thru Survey Opens
- New! May 1: Sell-Thru Survey Closes
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, Senior Marketing Manager at [email protected]. |
