27 May
Indie Next List Interview

Q&A with Ann Patchett, Author of June Indie Next List Top Pick “ Whistler”

“Ann Patchett is a master storyteller. She has given us the gift of another beautiful novel with layers of stories within stories. This is a tale about how the past never stays in the past and how we need to tell our stories to heal and change the narrative,” said Amy Graham of The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury, Vermont.

27 May
About ABA
President/CEO Letters and Speeches

ABA CEO Allison Hill's Letter from the 2025 Annual Report

“2025 was another banner year for independent bookstores. ABA’s membership grew by 19%, and 605 new brick-and-mortar, pop-up, and mobile stores opened across the US. The majority of stores also reported year-over-year increases in sales for 2025 over 2024. These numbers are part of some incredible momentum for the indies; ABA membership has grown 151% the past 6 years.

2025 was also the most challenging year for indies on record as our members faced rising costs, tariffs, the impact of ICE and the National Guard in communities, discriminatory laws, the impact of climate change, book bans and challenges, and free speech harassment in addition to the perennial challenges of thin margins and Amazon’s monopoly and monopolistic chokehold on our industry.”

20 May
Advocacy Testimony

Memo in Opposition to US HR 2616

Honorable members of the US House of Representatives,

I write on behalf of the American Booksellers Association, the trade association of independent bookstores representing over 3,200 bookstore companies nationwide, to express our deep concern with HR 2616. This book censorship bill would chill expression across the book industry, hurt small businesses, and decrease the variety of books in the marketplace.

A National Book Ban Impacting Countless Titles

20 May
About Bookselling
Blog

Partner Spotlight: Ghostbuyers

Ghostbuyers offers “The Ghostbuyers' Guide to Becoming a Great Bookstore Buyer,” a comprehensive 27-lesson online course covering everything new or prospective buyers need to know. They also provide direct consulting and inventory management services, including frontlist and backlist buying support, opening inventory builds, and strategic consultation, for stores that want an experienced hand in the mix.