Booksellers interested in creating a HarperCollins Facebook Live video to impress their Facebook followers and gain new ones can sign up to choose one of five Saturdays in November and December 2018.

In 2018, HarperCollins is inviting a new bookseller to share a video on Facebook Live each week; in around 20 minutes of screen time, the featured bookseller can introduce themselves and the store’s staff, give customers a behind-the-scenes look at store operations, discuss upcoming events, share favorite staff titles, and answer questions posted by commenters in real-time. The five taping dates still available are November 3, November 10, December 15, December 22, and December 29.

This year, to help publicize booksellers’ videos, the American Booksellers Association is sharing them with its 44,000 followers on its Facebook page [5] and IndieBound page [6]. Booksellers need a smartphone with an Internet connection as well as the Facebook app to participate in this program. HarperCollins, which launched the initiative in 2017 [7], is also helping bookstores plan their Facebook Live events this year by sending a “best practices” guide in advance of taping.

Booksellers interested in joining their fellow booksellers in this initiative should e-mail [email protected] [8] and make sure to mention the referral came from ABA. To browse Facebook Live videos posted throughout 2017 and 2018, browse the #HarperCollinsLovesIndies hashtag on Facebook [9].

Here are all of the 2018 Facebook Live videos so far:

•     Alabama Booksmith [10], April 21, Homewood, Alabama
•     Curious Iguana [11], April 14, Frederick, Maryland
•     Oblong Books & Music [12], April 7, Rhinebeck, New York
•     WORD Bookstore [13], March 31, Jersey City, New Jersey
•     Page & Palette [14], March 24, Fairhope, Alabama
•     Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers [15], March 17, Farmington, Maine
•     Downtown Books [16], March 10, Manteo, North Carolina
•     Old Firehouse Books [17], March 3, Fort Collins, Colorado
•     Tattered Cover Book Store [18], February 24, Denver, Colorado
•     Penguin Bookshop [19], February 17, Sewickley, Pennsylvania
•     Mrs. Dalloway’s Literary and Garden Arts [20], February 10, Berkeley, California
•     Belmont Books [21], February 3, Belmont, Massachusetts
•     Wellington Square Bookshop [22], January 27, Exton, Pennsylvania
•     Card Carrying Books & Gifts [23], January 20, Corning, New York
•     Liberty Bay Books [24], January 13, Poulsbo, Washington
•     One More Page [25], January 6, Arlington, Virginia