The American Booksellers Association has joined forces with the Independent Publishers Caucus [7] (IPC) to help indie publishers promote their best backlist titles in a way that is also commercially advantageous for indie bookstores.

In this new program [8], IPC publisher members will have the opportunity to bring their key backlist titles back to prominence and back onto regional and national Indie Bestseller lists. Titles they have nominated will be chosen by indie booksellers to appear in a special “indie publishers” section of ABA’s Summer 2019 Indie Next List for Reading Groups flier and for promotion at stores across the entire indie channel.

Formed in 2017 by a collective of independent publishers at Winter Institute in Minneapolis, IPC was created as an advocacy group launching initiatives to help foster a mutually beneficial sense of community among independent publishers, between publishers and booksellers, and with readers.  

To kick off this newest initiative and help indie publishers breathe new life into their backlist, IPC asked its publisher members for titles that have a notable sales track in the indie channel, and the potential to capture new sales in this channel, either because of renewed interest in the title or untapped sales.

Starting today, March 6, ABA member booksellers will begin voting for any of these 21 titles via this webform hosted on BookWeb.org [9], and write blurbs for their top five choices. After the voting period ends on Wednesday, March 20, the top five vote-getting titles will be chosen for the Reading Group Guide. The guide, which will be mailed to member bookstores in ABA’s May Box Mailing, is ideal for use as a handout at author events and special reading group nights and as a takeaway at the cash wrap and in-store displays. 

Booksellers with questions about the program can contact ABA Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger [10].