More than 630 stores are planning to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day [7] (IBD), which will be held on Saturday, August 29. Booksellers are invited to promote a range of virtual events taking place on August 29; event links and social media assets are available here [8].

Kids’ and YA events:

• 1:00 p.m. ET: Lisa Brown drawing class from Goldfish Ghost
• 1:30 p.m. ET: Gene Luen Yang (Dragon Hoops) graphic novel discussion and tips
• 2:00 p.m. ET: Middle Grade Fun with Renee Watson (Ways to Make Sunshine) and illustrator Nina Mata (I Promise) with moderator Isaac Fitzgerald (How to Be a Pirate)
• 3:00 p.m. ET: Feminist, Fantasy YA with Kat Cho (Wicked Fox and Vicious Spirits), Rena Barron (Kingdom of Souls and Reaper of Souls), and Rebecca Kim Wells (Shatter the Sky).

Adult events:

• 4:00 p.m. ET: Amor Towles reading and discussing his book You Have Arrived at Your Destination
• 5:00 p.m. ET: Writing the West with Reyna Grande (The Distance Between Us), Lauren Francis-Sharma (Book of the Little Axe) and Rishi Reddi (Passage West: A Novel)
• 6:00 p.m. ET: Telling the Stories of the Pandemic: All-star Author Panel from Alone Together: Stories of Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 (all profits from the book benefit the Book Industry Charitable Foundation)
• 8:00 p.m. ET: Bookstore Day Ambassador Showcase with Tayari Jones (An American Marriage), Lauren Groff (Fates & Furies and Florida) and Emma Straub (All Adults Here)

In celebration of IBD, between August 28 and August 31, Europa Editions is offering indie bookstore customers a free ebook of Elena Ferrante’s Frantumaglia when they pre-order The Lying Life of Adults. Europa will provide the ebook directly to customers who fill out an online form. Booksellers can visit the ABA Pre-Order Calendar [9] to learn more and access marketing assets here [9].

On Friday, August 28, translator Ann Goldstein will be hosting an event to kick off Independent Bookstore Day. Watch the IBD website [7] for more details.

Visit the Independent Bookstore Day website [7] to learn more about the annual event. Watch Bookselling This Week in the coming weeks for more information about Independent Bookstore Day, or sign up for the IBD newsletter [10].