Author Jason Reynolds, the spokesperson for Indies First 2017 [5] on Small Business Saturday (November 25), is continuing his campaign to inspire readers to visit their local independent bookstores by sharing on Twitter five important things he now knows about indie bookstores.

[6]On Wednesday, September 20, Reynolds tweeted, “Five things I’ve learned (and you should know) about independent booksellers [6],” a post that garnered more than 400 retweets and nearly 800 likes.

Over the course of several subsequent tweets, Reynolds commented on the knowledge of bookstore staff, booksellers’ support of their communities, the aesthetic of indie bookstores, and more. In his final tweet, Reynolds urged, “NOW GO SUPPORT YOURS! DO ITTTTT! #indiesfirst [7].”

See the full thread on Twitter [6].

In celebration of Indies First on Small Business Saturday, to be held on November 25, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Reynolds will visit East City Bookshop [8] in Washington, D.C., where he will serve as an independent bookseller for the day.

As booksellers begin to make plans for Indies First on Small Business Saturday, they are encouraged to add their activities to the 2017 Store Activity Registry [9]. All details submitted to the registry will appear on the Indies First consumer map on IndieBound [10], which launched today. Booksellers can visit the Author & Illustrator Index [11] to find people interested in volunteering for an Indies First activity.

Booksellers should also review the Indies First specials on offer from a number of publishers and university presses. The list, which is available as an Excel spreadsheet [12] on BookWeb and in the ABA Book Buyer’s Handbook [13], will continue to be updated in the coming weeks (booksellers will need a username and password to access the lists; e-mail [email protected] [14] for login details).

This year, in celebration of Indies First, ABA is partnering with Penguin Random House for the #shopindiesfirstsweepstakes [15]. Between November 15 and November 26, Twitter and Instagram users who tag a U.S. independent bookstore and use the hashtag #shopindiesfirstsweepstakes will be entered to win $1,000 worth of books from Penguin Random House.

A random drawing will be held in mid-December to select five grand prize winners, who will each receive $1,000 worth of books. In addition, the independent bookstores named in the winning posts will each win $1,000 worth of books to be donated to a local nonprofit. All prizes are courtesy of Penguin Random House. See the complete sweepstakes rules here [16].

Booksellers can find social media images [17] to promote the #shopindiesfirstsweepstakes in the Indies First DIY on BookWeb [18], as well as additional materials to promote Indies First [18].

Visit BookWeb to learn more about Indies First [5].