Canadian independent booksellers are celebrating Independent Bookstore Day, a tradition that began in 2018 with the first Canadian Independent Bookstore Day that has aligned with the U.S. version since then. CIBD developed from Authors for Indies Day, which began in 2015.
More than 300 Canadian bookstores are participating this year and will offer a variety of celebratory activities that are similar to what’s being offered in the U.S., including customer giveaways, discounts, exclusive products, author events, and more.
Exclusive giveaways from publishers include “shop local” sticker sheets from Penguin Random House Canada, bookish zines from Biblioasis, World of Munsch sticker sheets from Scholastic Canada, Murdle: By the Book mystery activity booklets from Macmillan Publishers & Raincoast Books, CIBD chocolate bars from HarperCollins Canada, activity books, bookmarks, postcards, and more. (A few of the exclusives are offered by U.S. bookstores, too.)
This year’s celebration again features the Contest for Book Lovers, under which people who purchase books at a Canadian Independent Booksellers Association store on April 26 can enter a drawing; prizes include four C$200 (about US$140) gift cards and a grand prize C$1,000 (US$700) gift card to a bookstore of the winner’s choice. Each book purchased is worth one entry, and books written or illustrated by Canadians are worth double.
Canadian authors are as excited by and supportive of Canadian Independent Bookstore Day as booksellers and publishers, especially at a time when Canada’s neighbor to the south isn’t acting very neighborly. The Canadian Independent Booksellers Association highlighted “Authors Love Indies,” featuring Canadian authors expressing their appreciation for independent bookstores.
For example, Louise Penny wrote, “Canadian indies made my career. Without the support of independent bookshops, including Brome Lake Books in my own village, there’s no way there would be 18 Gamache books. That’s why it was the first thing I created in Three Pines. Myrna’s Bookshop. Beyond that, as a reader, it’s where I choose to spend time. Is there anything better than wandering the shelves of a Canadian independent bookstore?”
Bookstore Day idea is growing beyond North America in a huge way. Booksellers from around the world have organized the Global Book Crawl, which will take place for the first time April 21-27 and include hundreds of stores on six continents. Organizers included Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, owner of Greenlight Bookstore and Yours Truly, Brooklyn.
Each city or region designs its own crawl. The countries with the most participating bookstores are Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, and the U.S. The areas in the United States that are part of Global Book Crawl include Atlanta, Ga., Brooklyn, N.Y., Cape Cod, Chequamegon Bay in Wisconsin, Louisville, Ky., Oklahoma City, Okla., Puget Sound in Washington, Queens, N.Y., San Gabriel Valley in California, and Washington, D.C.
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