It’s hard to believe we’re already in the final stretch of the year! To help you prepare, here is your guide to Q4 planning.

Big news! Oprah has just selected The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Harper) as her latest book club pick! Let your customers know, and join in on the fun on Oprah’s Book Club’s Instagram as Oprah leads readers in discussion for the next four weeks.

Sign up for this week's ShopTalk, taking place August 26 at 8:00 pm ET.

After more than eight years at the American Booksellers Association, Content Director Sydney Jarrard will be leaving her position at the end of August to focus on her own writing.

Children’s Institute attendees: Stop by the Expo area of the Hopin platform on Monday, August 30, to visit BIPOC-owned/focused small presses. Presses that will be in attendance include:

• Catalyst Press
• Lee & Low
• Street Noise Books
• Strive Publishing

Slots are still available for one-on-one sessions with the IndieCommerce team at Children’s Institute. Appointment dates are Tuesday, August 31, and Wednesday, September 1. All one-on-one sessions will be held virtually in Eastern Time. You must be attending Children’s Institute to sign up. If you have any questions, contact [email protected].

With the Delta variant on the rise, bookstore owners and managers should remember that small businesses can receive refundable tax credits for providing paid time off for employees to get vaccinated. The federal government recently expanded the tax credits to cover wages paid to employees who take a family or household member to get vaccinated. The tax credits are available through September 30, 2021.

IndieCommerce stores interested in changing up their website this holiday season have two new themes to choose from. Available this week is the Flatland theme, which comes in five different color palettes (ADA compliant for color contrast), and includes navigational icons (icon images included in the theme), a built-in slideshow (with alt text for slideshow images for ADA compliance), and a redesigned book product page. Here are three sample sites configured using the Flatland theme.

• Flatland Theme #1
• Flatland Theme #2
• Flatland Theme #3

Contact [email protected] with the email subject “Flatland Theme” to give it a try. The second new theme, “Santa Rosa,” will be available next week.