Get health coverage before open enrollment ends December 7 for Medicare and January 15* for Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage. Booksellers can contact ABA’s membership health insurance partner LIG Solutions for a no-obligation health insurance assessment. Learn more about open enrollment.

*To have a health plan that takes effect January 1, 2022, enrollments must be completed by December 15, 2021. Enrollments completed after December 15 will be effective February 1, 2022.

Take the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)’s survey on COVID-19 relief programs. The results will be used to monitor and improve SBA relief efforts.

The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete for each program that you obtained financial assistance through.

The ABC catalog is now available for reordering! Use this form to place an order.

Save the date! Join us for a ShopTalk on November 18 at 8:00 PM ET.

Last Friday, the first Independent Bookstore Day newsletter was sent to stores that opted-in (via the Member Dashboard) to receive IBD communication.

Check your inbox for an email with the subject line “Start Planning for Independent Bookstore Day 2022!” for important dates and details to prepare for April 30.

If you didn’t sign up, you can opt-in now via the Member Dashboard.

‘Tis the Season for customers to shop local for the holidays!

We have created December assets for your newsletters and social media, along with recommended text.

Last week, we held a Technology Meetup dedicated to producing better product photography for your store website and social media.

Take a look at the recording of the session for a full demonstration of simple tips and tricks to use the next time you’re behind the camera.

As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law Monday, November 15, by President Biden, Congress ended the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC or ERC) early for many businesses, making wages paid after September 30, 2021 (Q4 2021) ineligible for the credit (with the exception of eligible recovery start-up businesses). The Employee Retention Tax Credit was originally slated to end January 1, 2022.

Shop Local FOREVER 2021 has officially launched! Authors from across Workman Publishing, ABRAMS Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, Candlewick Press, Chronicle Books, and Sourcebooks are posting to their social media platforms about why consumers should shop local now through the rest of the holiday season.

For stores, here's swag to gift customers and signage to help communicate the urgency of shopping local.

Here is the American Booksellers Association’s Indie Biography & Memoir Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending November 14, 2021.