With millions of students heading back to school and facing censorship efforts, ABFE has partnered with the ACLU to help amplify The Right to Learn Campaign. The ACLU’s “Right to Learn” campaign aims to empower students, parents, and teachers to advocate for inclusive education. The campaign includes a toolkit that booksellers can use during Banned Books Week. The Right to Learn Organizing Toolkit is a resource for K-12 students and parents to build their own campaigns/grassroots efforts to combat book bans and classroom censorship efforts in their own school districts. The Toolkit elements include:

• School Governance 101;
• Sample Petition & Sign-On Letters Advocating for Our Right to Learn;
• Guidance on How to Start your Own Banned Book Club;
• Direct Candidate Engagement for Midterm Elections, and many others.

ABA members joined our host, Drag Queen Nebuer Styles, for Banned Books Bingo on September 12. Check out the Banned Books Bingo game card available in ABA’s Banned Books Week digital assets. This fun virtual bingo game provided a blueprint for booksellers should they want to hold a Banned Books Bingo game in their store during Banned Books Week. Congratulations to winners: 

• Nicole McManus of My Sister’s Books
• Nancy Baenen of Arcadia Books
• Judy McClure of Rozzie Bound Co-op
• Jan Bolgla of Atlanta Vintage Books
• ABA Senior Graphic Designer Melissa Napolitano
• BrocheAroe Fabian of River Dog Book Co.
• Alissa Redmond of South Main Book Company
• Allison K of Oblong Books
• Lee Wind of Independent Book Publishers Association
• Rebecca Leber-Gottberg of Rediscovered Books
• Pamela French of Binc

Booksellers are encouraged to join our friends at the American Independent Business Alliance for their Call for Partners: Shop Indie Local Holiday Campaign.

Congratulations Binc for a successful #ReadLoveSupportBinc Fundraising Campaign. Thank you Binc for the good work you do for the community helping booksellers and comic sellers through life’s emergencies. Thank you to everyone who contributed to help Binc reach their goal.

Congratulations to former ABA Board Member and a long-term member and supporter of ABA, Kris Kleindienst, for winning the 2022 Voice of the Heartland Award! Kris Kleindienst, owner of Left Bank Books in St. Louis, MO has been named the 2022 Voice of the Heartland award winner. This award is given in recognition of individuals and organizations who “uphold the value of independent bookselling and have made a significant contribution to bookselling in the Midwest.” Kris is a champion of her local community while being a progressive voice for the underrepresented and historically marginalized communities. Ms. Kleindienst will be presented with the award during Heartland Fall Forum in St. Louis at the Heartland Book Awards Ceremony, on Wednesday, October 12, at 4:00 PM CT.

Announcing the October Management Book Club pick, Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott. This monthly meetup — part business book club and part consulting group — is intended for bookstore managers and owners to discuss selected management books, share best practices in staff management, solicit advice on staff development, and grow their skills as leaders in our stores. Each month, ABA Director of Education Kim Hooyboer will lead discussions on the month’s selection. You can register for one of the meetings based on your geographical location or schedule: Management Book Club West or Management Book Club East. 

Edudzi Adodo is the author of the novel Children of Stardust, a Summer/Fall 2022 Indies Introduce kids’ selection. Here, Adodo, Revati Kilaparti of Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins, CO, and Ernio Hernandez of River Bend Bookshop in Glastonbury, CT, discuss Children of Stardust.

Here is the Indie SciFi/Fantasy Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending September 18, 2022.