Have ideas for next year’s Independent Bookstore Day? We have openings in the IBD Advisory Committee! The Advisory Committee provides feedback on ideas for items proposed by publishers as well as promotional aspects of IBD from now through next April. It is made up of one or two booksellers from each of the regional associations. Our first meeting will be mid-May!

You must be a member of a regional association to participate. To learn more and submit your name for consideration, complete this Google Form by April 7.

There is still time to vote in the ABA Board of Directors election! Each ABA member store may vote only once. If you are the owner or designated voter, check out the candidate bios and head over to the ballot to cast your vote. April 7 is the last day to submit your vote.

Help make our campaign efforts more impactful. Let us know the best way to contact you (email or text) and if you have any relationships with current lawmakers.

The fight goes beyond Banned Books Week. Stand against book bans all year with the "I Read Dangerously" shirt. All profits directly support ABFE. 

Bookstores interested in bulk orders should contact Dave Grogan at [email protected].

Texas Booksellers: Texas HB 900 is expected to pass the Texas House Public Education Committee. This bill requires vendors that serve Texas school districts to rate books that are sexually explicit or sexually relevant before selling to schools. The Texas Library Association is hosting an information session on this bill for vendors Thursday, March 30, at 3:00 pm CT.

If you would like to attend, please register here.

The American Library Association recently released its 2022 book ban data. In an effort to give our members all the information and resources they need to combat book bans, ABA is preparing a special edition of BTW dedicated entirely to this issue. Look for BTW: Banned Books Edition in the coming weeks.

Independent booksellers across the country have chosen Abby Jimenez’s Yours Truly as their top pick for the April 2023 Indie Next List. Here, Bookselling This Week and Jimenez talk about Yours Truly.

Ruchira Gupta is the author of I Kick and I Fly, a Winter/Spring 2023 Indies Introduce Kids selection. Here, Gupta and Emily Autenrieth of A Seat at the Table Books in Elk Grove, CA, discuss I Kick and I Fly.

Sunday, April 2, is International Children’s Book Day. This is an excellent opportunity to host a storytime or create a display full of your favorite children’s titles! Or look at the Indies Introduce Kids list and Kids’ Indie Next List to see the titles praised by other booksellers.

The American Independent Business Alliance is looking for partners for their Pride Month campaign. This campaign is part of AMIBA’s larger Choose Indie initiative, and partners will receive templates and ideas for Pride Month messaging, materials, and social media posts.

Learn more about AMIBA Pride Month.