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Wednesday, October 18, 2023
The Independent Bookstore Day 2024 Exclusives Catalog is Available!*
 

The Indie Bookstore Day 2024 Exclusives Catalog is now available!

*A downloadable PDF of the catalog is also available.

This year, our exclusives proudly feature authors and contributors who are Vietnamese American, LGBTQIA+, Nigerian American, and more, as well as items to help you get out the vote and fight book bans. It is our goal every year to include more diverse offerings and we continue to work with publishers on their exclusive submissions.

The order form will open Monday, October 23, at 1:00 pm ET.

If you have not already done so, sign up for the Independent Bookstore Day Newsletter to receive the order form as soon as it opens.
 
Check Out the Catalog
 
Save the date for these upcoming events:
 
 
Visit the Events Calendar
 
And the Winner of the Banned Books Week 2023 Instagram Display Contest is…
 

Auntie’s Bookstore of Spokane, WA!

One designee from the store will receive a scholarship to Children’s Institute 2024. Congratulations! 

We also have two honorable mentions, each of whom will receive a T-shirt:

The Haunted Book Shop of Mobile, AL 

Fireside Books of Palmer, AK 

Congratulations to our winners, honorable mentions, and all of our participants! The competition was fierce. And of course, the real winner is the freedom to read, which is bolstered every time someone tells their community about banned books.
 
Children’s Institute 2024 Scholarship Applications Open Monday, October 23
 

ABA’s scholarship program aims to create a more equitable path to entry for booksellers who have or hope to make a career in the industry, and/or booksellers who might not be able to attend otherwise. 

Scholarship recipients receive waived event fees to in-person Children’s Institute, a comped hotel room during the Institute, and up to $600 reimbursement for travel to and from the Institute. Children’s Institute registration also includes 5 complimentary meals (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and the Book Swap Dinner), and 2 receptions with light fare and refreshments.

Applications will open Monday, October 23, at 1:00 pm ET. Applicants will need to sign in with their BookWeb username to complete the form. If you do not have a BookWeb username you can request one with this form or reach out to [email protected] for assistance. Watch your inbox for the application link.
Countdown to Indies First

The 11th Anniversary of Indies First on Small Business Saturday is just over a month away!

Looking for more ways to promote Indies First? We’ve got you covered with this list of ideas and resources. 

And don’t forget to grab our Indies First and Indie Bookstore Ambassador Amanda Gorman assets!
Learn More
Get Caught Reading

Get Caught Reading is the Children’s Book Council’s year-round role model poster program featuring authors, athletes, artists, and more. The portfolio of over 100 bulletin-board sized posters includes Kate DiCamillo, Jacqueline Woodson, Neil Gaiman, Sue Bird, and Gloria Estefan. Librarians, teachers, and an indie bookseller are also now featured.

The latest poster features Calvin Crosby of The King’s English Bookshop!
Check Out the Posters
Indie Bookstore Feature on USA Today

Every week, USA Today spotlights an independent bookstore on the USA Today Books page!

For an opportunity to be featured, fill out this google form and pitch your bookstore to USA Today.

Please share as much as possible — this is your time to shine and to share what makes your store unique. And don’t worry, your answers will be copyedited and proofread.

This opportunity is for ABA Member stores only.
Pitch Your Store
Indie Mystery/Thriller Bestseller List

Here is the Indie Mystery/Thriller Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending October 15.
See the Bestsellers
Education Meetup: This is a Fire Drill

Join ABA for a virtual encore of our regional show education session, This is a Fire Drill: Preparing for and Avoiding Crises. Structured around some of the top crises stores have experienced in the past year, ABA's Director of Education, Kim Hooyboer, will review best practices for bookstore emergency preparedness. Topics will include: fire, flood, natural disasters, protesters, break-ins, ransomware, credit card fraud, and more. We’ll explore ways to respond to these crises, prioritize employee communication, and mitigate the risk of these events occurring at your store. 

Join us Thursday, November 9, at 3:00 pm ET. 

This session will be recorded and available for members to view in our on-demand video library on BookWeb.
Register Now
Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month! We want to remind all members to take the precautions recommended by the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

CISA’s 4 Big Recommendations:

  • Use strong passwords AND a password manager.
  • Turn on multi-factor authentication.
  • Recognize and report phishing.
  • Update software.

CISA has a wealth of materials to download, including tool kits and resources for any organization to share. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has additional materials, including a virtual background for Zoom calls. Like any effective communications effort, it’s about reaching people in different ways — texts, posters, town halls, YouTube and TikTok videos. Let's be vigilant and do all we can to protect ourselves from cyber attacks.

Visit CISA
The ABACUS Report is Coming Soon

The latest ABACUS report will be available Friday, October 20. Thank you to everyone who participated!

If you participated in ABACUS this year, your customized ABACUS results will be emailed directly to you.

All members will have access to the general data. 

We encourage you to participate in ABACUS next year to receive a customized report. And the more data we have, the more useful the reports are to everyone!
ABA Children’s Group Catalog for IndieCommerce Sites

The ABA Children's Group Best Books for Young Readers catalog is now available on all IndieCommerce, IndieLite, and IndieCommerce 2.0 sites! 

The link to the catalog is “/catalog/abc” appended to the website domain. Stores are encouraged to create a block with an image that links to the catalog or include it as a menu item on their homepage. 

For assistance, IndieCommerce subscribers can contact [email protected].
Management Book Club

Join other bookstore managers and owners to discuss selected management books, share best practices in staff management, solicit advice on staff development, and grow your skills as leaders in your stores.

The Management Book Club meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 3:00 pm ET. 

The November selection is: Belonging Rules: Five Crucial Actions That Build Unity and Foster Performance by Brad Deutser (9781637744024).

There will be no meeting in December.
Join the Book Club
James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus

Nominations are open for the James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program!

James Patterson has increased his contribution, pledging a total of $300,000! This year, 600 booksellers from ABA member bookstores will receive $500. 

Booksellers can self-nominate to be considered for a bonus, or they can be nominated by bookstore customers, owners, employees, managers, fellow booksellers, publishing professionals, or authors. 

The deadline for nominations is November 15. Please double check bookseller details before submitting.
Learn More
Advocacy Updates
 

Banned Books Week has come and gone, but the fight is far from over. Of particular concern last week was a spike in the prevalence and severity of harassment online. ABA’s Advocacy team advised several member stores, including one store that had over 500 comments spreading misinformation about censorship. The posts often included hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community.

Here is some of what we learned supporting these stores:

  • If you start to notice trolling, consider limiting comments early to prevent going viral.
  • If you are already submerged, post a story to ask your followers for support. They can drown out hate with love. If it gets really bad, ABA can amplify the call for help.
  • Look out for laughing emoji reactions on posts that aren’t funny. This is often a sign that a post is being targeted by trolls.
  • Keep us in the loop. Email [email protected] when we can offer support.
  • Check out the Right to Read Toolkit for more, if you haven’t already, and give it to any staff involved with communications.

Above all, as always, take care of yourself. It is extremely upsetting to be targeted in this way. We encourage everyone not to read the comments if it starts to get bad, especially if you’re sensitive to homophobic and transphobic content. 
 
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