California Bookstore Day Plans in Full Swing

California Bookstore Day (CBD) has tallied 80 bookstores that will be participating in its inaugural celebration on May 3, 2014. Thirteen special word-based items to be created especially for the day are now in the works.

“We now know who all of our participating bookstores are, and we have their orders in. We’re very pleased with how it’s shaping up,” said CBD Coordinator Samantha Schoech. Among the 80 stores, “we have all the major players as well as a lot of small, outlying stores, which is important to us. We’re very pleased with the numbers and the range of participants.”

Thirteen limited-edition items are being produced by publishers large and small for California Bookstore Day, and the items have racked up orders of more than 7,000 units from participating bookstores. The gross retail value of all items is more than $150,000.

California Bookstore Day has also shared some preliminary images of items that will be available only at independent bookstores on May 3, including:

• A Literary Map of California ($40, 3Fish Studios)
• A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius tote bag ($29, Litographs)
• Depressed. Repressed. Obsessed. by Lisa Brown ($17.99, CBD Publishing)

Marketing efforts for California Bookstore Day are in the beginning phases, and Schoech is encouraging booksellers to think about how their stores will make the day a hit. “Each bookstore should start planning their day and what kind of events they will do, and begin reaching out to their customer base,” she said. CBD will be working on larger publicity efforts statewide, including coverage in magazines, newspapers, and blogs.

CBD is also developing materials to help bookstores with the outreach. “We’re working on a bunch of downloadable posters, bookmarks, and bag stuffers that participating bookstores can download from our website to use,” said Schoech. “We’re hoping stores will come up with really cool events and displays and their own marketing campaigns.”

As booksellers begin letting customers know about the great items that will be available on May 3, publishers are at work designing and creating the merchandise, which booksellers will have in stores about a week before the event.

Visit www.cabookstoreday.com to stay current on California Bookstore Day happenings, or watch for news and updates on Facebook and Twitter.