Glennon Doyle Named 2021 Bookstore Day Author Ambassador

Independent Bookstore Day (IBD) has announced that Glennon Doyle has been named the 2021 IBD ambassador.

Glennon Doyle

The bestselling author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed, a Reese’s Book Club selection that has sold over two million copies; the #1 New York Times bestseller Love Warrior, an Oprah’s Book Club selection; and bestseller Carry On, Warrior, was called a “patron saint of female empowerment” (People) and is now a champion of independent bookstores.

“I have been to one million independent bookstores. I have met the booksellers who founded them and own them. I have fallen in love with them,” said Doyle. “Zero jerks own independent bookstores. They just don’t. They are — always — people who believe in and deeply invest in communities and art and ideas. And during this pandemic, in which we have lost one local indie per week, we need to prioritize investing in these local businesses who invest so much in us.”

Booksellers should sign up for the Independent Bookstore Day newsletter or watch BTW for news about Doyle’s April 22 virtual event for IBD and the upcoming #BookstoreShoutOut social media campaign.

Booksellers can also visit the searchable Independent Bookstore Day map, which went live this week. Stores should check that their information is correct; any changes should be sent to ABA’s Greg Galloway by Sunday, March 28.

To help stores prepare for IBD, ABA is hosting a Marketing Meetup on the event on April 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET; booksellers interested in attending should use the sign-up form at the bottom of the ABA Meetups page to join the appropriate mailing list.

This Marketing Meetup will include an overview of Bookstore Day, why it’s important, and how some bookstores are celebrating and promoting it both virtually and in-store this year.

Stores should also be on the lookout for arriving Bookstore Day tote bags and bookmarks; the bookmarks should be handed out with all purchases during April. Bookstore Day orders can be viewed on Ingram’s iPage, and questions can be sent to Ingram’s Katy Underwood.

Booksellers with questions about the event can reach out to [email protected].