Sherman Alexie Charters Bus to Tour Seattle Bookstores on Indies First

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In celebration of the fourth annual Indies First, author Sherman Alexie has invited Seattle city council members and local reporters, musicians, and fellow authors to join him on a tour bus to travel to three indie bookstores in the Seattle area on November 26.

“I want to honor independent bookstores in the largest, silliest, most fun way possible,” said Alexie, “with snacks and coffee and a party bus filled with poets, novelists, playwrights, cartoonists, essayists, journalists, and graphic artists.”

During the tour, Alexie and two dozen companions, who will be adorned with festive blue-and-white Indies First scarves from Ruffneck, will stop at Third Place Books, University Book Store, and The Elliott Bay Book Company, where they will spend time shopping and interacting with customers.

Among those joining Alexie on the tour will be authors Deb Caletti, Jessixa Bagley, Nancy Rawles, and Sarah Glidden; musician Gabriel Teodros; and reporters Nicole Brodeur of the Seattle Times and Paul Constant of the Seattle Review of Books.

Each person on the tour will suggest a book they think would make a great gift; the recommendations will be compiled in a list and shared with the bookstores on the tour. Alexie has chosen Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers by Kwame Anthony Appiah (W.W. Norton) and Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala (Vintage).

Indies First was started by Alexie in 2013, when he called on authors to show their support for independent booksellers by signing up to work at their favorite indie bookstore on Small Business Saturday, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Other authors who led the campaign in the years that followed include this year’s spokesperson, Lena Dunham, as well as Kate DiCamillo, Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), and Cheryl Strayed.

Follow Indies First on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the-minute news about the event, and share Indies First updates with customers using the hashtag #IndiesFirst. Questions about Indies First should be directed to [email protected]