In a typical year, that is, a year when there’s not a global pandemic underway, bookstores across the country celebrate “Independent Bookstore Day” on the last Saturday in April.
This year, on the last Saturday in April, most of our country was in lockdown mode, still sheltering-in-place, so Independent Bookstore Day never happened. Instead, a national celebration of indie booksellers will take place this Saturday, August 29!
Here are some examples of ways bookstores around North Carolina are celebrating:
Bookmarks (Winston-Salem)
https://www.bookmarksnc.org/event/independent-bookstore-day
“Anyone who makes an in-store or online purchase to Bookmarks on Independent Bookstore Day will be entered into a drawing for a Bookmarks Dash-N-Grab! The winner of the Dash-N-Grab will get 90 seconds to grab as many books as they can at Bookmarks (to be scheduled at a future date). Purchase/donation entries are limited to 1 per person.” There will also be food-trucks on-site. Holiday exclusives include You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles and Dav Pilkey’s Supa Cape.
Malaprop’s Bookstore & Cafe (Asheville)
https://www.malaprops.com/event/independent-bookstore-day-virtual-event-line
Malaprop’s is offering an entire virtual event lineup starting at 1:00 pm and running deep into the night. Programs include “World-building in YA Feminist Fantasy Fiction” with Kat Cho; an anthology reading of Alone Together: Stories of Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 edited by Jennifer Haupt; and “a lively discussion of books, bookstores, and the writing life” at the Bookstore Day Ambassador Showcase with Tayari Jones, Lauren Groff, and Emma Straub. All events are free, but registration is required.
Page 158 Books (Wake Forest)
https://www.page158books.com/event/independent-bookstore-day-2
Page 158 Books will offer the same virtual slate of events as Malaprop’s (see above).
By no means is this list exhaustive, so if you’re wondering what your local indie bookstore may have planned, reach out to them! And even if they’re not celebrating in any official way, Saturday’s a great time to order a new book for yourself or someone you care about.
For more about Indie Bookstore Day, click here!