Saturday, April 27th is Independent Bookstore Day, the perfect way to support your local indie-owned store when you pick up your next great read. In addition to books, shops across the United States will offer events and readings, as well as limited-edition prints, totes, apparel, and even book crawls to celebrate. Get more information on Independent Bookstore Day here.
Check out these events in a city near you:
AUSTIN
Book People
603 N. Lamar Blvd.
We want to thank you for shopping with us all year round with a special celebration! Join us for our first activity, starting at 10:30 AM, when we will have a very special storytime with local author Lori Samocha and illustrator Lauri Johnston, here to share their book W Is for Weird: An Austin Alphabet.
The fun doesn't end there. Join in on fun activities, order exclusive merchandise, and participate in the local ATX Bookstore Crawl, organized by some wonderful ladies of the Austin literary community. —Book People
Find more information on the bookstore crawl at their website.
BALTIMORE
Atomic Books
3620 Falls Road
We are planning a bunch of exclusive Indie Bookstore Day items, and we're also celebrating our 27th anniversary! —Atomic Books
The Ivy Bookshop
6080 Falls Road
Carve some time out of your day and drop by to join us for coffee, freshly baked pastries, local beer, literary scavenger hunts for both kids and fully grown kids, a meticulously curated literature themed playlist, a Love Letters to Books station, exclusive giveaways, and a cavalcade of good vibes. —The Ivy Bookshop
CHICAGO
Feeling adventurous? Take the #MyChicagoBookstore Challenge on Indie Bookstore Day! The second annual #MyChicagoBookstore Challenge will take place on April 27th, so celebrate Chicago's robust indie bookstore community by getting a passport and visiting as many stores in a single day as possible. If you get stamps from 10 or more stores, you'll get a discount in all participating stores for a full year!
City Lit
2523 N. Kedzie Blvd. Chicago, IL 60647
Be here in the morning for our Saturday morning Story Time hosted by Michaels’ Music Machine, then join us for a reading of Epicurean Ecstasy More Poems about Food, Drink, Herbs & Spices with author Cynthia Gallaher with readings by Marty McConnell and Carlos Cumpián! We’ll be here all day with snacks and great book recommendations, so come on out! —City Lit
DETROIT
Pages Bookshop
19560 Grand River Avenue
Join us for the fifth annual Independent Bookstore Day, a one-day national party that takes place at independent bookstores all across the country on the last Saturday in April. It's also our birthday, so come help us celebrate. From open to close we will have a whole host of fun activities:
- mimosas (11am to 1pm, or until we run out)
- baked goods from our friends at Bakefiniti
- blind date with a book
- two book raffles
—Pages Bookshop
HOUSTON
Brazos Bookstore
2421 Bissonnet Street
Independent bookstores aren’t just shops; they’re places for community, thought, and conversation. We’re thrilled to be a part of the indie bookshop scene in the U.S. and Texas! What better way to say “Thank you” than a day-long party? Join us on April 27th for literary activities and refreshments. —Brazos Bookstore
LOS ANGELES
Skylight Books
1818 North Vermont Avenue
All over the United States independent bookstores big and small will celebrate what makes us unique by offering limited-edition items from incredible artists and authors! We'll have snacks and beverages all day long. Starting at 2pm, we will have literary trivia! Starting at 5pm, we will be celebrating the launch of The Body Papers by Grace Talusan! —Skylight Books
MIAMI
Books & Books
265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables
This Independent Bookstore Day we want to celebrate who's made the choice to support local bookstores and communities. While the choice might seem small, together, our impact is large. As our thanks, you’ll get some free audiobooks on April 27th. —Books & Books
Audiobooks include Mother’s Group by Liane Moriarty, The Blackhouse by Peter May, and Hello Neighbor: Missing Pieces by Carly Anne West, among others.
NEW YORK CITY
Books Are Magic
225 Smith Street, Brooklyn
We'll be launching a new custom tote bag designed by a very dear friend to the store and we're hosting a big party/storytime for our bookseller Shira Erlichman, whose first kids’ book was just published. —Books Are Magic
Books of Wonder
18 W. 18th Street, Manhattan
Books of Wonder is proud to present three phenomenal middle grade authors on Saturday April 27th. Meet authors Jimmy Cajoleas for The Rambling, Dan Gutman for Flashback Four: The Hamilton-Burr Duel, and Cory Ann Haydu for Eventown.
Join us on April 27th at our 18th street store for our Twist of Fate Middle Grade Reads panel for the opportunity to hear three outstanding middle grade authors discuss their enthralling novels, hear their answers to audience questions, and to get signed copies of all their wonderful books. Ages 8 to 12. Saturday April 27th 1 to 3pm. —Books of Wonder
McNally Jackson Books
76 N. 4th Street, Brooklyn
In Williamsburg we're participating in a Brooklyn bookstore passport program—customers travel the borough collecting stamps from bookstores. Five stamps earns them a 25 percent off coupon. Anyone who visits all 17 stores is entered to win a grand prize. —McNally Jackson
The participating stores:
- Berl's Brooklyn Poetry Shop
- Books Are Magic
- Books Through Bars @ Freebird Books
- Cafe con Libros, A Feminist Bookstore
- Community Bookstore
- Greenlight Bookstore - Fort Greene
- Greenlight Bookstore - Prospect Lefferts Gardens
- McNally Jackson - Williamsburg
- Melville House
- The POWERHOUSE Arena
- POWERHOUSE on 8th
- Spoonbill & Sugartown, Booksellers
- Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab
- Terrace Books
- The Center for Fiction
- Unnameable Books
- WORD - Brooklyn
PHOENIX
Changing Hands
6428 S. McClintock Drive (Tempe)
300 W Camelback Road (Phoenix)
We're joining over 500 independent bookstores across the country for parties, author readings, in-store events, and exclusive day-of merchandise. —Changing Hands
SAN DIEGO
Mysterious Galaxy
5943 Balboa Avenue, Suite 100
Mysterious Galaxy and many of our fellow indies will be doing lots of fun stuff all day long, and will offer a range of unique book-related items and prints for sale only on that day, and only in-store. We will have a half dozen exclusive Independent Bookstore Day goodies! —Mysterious Galaxy
SAN FRANCISCO (Berkeley)
Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore
2904 College Avenue, Berkeley
On this special day, Mrs. Dalloway's will offer exclusive merchandise (books, pins, stencils, notebooks) created especially for Independent Bookstore Day by major publishers and authors. In addition, we have a limited supply of beautiful 2019 Independent Bookstore Day bags and t-shirts with art created by Jane Mount, the painter behind Ideal Bookshelf and the author of Bibliophile. It features a selection of titles from Bookstore Day's exclusive items over the last five years.
Gareth Hinds will be in-store to discuss his new graphic novel adaptation of The Illiad with Pam Turner at 7pm. —Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore
WASHINGTON D.C.
Politics and Prose
5015 Connecticut Avenue NW
This year marks the fifth year of Independent Bookstore Day, celebrating indies nationwide with literary parties across the country. Visit Politics and Prose at The Wharf, at Union Market, or on Connecticut Avenue N.W. to join in on the fun and to shop exclusive Independent Bookstore Day merchandise, available at every location. —Politics and Prose
