Nearly 1,500 bookstores across the U.S., the most ever, will participate in the 12th annual Independent Bookstore Day, which takes place Saturday, April 26. The stores will celebrate with a variety of creative, welcoming events, merchandise, food & drink, merriment, and more, all reenforcing connections between the stores and their communities.

As American Booksellers Association CEO Allison Hill puts it, "Independent Bookstore Day is one of my favorite days of the year. The collaboration between independent bookstores, the spirit of community with their customers, the support for small businesses, the celebration of books and authors and illustrators--these are the things I love about our industry year round but it's nice to have a day to celebrate all that the indies represent in the world."

Courtney Wallace, ABA's marketing manager and Independent Bookstore Day program director, added, "Independent bookstores continue to elevate their creativity and community engagement, making this twelfth year of Independent Bookstore Day our biggest celebration yet. With many stores expanding their festivities beyond a single day, it's clear that indie bookstores are vital hubs that bring people together and shape the heart of their communities."

Some of the exclusive items available for Independent Bookstore Day

The many components of Indie Bookstore Day include a range of exclusive merchandise available for booksellers to sell or give customers (see story below); events that feature appearances and readings by local authors and illustrators; storytimes; live music; promotions like blind date with a book; support from a variety of publishers and others (lead co-sponsors are Ingram and Penguin Random House; publishing partner sponsors are Sourcebooks and the regional bookseller associations); related programs provided by Libro.fm and Bookshop.org, among others.

The celebration starts with Spirit Week, with daily themes for booksellers to enjoy leading up to the national Saturday celebration. Monday is silly sock day, followed by plaid Tuesday, then bookstore shirt day on Wednesday, book character dress-up day on Thursday, and each store's own spirit day on Friday.

Bonfire is selling T-shirts and sweatshirts with the official Indie Bookstore Day design by Adrian Tomine, featured on the Day's tote bag (for more information about the tote bag, see below). Bonfire is also selling Professional Booksellers School "Read on, Dream on" Independent Bookstore Day mugs for $17.99 each, with proceeds benefiting the school. The sale ends April 9. 

Libro.fm will again sponsor a "golden ticket" contest--this year from Thursday, April 24, to Sunday, April 27--under which the person finding a golden ticket hidden in a bookstore receives 12 audiobook credits.

A map that shows participating bookstores and includes information about bookstore passport programs will appear soon on IndieBound.org. (Stores have until today to sign up to be included on the map.)

Some bookstores are again this year tying in celebrations of their own milestones with Independent Bookstore Day. For example, Pages Bookstore, Detroit, Mich., has a new owner, Jelani Stower. The store is closed while Stower makes changes, and on April 26, Pages will host a grand re-opening party.

Likewise Bookshelf on Church, Kilmarnock, Va., is moving in April to a new, larger location across the street and will also host a grand reopening celebration on April 26 that will include giveaways, a scavenger hunt, and other activities.

Passport Programs
Passport programs that reward book lovers for visiting many bookstores in a particular area have been popular since Indie Bookstore Day became a national event. Some focus on the Day itself. Others are in effect for a week. A few last for a month. All involve "passports" for stores to stamp to show that the holder visited them. The programs usually offer rewards to participants, particularly discounts on purchases, some for up to a year.

Seattle-area bookstores are once again staging Seattle Independent Bookstore Day, which this year challenges book lovers to visit all 29 participating stores (during the 10 days between April 26 and May 5). The prize is a "bookstore day champion stamp card," good for a one-time 25% discount at each of the 29 stores. Those who visit at least five stores receive a single 25% discount card good at one of the 29 stores.

The Seattle passport program began in 2015, the first year Indie Bookstore Day was national. In early years, even though book lovers had to visit all stores on Indie Bookstore Day, the passport challenge still had some 42 winners, a number that has grown over the years. Following the pandemic, book lovers were given 10 days to fill their passports, and the number of grand prize winners rose even more, reaching 414 last year.

The Chicago Independent Bookstore Day Crawl offers three bus routes, each visiting 10-12 stores in Chicago and its suburbs; the tours last all day and cover different areas. Book lovers who visit 10 stores on the Day receive a 10% discount at all participating stores for a year, and those who visit 15 stores receive a 15% discount for a year.

The Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl runs for the week from Saturday, April 19, to Indie Bookstore Day on the 26th. There are 26 participating bookstores, and visitors to five stores receive a 25% discount on a purchase within a month. A highlight of this crawl is the afterparty on Saturday from 5-8 p.m. at the Center for Fiction that features drinks, raffles, and more.

This year's Twin Cities Independent Passport program, organized by Rain Taxi, will include 37 bookstores, the most ever, and run from Wednesday, April 23, through Sunday, April 27. Each passport stamp activates a one-time coupon to use over the summer. Readers who reach 10-19 stamps will activate all coupons in the passport; those who obtain 20-29 stamps can enter to win a prize pack of books, merch, and other goodies donated by program sponsors; and readers who obtain 30 or more stamps can enter to win one of three grand prizes: $25 gift cards to 12 of the participating bookstores, or $300 worth of books.

A twist on the passport idea is taking place this year in Charlotte, N.C., where 22 indie bookstores are sponsoring the Greater Charlotte Book Crawl. It runs the entire month of April and includes Indie Bookstore Day as a highlight. The program has three tiers, rewarding people who visit seven stores with a poster, those who visit 15 with a tote bag, and those who visit all 22 stores with a one-time 10% discount coupon at the store of their choice as well as the chance to win the grand prize of a $20 gift card for each of the 22 stores.

Samantha Schoech and Pete Mulvihill at California Bookstore Day, in 2014

Origin Story
Like many good bookselling ideas that have become national hits, Independent Bookstore Day began at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association, when Samantha Schoech and Pete Mulvihill of Green Apple Books, San Francisco, suggested creating a California Bookstore Day modeled on Independent Record Store Day. The first iteration, in 2014--which included the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (both associations have since merged to create the California Independent Booksellers Alliance)--was so popular that it expanded nationwide in 2015, receiving support from the ABA, which took over management of the Day in 2019. Schoech headed the program through its 2021 edition.

Canadian independent booksellers also celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, a tradition that began in 2018 with the first Canadian Independent Bookstore Day and has aligned with the U.S. version since then. CIBD developed from Authors for Indies Day, which began in 2015.

More than 300 Canadian bookstores are participating this year and will offer a variety of celebratory activities that are similar to what's being offered in the U.S., including customer giveaways, discounts, exclusive products, author events, and more.

Exclusive giveaways from publishers include "shop local" sticker sheets from Penguin Random House Canada, bookish zines from Biblioasis, World of Munsch sticker sheets from Scholastic Canada, Murdle: By the Book mystery activity booklets from Macmillan Publishers & Raincoast Books, CIBD chocolate bars from HarperCollins Canada, activity books, bookmarks, postcards, and more. (A few of the exclusives are offered by U.S. bookstores, too.)

This year's celebration again features the Contest for Book Lovers, under which people who purchase books at a Canadian Independent Booksellers Association store on April 26 can enter a drawing; prizes include four C$200 (about US$140) gift cards and a grand prize C$1,000 (US$700) gift card to a bookstore of the winner's choice. Each book purchased is worth one entry, and books written or illustrated by Canadians are worth double.

Canadian authors are as excited by and supportive of Canadian Independent Bookstore Day as booksellers and publishers, especially at a time when Canada's neighbor to the south isn't acting very neighborly. The Canadian Independent Booksellers Association highlighted "Authors Love Indies," featuring Canadian authors expressing their appreciation for independent bookstores.

For example, Louise Penny wrote, "Canadian indies made my career. Without the support of independent bookshops, including Brome Lake Books in my own village, there's no way there would be 18 Gamache books. That's why it was the first thing I created in Three Pines. Myrna's Bookshop. Beyond that, as a reader, it's where I choose to spend time. Is there anything better than wandering the shelves of a Canadian independent bookstore?"

And Maya Ameyaw, author of When It All Syncs Up (Annick Press), said, "Independent bookstores are vital to Canadian authors--especially smaller authors who often struggle to get their work on shelves in corporate stores. Books by Canadian authors through small publishers be more difficult to access in bigger establishments that prioritize carrying bestsellers. Independent bookstores give many emerging and marginalized authors a chance to get their work into the hands of readers."

Canadian artist and illustrator Josée Bisaillon, who created artwork publicizing Canadian Independent Bookstore Day 2025, commented, "What I like about indie bookstores are their uniqueness. Each has its own colour. Some are specialized in picture books, some have a wonderful poetry section, etc. It allows the staff to be able to have a deeper knowledge of the books they carry, and therefore to be able to make personalized recommendations."

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This year the Indie Bookstore Day idea is growing beyond North America in a huge way. Booksellers from around the world have organized the Global Book Crawl, which will take place for the first time April 21-27 and include hundreds of stores on six continents. Organizers included Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, owner of Greenlight Bookstore and Yours Truly, Brooklyn.

Each city or region designs its own crawl. The countries with the most participating bookstores are Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, and the U.S. The areas in the United States that are part of Global Book Crawl include Atlanta, Ga., Brooklyn, N.Y., Cape Cod, Chequamegon Bay in Wisconsin, Louisville, Ky., Oklahoma City, Okla., Puget Sound in Washington, Queens, N.Y., San Gabriel Valley in California, and Washington, D.C.

Independent Bookstore Day features exclusive, limited-edition merchandise that is a mix of old and new designed to appeal to indie bookstore fans. The deadline for bookstores to order most of the exclusive limited-edition merchandise has passed, but some items are still available, and a few are free.

ADULT

Signed copies of Lightlark by Alex Aster (Amulet, $19.99)
A limited printing of 1,000 copies of book one in the bestselling Lightlark romantasy series by Alex Aster includes the author's signature and three collectable page overlays featuring Isla, the heroine, and her two love interests, Grim and Oro. Aster is a popular BookTok author who has also written the Emblem Island series.

Signed copies of Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay (Morrow, $30)
The Indie Bookstore Exclusive Edition of the latest horror novel by Paul Tremblay (The Pallbearers Club, The Cabin at the End of the World) has a 4,000-copy printing that features Tremblay's signature, a special cover, and sprayed edges. Horror Movie is about a cursed arthouse film made in 1993 getting a big-budget remake with the help of the first movie's only surviving cast member. Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book Awards.

Exclusive paperback edition of What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (Hanover Square Press, $18.99)
What You Are Looking for Is in the Library follows enigmatic Tokyo librarian Sayuri Komach and five of her patrons. Komach recommends the perfect book for each of them to navigate a major crossroads in their lives. A 3,000-copy Indie Bookstore Day exclusive edition of What You Are Looking for Is in the Library has bonus content. Michiko Aoyama has worked as a journalist, editor and publisher. She has won the first Miyazakimoto Prize, the 13th Tenryu Literary Prize, and was a runner up for the 2021 Japan Booksellers Award. This is her English-language debut.

Late Night Book Club Mini Tote
Publisher Out of Print offers a 10.5"×10.5" mini-tote bag perfect for carrying lunches, sundries, and, of course, books. Made with cotton canvas; retail price $18.

Late Night Book Club Hat
Publisher Out of Print offers a one-size-fits-most, adjustable strap hat perfect for late night readers. Retail price $28. Since 2010, Out of Print has been turning literary works and tropes into book-themed apparel.

Independent Bookstore Day Blackwing Pencils
For the fifth year in a row, Blackwing and Independent Bookstore Day present new limited-edition pencils for indie bookstores. Each box contains 12 incense-cedar pencils featuring Blackwing's iconic firm graphite with a retail price of $32.

Independent Bookstore Day Tote Bag
Publisher Drawn & Quarterly presents the 2025 Independent Bookstore Day Tote Bag designed by illustrator Adrian Tomine. The tote bag is cotton canvas with a gusseted bottom, 8"×14.5" with 9" handles. 10,000 are available through vendor Enviro-Tote, with a $15.99 retail price. Adrian Tomine is a graphic novelist, screenwriter, and New Yorker cover artist as well as the author of 11 books, including Q&A, Shortcomings, and his memoir The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist. (T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring Tomine's design are also available on Bonfire.)

KIDS

Signed copies of On Again, Awkward Again: A Novel by Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia (Amulet, ‎$19.99)
Bestselling and award-winning authors Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia signed 500 copies of their YA rom-com On Again, Awkward Again. Each includes an embroidered "Love is so awkward" patch. Erin Entrada Kelly has won the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space. She is a professor of children's literature in the graduate fiction and publishing programs at Rosemont College. Kwame Mbalia is an illustrator and author whose debut middle grade novel, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, was a Coretta Scott King Author Honor title.

Signed copies of Hot Mess: Diary of a Wimpy Kid #19 by Jeff Kinney (Amulet, $14.99)
2,000 signed copies of Jeff Kinney's latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, Hot Mess, will be available for Independent Bookstore Day. Each copy includes a slice of artificial moldy cheese, perfect for playing real-life games of Cheese Touch. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide. Kinney and his wife own An Unlikely Story bookstore in Plainville, Mass.

Frog and Toad Coloring Book by Arnold Lobel (HarperCollins Children's Books, $7.99)
Originally published in 1981, the Frog and Toad Coloring Book is returning exclusively for Independent Bookstore Day. This coloring book includes black-and-white illustrations from all four classic books of Frog and Toad adventures (Frog and Toad Are Friends, Days with Frog and Toad, Frog and Toad Together, and Frog and Toad All Year). A Frog and Toad animated series was recently released on Apple TV+. Arnold Lobel (1933-1987) illustrated nearly 100 children's books and was awarded the Caldecott Medal for his book Fables in 1981.

Free

Guess How Much I Love You Baby Milestone Cards (Chronicle)
To mark the 30th anniversary of Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram, and to mark Independent Bookstore Day, Chronicle is printing 500 packs of baby milestone cards, in which parents can set up photos of their babies--one for each month until they are a year old. Each pack contains 12 cards. Sam McBratney (1943-2020) and Anita Jeram's story about Little Nutbrown and Big Nutbrown Hare has been a bedtime classic for decades.

Zora Neale Hurston's The Life of Herod the Great Poster
This limited edition 6"×20" poster celebrates Zora Neale Hurston's The Life of Herod the Great, which was written in the 1950s but remained unpublished until Amistad released it earlier this year.

Finlay Donovan Loves Independent Bookstores Print
This 11"×14" Independent Bookstore Day poster is based on the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano and is available from Minotaur Books. There are five contemporary mystery Finlay Donovan novels, the latest of which, Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave, was published this month.

We Love Indies Coloring Book (Quarto)
This coloring book features the favorite independent bookstores of Quarto artists and illustrators. Every illustration includes an author quotation describing why they love each bookstore.

We Love Indies Kids Activity Book (Quarto)
This book from Quarto contains a maze, crossword, indie bookstore scavenger hunt, draw your own book cover, build your own poem and other activities for children created by Quarto's authors and illustrators.

American Horticultural Society Flower Seed Packets
Cool Springs Press, an imprint of Quarto, is releasing packets of perennial flower seeds with the cover of American Horticultural Society's Essential Guide to Perennial Gardening on it.

Murdle by the Book: 5 Mystery Logic Puzzles
This 32-page booklet from St. Martin's Griffin features five mini logic puzzles based on the Murdle by the Book series by G.T. Karber, in which readers solve deadly mysteries using logic alongside Deductive Logico. The series has four entries, with a fifth to be released this July.

"I <3 My Independent Bookstore" Stickers
Some 175,000 "I <3 My Independent Bookstore" stickers are available from Ingram, with one roll of 250 stickers per store. Each sticker is two inches in diameter.