Bookstores and their employees put on a tremendous community effort for Independent Bookstore Day, but some book industry folks were able to get outside their regular stores to participate in all the fun.
On Seattle Bookstore Day, one interstate bookloving team, Team Snack Pack, documented their epic journey:
SEABookstore Day ferry photo with Shawn Donley, Emily Adams, Katie Mehan, Caitlin Baker
Indie Bookstore Day was so much fun! Katie Mehan [Random House sales rep], Emily Adams [Third Place Books bookseller], Caitlin Baker [University Bookstore bookseller], and I visited 19 stores in about 12 hours on Saturday. We were powered by Emily’s fresh baked scones, Caitlin’s savory snacks, Katie’s superior driving skills, chili dogs from a food demo at Book Larder, cookies too numerous to remember, and ultimately a celebratory shot of tequila at our final stop, Elliott Bay. It was a combination of three of my favorite things: bookstores, road trips, and good friends. I can’t wait for next year.
–Shawn Donley, Powell’s Books, Portland; President of Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association
The team made it to MORE than the required 17 stores! Here they visit their second Third Place location, Ravenna.
My favorite part was continually running into other participants. There were several other groups on our ferry out of Kingston, and we sat with new friends for part of the ride. We saw Tracy Taylor [Elliott Bay Book Company manager] at Phinney Books, and a family of four champions turned in their completed passports while we were there. We ran into Team Sasquatch [including Sasquatch Book’s marketing coordinator and their designer who created last year’s passport] and James Crossley [Island Books bookseller] & friends several times throughout the day. The air of festivity was undeniable!
–Emily Adams, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA; PNBA board member
The team spotted James Crossley en route
Team Sasquatch left a note for them at Liberty Bay Books…
Meanwhile, Seattle-based regional sales reps Colleen Conway and Deanna Meyerhoff were having their own little adventure:
Colleen and Deanna started at Third Place Books, all smiles and fresh enthusiasm!
Ha! After several stops (including participation in a dog photo contest by Deanna’s dog Lola at Elliott Bay), Colleen posted: “We’re getting tired- I mean the kids are tired. I mean us. I mean the kids. At Queen Anne Book Company”
Smiles again! The sign behind them at Phinney’s fiction section says “MADE UP,” but it works well for “MADE IT!” at their sixth and final stop of the day. By getting their passports stamped at three, they were eligible for the prize drawing. Their publisher, Penguin Random House, was a sponsor of Independent Bookstore Day at the national level.
Thanks to #hamilton for being our soundtrack today but we are giving away our shot (at all 17 #seabookstoreday stores!) BUT we made it to six, including the awesome @phinneybooks Please shop at all of them!! @dmeyerhoff #prhseattlekidsreps — with Deanna Meyerhoff [Random House Kids sales rep].
–Colleen Conway, Penguin Kids sales rep, via twitter; PNBA board member
Big thanks to everyone who participated in the fun of Independent Bookstore Day and Seattle Bookstore Day! I hear there were over 100 (!!!) Indie Bookstore Champions who completed the 17-store Seattle Bookstore Day passport challenge this year.
Nice work out there people.
And for one person, a nice workout. I hear one guy pulled off the whole 17-store tour on a bike.