On Sunday, May 21, the Seattle bookstore community came together to fete the dedicated souls who completed Seattle Bookstore Day challenge (19 bookstores in one day!) on Independent Bookstore Day on April 29.
Three-time Indie Champion
Over 300 champions completed the challenge. Island Books of Mercer Island, WA (bookstore home to three-time Indie Champion and nwbooklovers contributor James Crossley), hosted the celebration party for the champions with the help of booksellers including Tracy Taylor and Emma Nichols of Elliott Bay Book Company, Janis Segress of Queen Anne Book Company, and Billie Swift of Open Books. The 23 participating bookstores contributed for refreshments.
Tracy Taylor and Emma Nichols of Elliott Bay Book Company doled out the rewards.
Indie Champions got their completed passports returned, together with their Indie Champion cards entitling them to 25% off at participating stores for a year. 60 champions had completed the challenge once before; they were honored with a medal. 20 champions have done it all three years; they were given sashes representing all the bookstores.
Three-time champions and booksellers Emily Adams (Third Place Books) and James Crossley (Island Books) in their sashes.
Seattle Bookstore Day led to loads of fun stories. One of my favorites is from an Island Books customer who decided to ask about joining a bookseller he knew and other people he’d never met before for a day of adventure– and the folks and books he found along the way; you can read the account by James Taylor here. Every year, I look forward to the blog recap by three-time champion Catherine Bull (2015, 2016), and this year I not only got to hug her and her mom on her visit to Queen Anne Book Company, but our chat also made it into her wonderful post.
James Crossley, Katie Mehan, Emily Adams, and James Taylor on Seattle Bookstore Day. photo credit: K. Huntsberger/Shelf Awareness
Thanks to Janis Segress for the the photos of the party!
