Saturday, April 28, 2018, is Independent Bookstore Day. Local, independent bookstores around the country and their fans will celebrate. Click here to find participating bookstores near you. (Please note: Even more stores than are listed on the map may be doing something special. They just might have missed the deadline to sign up for inclusion on the map. Why not swing by all your favorites no matter what?)

Here is some inspiration for your Independent Bookstore Day:

• Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe in Bend, OR and Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland, OR made it into Faith Lewis’s Independent Bookstore Day write-up for AAA’s Via blog April 24, 2018: “Best Independent Bookstores for Bibliophiles.” The article features “… some of the best independent bookstores in the West—worthy of a trip down the street or across the state.” (Editor’s note: Access to the AAA blog appears to be zip code related; I couldn’t view with my Seattle zip, but I didn’t have any problems viewing the article when I entered Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe’s zip code.)
• For the first time ever, four Central Oregon Indie bookstores got together to offer a passport for Independent Bookstore Day! Pick up a passport at any of the participating locations (Dudley’s and Roundabout in Bend, Paulina Springs in Sisters, and Herringbone in Redmond). Get a stamp at all four stores on Independent Bookstore Day, and you can redeem a completed passport for 30% off your entire purchase at any store from 5/1/18 through 10/31/18.
• Seattle continues its wildly successful Seattle Bookstore Day passport program. Last year over 300 people completed the Indie Champion Challenge by getting their passports stamped at all 19 stores, earning Champion Cards that granted them a year of 25% off purchases at all the stores. This year there’s still the grand challenge, but also a lower-threshold guaranteed win: stamps from three stores earn a 30% off coupon good at the reader’s store of choice. Participating stores even have their own special Seattle Bookstore Day limited edition item to sell: an original poster featuring badges representing all the bookstores, created by Stephen Crowe of Third Place Books. Watch for author visits, free snacks, prizes, games, and more bookish fun along the route. Even the ferry system is getting ready for #SEABookstoreDay crowds, so you know it’s going to be amazing! Follow the adventures with #SEABookstoreDay.

• Vintage Books in Vancouver, WA is offering a 10% discount to customers in magical costume from 10:00-1:00. “From 10-1 we have a Magical Beings theme! Come dressed up as a Faerie, a Unicorn, a Sorceress, a Dragon Princess… whatever you want that is MAGICAL! (We encourage it to be not TOO extravagant cause it might scare the cats- like not a full Dragon costume.)” They’ll also have crafty storytime and Oracle card readings for grown-ups. Then at 2:00, the theme changes! From 2:00- 5:00, the discount goes to “[t]hose who show up in period costume (1850s- 1920s)” to match their 2:00 author event with Jennifer Chambers, author of Abigail Scott Duniway and Susan B. Anthony in Oregon: Hesitate No Longer.
  

  Special Maisy plush, a great Book Club journal, and a collectible Harry Potter patch are among the special items for Independent Bookstore Day. 

• Inklings Bookshop in Yakima, WA has been sharing cute photos of the exclusive Independent Bookstore Day merchandise. From a saucy stencil of a Margaret Atwood quotation to huggable plush Maisys and Hortons, the collectible, only-in-independent-bookstore goodies are limited editions. Every bookstore has a slightly different inventory. Shop early to get the best selection. Last year some stores were posting about what items they still had in stock as the day went on, so it’s a good idea to watch social media for #IndieBoosktoreDay updates.

What are your plans for Independent Bookstore Day?

Dr. Seuss’s Horton the Elephant, ready for Independent Bookstore Day! This plush is one of the exclusive, in-independent-bookstore-only items created for Independent Bookstore Day.

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