Independent Bookstore Day 2024

Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day all across the country this Saturday, April 27th, 2024.

For the 11th year, local book sellers across the country will celebrate Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 27th, 2024. This national holiday for book lovers takes places on the last Saturday of April every year. It encourages readers to keep their dollars closer to home while building and enriching the literary community around them. Stores all over the country will be offering special discounts and prizes, author signings and readings, food trucks, and a host of other ways to connect with their local reader community. In the spirit of community, many independent book sellers are partnering with one another on crawls and “passport” contests. It’s a beautiful culmination of community.

Using Bookmarq’s Independent Bookstore Map

This is one of the few celebrations of the mind that the US engages in, so make sure you do your diligence in finding an independent bookseller near you so that you can have a piece of the party. If you need help finding an independent bookstore near you, I’ve built an interactive map of all nearly 4000 independent books sellers across the United States. You can filter by state or by shop name and the map will display the bookstores in your area that you can go to. The map also features contact information so that way you can plan accordingly and confirm that some sort of celebration will occur.

I posted about this interactive map on my TikTok a couple weeks ago, and it spread like wildfire. Since then, tons of readers have flocked to my comments, DM’s, and email to inform me of the stores in their area that are represented on the map, even going as far as to highlighting which ones will be celebrating Independent Bookstore Day. Below is some of the feedback directly from the BookTok community all over the country doing grassroots marketing to make sure that fellow readers can find an independent bookstore for them. This list is nowhere near exhaustive. If you happen to find yourself in one of these areas, just know that a celebration is occurring around you.

Northeast Ohio – Visible Voices Books

My friends at Visible Voices Books in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood are hosting a huge event featuring a treasure hunt with all sorts of prizes hidden throughout their store. There will also be discounts on their favorite used copies, some going for as little as $2.00 each. Visible Voices is also partnering with other indie bookstores across NEO, 16 in total, using a punchcard system. I’ve listed all 16 bookstores below along with details on the punchcards.

• Treasure hunt: Gift cards, stickers, and one extra special prize will be buried throughout the store. Rules are simple, find an envelope and strike gold!
• Sunken Treasures Sale: Select used gems will be $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00.
• 25% off ALL Music Books
• NEOH Indie Bookstore Punch Cards: A special Bookstore Day punch card will be available to pick up at 16 bookstores.
  • Step 1: Get your card at any of the stores.
  • Step 2: Collect stamps from any 10 stores by May 31st to receive a 10% discount at your 10th visit. Earn 20% if you visit 10 stores by May 5th!.
  • Participating stores: Visible Voice Books, Appletree Books, Black Cat Books & Oddities, Browsing Room Bookstore & Cafe, Clevo Books, Corner of the Sky, Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Center, Fireside Book Shop, Index Coffee & Books, Loganberry Books, Mac’s Backs, The Learned Owl, ThirdSpace Reading Room, Trust Books, Walls of Books Parma

Carmichael’s Louisville & The Jack Harlow Foundation

If you would have told me that when I logged into Instagram today, I would see Jack Harlow promoting an independent bookstore, I would have never believed you. But that’s exactly what’s happening, and Jack is a huge supporter of his hometown of Louisville so I guess I really shouldn’t be that surprised. Carmichael’s is the oldest independent bookstore in Louisville. This Saturday they are hosting a huge event from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM where they will have special merchandise and giveaways as well as discounts on your favorite reeds. They’re also partnering with Jack Harlow’s foundation. For every in store or online book purchase, the foundation will donate $5 towards Educational Justice, a nonprofit striving to end educational inequality in Louisville through peer tutoring and mentorship programs.

Minnesota – Twin Cities Bookstore Passport

As much as I love representing Northeast Ohio, I don’t think we come close to what our friends over in Minnesota are doing. The Twin Cities celebrate Independent Bookstore Day from Wednesday to Sunday to wrap up April. The Twin Cities even have their own bookstore passport featuring 28 independent bookstores from Minneapolis to Saint Paul. Depending on how many bookstores you visit during the five-day period, readers qualify for different prizes, the main prize being a $25 gift court card to all 28 gift stores. That’s a $700.00 value, or a new hardcover book every other week for an entire year. Talk about knowing what readers want. I’ve included a link to the Twin Cities independent bookstore passport, which includes a list of all 28 booksellers.

A Damn Circus in Washington D.C.

If we were smart, we would have all planned to be in Washington DC this weekend, because I’m telling you they know how to celebrate. DC is hosting their Bookstore Day Crawl all day Saturday, featuring 19 independent bookstores with discounts and prizes and yet another stamp system that will reward a lucky winner with a grand prize book package.

If you find yourself in DC this weekend, there’s a host of other fun activities that you can also enjoy. There’s the Halfway to Halloween Party for those who are looking for spooky vendors, a costume contest, and tarot readings. It’s also hosted by City-State Brewery, so you can book crawl and then mini bar crawl if you will. There’s the Georgetown French Market running Friday through Sunday, featuring 40 locally owned boutiques, cafes, and galleries. The Black Women in Food Summit is a weekend long opportunity for networking, learning, and opportunities in the food industry. Jamila Robinson, the editor in chief of Bon-Appetit and Epicurious will be the keynote speaker. And to cap it all off, the Georgetown French market and Black Women in Food Summit birth their brainchild in the DC Chocolate Festival. La Maison Francaise at the French Embassy is hosting a daylong celebration of all things chocolate on Saturday April 27th. Tickets are $25 for adults and free for children under the age of 12.

Houston Book Crawl

In typical Emily fashion, I am late to the party, because Houston has been celebrating Independent Bookstore Day all month. From April 5th through April 30th, 18 independent booksellers are participating in the Houston Book Crawl 2024. In a similar manner to Minneapolis, readers can collect stamps at each store they visit on the crawl. At the end of April, stamps convert to a points. So many points equate to entries in a citywide raffle. Each independent bookstore is offering their own discounts and specials, so grab your knee pads and get to crawling.