Liz Hottel, who has worked in events, programs, and marketing at Politics and Prose, Washington, D.C., and as a bookstore consultant, has been named incoming executive director of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, and will assume the position when Eileen Dengler retires in late 2026. The two will work side by side in 2026. Dengler will continue her work with the Professional Booksellers School through 2027.

Liz Hottel

NAIBA president Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Bookstores, Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Md., said, "Eileen has done an incredible job shepherding NAIBA from inception to the strong organization it is today. NAIBA's support of both bookstores and booksellers to create a viable career path and secure the future of bookselling is unmatched. I am ecstatic that our organization is now in the capable and enthusiastic hands of Liz Hottel who blew away the NAIBA Board with her competence, clarity, and joy. Our next chapter is in excellent hands."

Dengler added, "I am so excited for Liz Hottel and NAIBA. This is the best job anyone could ask for, and Liz will be wonderful at it and make our little universe even better for booksellers. She is experienced in bookselling, she is passionate about the work, and she's compassionate about the people. I wish her a long and storied career."

A former television and documentary producer, Hottel spent the last decade in bookselling, specializing in high-level event management and creative programming. During her tenure at Politics and Prose, she created new event programs at the Union Market and Wharf stores and established venue and cultural partnerships, before introducing virtual programming during the pandemic. As a consultant, she has helped a diverse group of independent bookstores and institutions. The events program she built at Bold Fork Books in Washington, D.C., demonstrated the viability of culinary bookstores as a center of a new community.

Hottel said, "Eileen's dedication--and the dedication of the entire NAIBA staff and Board of Directors--to supporting and empowering booksellers through advocacy, education and community is extraordinary. I'm so honored to be entrusted with this foundation. As Executive Director of NAIBA my direction will be guided and inspired by booksellers themselves--there's so much listening for me to do. Being a bookseller in this climate is an impossible thing. And yet we do it every day out of love for the simple act of sharing stories and creating community. I'm in awe of the resourcefulness, determination and fearlessness of booksellers. And above all, I'm honored to be given the opportunity to be an advocate in the fight to make bookselling a sustainable career path."

"I think they have an essential role, really," said Chantal Restivo-Alessi, CEO of HarperCollins International, about physical bookstores during the Global CEO Talk at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday afternoon.

Chantal Restivo-Alessi, Ruediger Wischenbart, and Núria Cabuti at the Global CEO Talk Wednesday afternoon.

Restivo-Alessi appeared on the panel with Núria Cabuti, CEO at Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, with publishing consultant Ruediger Wischenbart moderating the discussion. Throughout the session, the panelists fielded questions from a group of five international publishing industry journalists.

Expounding on her view of physical bookstores, Restivo-Alessi noted that "people want events," they and crave ways of forming in-person connections. At the same time, bookstores can provide a "serendipity of new discovery" that is almost entirely absent from online sales platforms, as they make recommendations based on past behavior. Perhaps her "biggest pleasure" as a reader, she said, is going into a bookstore with one title in mind and leaving with three books, two of which she'd never heard of before, and it is "fundamental" for the industry to maintain that presence and that service.

Cabuti, whose division of PRH handles Spanish-language, Portuguese-language, and Catalan-language publishing, remarked that booksellers in Spain and many parts of Latin America benefit from fixed price laws, meaning that a book's price has to be the same wherever it is old. That gives "our traditional booksellers an advantage," and is one of the reasons why they remain "a big part of our sales in Spain and Latin America." In Spain specifically, "90% of new books we sell are sold in physical bookshops," and in terms of new-title discovery, physical bookshops are "really where it happens." Additionally, they are a "cultural force" by way of promoting reading and hosting events.

Delving further into Spanish-language markets, Cabuti reported that Spain's book market grew by 10% in 2024 and has grown 4% so far this year, and in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, markets are growing by 5%-15% year over year. Much of this growth, she said, comes from a "positive evolution of reading habits" driven particularly by an increase in reading for pleasure among young women. 

Asked about their perspectives on AI, Restivo-Alessi said she believes first and foremost in the "need to protect our rights on behalf of our authors." She also advised taking a cue from the music industry, which Restivo-Alessi worked in prior to publishing, and creating a "viable, monetize-able way" of working with AI companies. Publishers need to have some control over this process, she continued, and "the way to be in control" is to "engage and drive the conversation." The industry should "endorse usage where it makes sense" and "set up clear rules" when it doesn't. AI's potential to help "reinvigorate and support backlist," she added, represents an "incredible opportunity for the entire industry."

Cabuti, meanwhile, said the industry seemed to be in a "FOMO mood" regarding AI, with companies rushing in because they feel they "need to be there." Citing a recent MIT study that found that only about 5% of AI pilot projects produce any measurable return on investment, Cabuti emphasized the importance of figuring out how to use AI most effectively. So far, she said, the focus has been mainly on processes and making things "faster and more efficient." She said the industry has to create sustainable models for licensing content, and as far as generative AI is concerned, "human creativity is not going to be surpassed by AI, at least in the short term."

On the subject of the scarcity of women in executive positions in publishing, Cabuti said there needs to be role models showing men and women that "having women in top positions" is good "for the market and for business."

Restivo-Alessi said that the new hybrid work model that has emerged since the end of the pandemic may lead to more women in senior positions, as it gives women the "opportunity to balance their life a little bit more." At the same time, women should not be afraid of taking on new roles and new responsibilities. "Just go for it," she said. "Men go for it all the time." --Alex Mutter

The first full day at Heartland Fall Forum was packed with education sessions, the association annual meetings, and rep picks luncheons. In the afternoon, the trade show floor opened, with plenty of authors signing. For those who had the stamina, the events continued into the evening with a happy hour with author Melissa Albert, and finished up with a literary trivia quiz bowl. 

​GLIBA executive director Larry Law with MIBA executive director Grace Hagen.

​ABA education specialist Emily Nason highlighted key business performance metrics (KPIs) during an education session on "Measure What Matters: 5 Key #s to Focus on During Turbulent Times." Using examples drawn from ABA's ABACUS financial surveys, Nason identified, defined, and offered methods to calculate key performance indicators. These KPIs include gross margin, inventory turn, sales per square foot, average dollars per transaction, and sales per labor hour. Nason encouraged attendees to share as much store financial performance information as possible with staff (going "open book"), explaining, "When there is a joint goal, staff agency and participation increases." Pictured: Emily Nason (l.) with Deb Covey of Blue Dog Books in Springboro, Ohio.

The goals of the recently launched National Association of Black Bookstores (NAB2), are "audacious and ambitious," said association member Ashley Valentine, founder and owner of Rooted MKE bookstore (Milwaukee, Wis.), during her presentation. "NAB2," she continued, "will be the most influential and transformative force for black bookstores, black literature and black authors in the country... we know that if we want to see significant strides for black bookstores then the goals do have to be larger goals that we're not afraid to tackle or not afraid to address." Valentine reported on recent initiatives, including a partnership with California's University of Sacramento that will yield $100,000 over five years to support black bookstores, and a "major book buy" with Harper Christian to benefit 500 black-owned bookstores through the purchase of 25,000 copies of Robert Smith's Lead Boldly that will be distributed to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country by the Figgers Foundation. Pictured: Verlean Singletary (l.) and Courtney Woods of Chicago's Da Book Joint with Ashley Valentine (r.)

At the session on "Mutual Aid: We Take Care of Us," booksellers Shane Mullen (Left Bank Books, Saint Louis, Mo.), Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island Booksellers, Bayfield, Wis.) Ratina Burkhead (Tomorrow Bookstore, Indianapolis, Ind.), and Barbara Cerda (La Revo Books, SE Wisconsin) joined with Other Press marketing director Terrie Akers to describe various efforts to support their local communities during times of crisis. The panelists and attending booksellers discussed mutual aid efforts such as book donation and distribution during the pandemic period; disaster relief in the greater Saint Louis area following last May's devastating tornado; and current action in Chicago to support and protect neighborhood residents from ICE raids. ​From left: Ratina Burkhead, Shane Mullen, Terrie Akers, Barbara Cerda, Kristen Sandstrom.

On the trade show floor: Caitlin O'Neil (l.) from Tropes & Trifles, Minneapolis, Minn., with Kaci Friss of Serendipity Books, Chelsea, Mich.

​Laura Hohman (l.), University of Nebraska Press, Caroline Kobitz (c.), Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, Mo., and Nathan Roach, Wild Geese Bookshop, Franklin, Ind.From left: Jessica Betz, Jami Alfolder, and Alexis Blevins, proudly repping Next Page Bookstore, Decatur, Ind.

Kaylee Tada from Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, Mass., has won the seventh Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists, awarded by the Friends of Carla Gray Committee and the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. Tada will receive a year-long scholarship for professional development, which includes travel and hotel to attend Winter Institute 2026, travel and hotel to attend their 2026 regional fall trade show, and a $1,000 stipend to fund a community outreach project.

Kaylee Tada

The scholarship is intended to help a bookseller with fewer than 10 years of experience connect with other booksellers, publishers, and authors, and establish the long-term relationships needed to keep the book industry thriving. The community outreach component is focused on finding new readers and ensuring access to books that improve readers' lives while integrating bookstores even more fully into their communities.

"I am very excited to be receiving the Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists," said Tada. "I believe bookstores have a unique ability to connect with individuals in a way that sets us apart from other retail establishments. Through my work I have been able to connect with our local unhoused community and am proud to center their voices in my project. Thank you to Binc for supporting the Brookline Booksmith in our quest to provide lifesaving overdose prevention resources to our community. This scholarship will allow us to collaborate with local harm reduction services to host a free overdose prevention event and distribute educational resources throughout the year. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity. Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me, my store, my friends, and community members."

Binc executive director Pam French said, "Bookstores are the core of a thriving community, and supporting booksellers' engagement in their community is critical to the future of bookselling and the larger book industry. Thank you to the Friends of Carla Gray for their continued commitment, and congratulations to Kaylee. We look forward to learning more about your project and watching its impact thanks to this annual scholarship that honors Carla's legacy."

Midtown Reader in Tallahassee, Fla., will host a grand reopening celebration this Saturday, October 18, after months of renovations to its space. The festivities will include a full day of family-friendly fun, live music, local authors, and sweet treats.

Part of Midtown Reader's expanded space.

The bookshop has nearly doubled its inventory, featuring more books, more gifts, and a new outdoor patio with additional seating. The expanded store offers readers "a cozier and more inspiring place to gather, browse, and connect." 

"Midtown Reader has always been more than a bookstore; it's a home for Tallahassee's readers," said owner Sally Bradshaw. "Our new space allows us to grow that community, welcome more readers, and continue to celebrate the joy of stories together."

In June 2024, Bradshaw had announced that Midtown Reader purchased the building next door and planned, after it was demolished, to use the space to expand the store and for additional parking.

Novelist, biographer, and "historian of place" Gillian Tindall, who wrote books that bridged the boundaries between fiction, memoir, and history and "explored with a novelist's intuition and historian's precision how the hidden past shapes places and the people who inhabit them," died October 1, the Guardian reported. She was 87.

No Name in the Street (1959) was the first of Tindall's more than a dozen novels and short story collections. She won the 1972 Somerset Maugham award for Fly Away Home. Her nonfiction work includes The Born Exile: George Gissing (1974) and The Fields Beneath: The History of One London Village (1977). Célestine: Voices from a French Village (1995), "begins with the chance find of a cache of letters in a French farmhouse: a key to revealing the intimate lives of rural families over generations," the Guardian noted.

Tindall considered The Fields Beneath and Célestine her best works, and both were published in multiple editions, with Célestine being released in French to critical praise. In France, she was known as the author of Célestine, while in India she was the author of City of Gold: The Biography of Bombay (1982). She was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her contribution to French culture.

Each new book adopted a distinctive historical framework, the Guardian noted, citing as examples "the story of a single house over 450 years--The House By the Thames and the People Who Lived There (2006); an account of how Crossrail's modern line follows an ancient path through the city, in The Tunnel Through Time (2016); "a clutch of talismanic objects that, placed in context, illuminate wider themes in history" in The Pulse Glass: And the Beat of Other Hearts (2019). Her final completed book, the upcoming Journal of a Man Unknown, marked a return to fiction.

Tindall attended Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, to study English literature. She earned a first-class degree, which was was followed shortly afterward by publication of her debut novel. She then conducted research for the Stepney Welfare Association, "interviewing widows in their East End front rooms. Many faced relocation as their neighborhoods were sacrificed to what Gillian called the 'blinkered enthusiasm' of postwar planners. The destruction of these communities engaged her lifelong interest in urban conservation," the Guardian noted.

Posted on Facebook by Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, Mo.: "Part of book conferencing is finding corners of the hotel before things start to get work done. Book people are everywhere doing morning orders, emails, and more... so we can focus the rest of the day on bringing back new information and learn ALL THE THINGS. The pubs have some great books coming, y'all."

"Huck knows what he's doing... already made himself famous," Our Town Books in Jacksonville, Ill., posted on Facebook, along with an article from The Source newspaper, which profiled the bookseller cat "that owns a business in downtown Jacksonville. While he serves no actual employee function such as stocking shelves or checking out customers, he does serve a purpose--his own.... Our Town Books owner Khristina Helmich and staff person Lucy Reid agree that while he does enjoy his fandom, he does also come with some quiet demands."

"Witch book will you choose?" That was the sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Bookstore on the Square, Fort Collins, Colo., which noted: "We're halfway through spooky season, folks! Come in while the getting's good & grab a new title for your horror collection!"

Mandy Chahal has been promoted to director of publicity & marketing for Poisoned Pen Press at Sourcebooks.

Today:
Here & Now: Jake Tapper, author of Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al-Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War (Atria, $30, 9781668079447).

Fresh Air: Julian Brave NoiseCat, author of We Survived the Night (Knopf, $29, 9780593320785).

Tomorrow:
The View: Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari, and Nava Kavelin, authors of Crushmore: Essays on Love, Loss, and Coming-of-Age (Gallery, $29, 9781668077993).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, October 18
5:20 p.m. Akhil Reed Amar, author of Born Equal: Remaking America's Constitution, 1840-1920 (Basic Books, $40, 9781541605190).

6:25 p.m. Louis Masur, author of A Journey North: Jefferson, Madison, and the Forging of a Friendship (Oxford University Press, $24.99, 9780197684917). 

Sunday, October 19
8 a.m. Ed Latimore, author of Hard Lessons from the Hurt Business: Boxing and the Art of Life (Portfolio, $30, 9780593716366). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9 a.m. John Conyers III, author of My Father's House: An Ode to America's Longest-Serving Black Congressman (Amistad, $29.99, 9780063336810). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Coverage of the 2025 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Tenn. (Re-airs Sunday at 11 p.m.)

5:45 p.m. Sam Bloch, author of Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource (Random House, $32, 9780593242766).

The longlist has been unveiled for the A$5,000 (about US$3,255) Voss Literary Prize, which is awarded to the best novel published in Australia in the previous year, Books+Publishing reported. Established in 2014, the prize is dedicated to the memory of historian Vivian Robert Le Vaux Voss and managed by the Australian University Heads of English. This year's longlisted titles are:

The Burrow by Melanie Cheng
Compassion by Julie Janson
The Degenerates by Raeden Richardson
Ghost Cities by Siang Lu
Highway 13 by Fiona McFarlane
A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle
One Another by Gail Jones
Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser
Translations by Jumaana Abdu
Vortex by Rodney Hall

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, October 21:

The Widow by John Grisham (Doubleday, $32, 9780385548984) is a thriller about a lawyer falsely accused of murder.

A Ferry Merry Christmas by Debbie Macomber (Ballantine, $24, 9780593974674) is a Christmas story set on a stranded ferry.

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $32, 9780316563826) is the eighth Lincoln Lawyer thriller.

King Sorrow by Joe Hill (Morrow, $40, 9780062200600) follows college students who summon deadly occult forces. 

The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays by Harper Lee (Harper, $30, 9780063460515) includes posthumously discovered short stories and previously published essays.

Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre (Knopf, $35, 9780593493120) tells the story of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's most visible victim, who died in April.

Writing Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd (Knopf, $29, 9780593804643) is part memoir and part exploration of creative writing.

Letter from Japan by Marie Kondo and Marie Iida (Crown, $30, 9798217088089) explores the influence of Japanese culture on Kondo's work.

Finding My Way: A Memoir by Malala Yousafzai (Atria, $30, 9781668054277) is the memoir of a women's rights activist.

Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy by Joyce Vance (Dutton, $28, 9798217178117) is a call to action against American autocracy.

Glitter Kittens by William Joyce (Athenenum/Dlouhy, $19.99, 9781665959902) is a picture book companion to Rocket Puppies in which a group of vain sparkly kitties learn a lesson.

Our Vicious Descent by Hayley Dennings (Sourcebooks Fire, $18.99, 9781728297903) is the final book in the YA Ravenous Fate duology. 

Paperbacks:
Absolution: A Southern Reach Novel by Jeff VanderMeer (Picador, $19, 9781250397805).

Fight Oligarchy by Senator Bernie Sanders (Crown, $14.99, 9798217089161).

The Devil She Knows by Alexandria Bellefleur (Berkley, $19, 9780593952504).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
The Phoebe Variations by Jane Hamilton (Zibby, $27.99, 9798991140287). "This book is beautiful. If you ever felt like a dim light in high school just yearning to shine as bright as you can, I think you'll feel seen by this book. It's a perfect coming-of-age entry!" --Thomas Wallace, Reading Rock Books, Dickson, Tenn.

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey (Cardinal, $30, 9781538774076). "In a world where World War II ended without a clear Allied victory, science is advanced, but moral ambiguity, distrust, and political weakness pervade Britain. Who are the three boys who remain in the Sycamore Home? Who is Nancy? Read to find the answers to these puzzles." --Anmiryam Budner, Main Point Books, Wayne, Pa.

Paperback
Sister Snake: A Novel by Amanda Lee Koe (Ecco, $18.99, 9780063355071). "A unique book about two ancient sisters who are both human and snake. Su lives her life as humanly as possible; Emerald is very much herself. Though this novel was pitched as dark humor, it explored themes of identity, queerness, and family poignantly." --Sara Landon, Paragraphs Bookstore, Mount Vernon, Ohio

Ages 4-8
Whodonut?: A Holiday Mystery (Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast #7) by Josh Funk, illus. by Brendan Kearney (Union Square Kids, $18.99, 9781454943655). "This holiday who-donut features little nods to all the festivals of the winter season, plus a full charcuterie of characters from Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast books past. Audiences will be wrapt as they attempt to solve the mystery of Agatha Crispy's missing manuscript." --Amanda Zarni, Book Ends Winchester, Winchester, Mass.

Ages 8-12: An Indies Introduce Title
Lost on Doll Island by Cassandra Ramos-Gomez (S&S Books for Young Readers, 9781665975131, $18.99). "This is no ordinary class field trip. Inspired by the real Isla de Las Muñecas, Lost on Doll Island is clever, suspenseful, and haunting (literally!). It will have you desperately searching for answers." --Heather Albinson, Wild Rumpus, Minneapolis, Minn.

Ages 13+
The Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum, $19.99, 9780063314269). "The stories in this collection are so hopeful and uplifting. The way that the magical realm of The Legendary Frybread Drive-In brings the characters exactly what they need is a comfort we all need in these trying times." --Rebecca Kinkade-Black, Books on the Bosque, Albuquerque, N.Mes.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Polish Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk (Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead) has described her literary works as "constellation novels," a label that fit her 2018 novel, Flights, winner of the Man Booker International Prize. To the extent that term describes a collection of often seemingly disparate narrative strands that invites the reader to assemble them into patterns of meaning, it's also an apt characterization of House of Day, House of Night, originally published in Poland in 1998. Antonia Lloyd-Jones's English translation is a beautifully allusive collage of fully formed short stories, memorable character studies, and glimpses of small-town life.

Tokarczuk's novel is set in the region of Silesia, located in southwest Poland adjacent to the Czech Republic, and specifically the territory surrounding the town of Nowa Ruda, near her current home. Anchoring it are an unnamed contemporary narrator and her neighbor, an elderly woman named Marta, best known for her skill as a wigmaker and her familiarity with the local flora, including mushrooms that range from deliciously edible to deadly. In the nearly one hundred sections that compose the novel, the narrator intermittently recounts her interactions with Marta, who reminds her that "people are like the ground they live on, whether they like it or not, whether they are aware of it or not," one of the bits of modest wisdom she dispenses.

The novel comes to life in its assortment of diverse short stories, some of them self-contained and others segmented throughout the book. Among the most striking involves Paschalis, a young monk who makes it his mission to secure sainthood for Kummernis, a beautiful woman from the medieval period crucified by her father after she miraculously grows a beard resembling Christ's to thwart his demand that she marry one of his fellow knights. As Paschalis immerses himself in her complex story, he grapples with his own sexual identity.

The story of the oddly named classics teacher Ergo Sum, a man haunted by his participation in an episode of cannibalism in World War II, offers a terrifying portrait of the overwhelming power of guilt. There's also the tragicomic tale of a German man, a former resident whose death near the Polish/Czech border during a nostalgic return visit with his wife provokes a crisis for the respective countries' border guards.

Spanning hundreds of years of history, House of Day, House of Night pulses with the power of dreams, visions, and symbols. There's nothing extraordinary about the region in which it's rooted, or the modest lives of the people who live there, but in the hands of Olga Tokarzcuk their stories flourish. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Polish Nobel Prize winner Tokarczuk delivers another impressionistic, collage-style novel rooted in the lives of the inhabitants of her native region.

Bookshop Day ambassador Hugh Bonneville

Bookshops are the quiet pulse of the high street, places where, with each book browsed and each page turned, imagination can take flight. They are the gateway to stories we all cherish, whatever our age. Engaging young people with reading for pleasure has never been more challenging than it is today. I'm delighted to support Bookshop Day and I encourage everyone to visit their local bookshop. 

--Hugh Bonneville, Bookshop Day ambassador 2025

Maybe you sensed that there was just a little bit more excitement in the air last Saturday. Maybe you felt the global vibes generated by Bookshop Day in the U.K., along with Love Your Bookshop Day in Australia, and Bookshop Day New Zealand. By my calculations, the celebrations registered a respectable 7.0 on the Biblio-Richter scale. Here's a sampling from the festivities:

United Kingdom
Bookshop Day celebrates all high street bookshops for their contribution to communities as well as the service they provide for their customers. It's also a way of encouraging people to start their holiday season book-shopping early. About 1,000 U.K. independent booksellers and branches of chain bookshops participate. 

Simon Lamb at Chapters of Thornhill

Simon Lamb, one of Bookshop Day 2025's ambassadors, posted on Instagram: "It's been my honor to be one of this year's Ambassadors.... With thanks to my host stores--Chapters of Thornhill, The Book Nook & Daydreams Bookshop--and their owners, to all their staff and all who came along.... Bookshops aren't just for Bookshop Day. Use them. Enjoy them. Booksellers the country over, I salute you and thank you. The world's a scary place right now. What you do helps educate, entertain and expand. Thank you."

"It's Bookshop Day!! We love having an independent bookshop!" the Heath Bookshop in Birmingham noted. "We love the bookshop family we're a part of, we love chatting to customers about books and life and we especially love the community of Kings Heath we're in the heart of. If you've been promising yourself a visit to our bookshop (or any of the other wonderful bookshops around the country) today is the day and this is definitely your sign!"

Gay on Wye in Hay-On-Wye agreed: "Hay, United Kingdom. Happy Bookshop Day! Today, we celebrate the magic of local bookstores and the incredible role they play in our communities, especially here in Hay on Wye, the town of books.... Let's celebrate the joy of reading and the importance of supporting bookshops in our beloved Hay on Wye and beyond, today and every day."

Australia
Love Your Bookshop Day "is an annual celebration of everything that makes local bookshops special--from knowledgeable staff and handpicked book selections to fun events that bring authors, readers, and stories together," BookPeople (the Australian booksellers association) noted. 

The group later posted: "With Love Your Bookshop Day over for another year, we wanted to say a massive thank you!... To the customers--old and new, readers, bookstagrammers, friends and family, who went to their local bookshop. Who celebrated, bought a book, had a sausage sizzle, met their favorite author, got their tarot read! It wouldn't be possible without YOU. And lastly, to the booksellers! You bring joy, passion, love and energy into your stores. You provide a safe space and a community, to readers old and new, big and small. LYBD is to celebrate you and the important role you play in the book industry. Do not underestimate yourself! We love you and you deserve all the recognition. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Until next year! Keep loving your bookshops."

Checking in on social media, Harry Hartog Bookseller, Penrith, wrote: "Today was really--Love Your Community Day! Honestly, you guys are the best and we love all of you crazy Bibliophiles so so much!... Can't wait to celebrate LYBD 2026 with you all next year!"

And Matilda Bookshop, Stirling, noted: "Wow, what a day! Love Your Bookshop Day at Matilda is certainly a celebration of independent bookshops in all their glory, because at their heart, independent bookshops are all about their community. We love seeing so many familiar faces all on one day--our regular customers, our local authors, members of our book clubs and storytime sessions, and so many new faces too!"

New Zealand
Leading up to Bookshop Day 2025, Renee Rowland, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand's association manager, said booksellers nationwide were going all-out to share the fun and freedom of reading with book lovers: "Creating and sharing stories is fundamental to being a human and a bookshop is a marketplace for those stories. Books and bookshops enrich peoples' lives.... Bookstores keep things real! Real books, real people, real lives, real connection with others. Bookstores are much more than just retail spaces. They're community and cultural powerhouses. They help to keep high streets alive, promoting a positive sense of place and bring foot traffic to town centers.'

As part of Bookshop Day celebrations, The Women's Bookshop in Auckland announced that Waikato author Catherine Chidgey (The Book of Guilt) took the #1 spot in this year's Top 50 Women Writers of the Last 50 Years survey, marking the first time an Aotearoa New Zealand author had topped the list in the 20 years the survey has been running. 

The Women's Bookshop founder and owner Carole Beu said that in previous years, the #1 position "had always been a battle between the superstars--Margaret Atwood and Barbara Kingsolver. We've never had so many New Zealand women writers in the top 50. It speaks volumes about the increasing popularity of local authors."

Unity Books in Wellington posted: "Happy Aotearoa NZ Bookshop Day!!!!!!... Thank you, as always, to you, our amazing pukapuka whānau. We'd be nothing without you!! Here's to our beaut Aotearoa bookshops."