Welcome to another edition of Shelf Awareness Extra!, which are special issues that focus on a particular subject and appear once a month. The edition focuses on Indies First/Small Business Saturday, which takes place on Saturday, November 28.
Saturday, November 28, on Thanksgiving Weekend, is Indies First/Small Business Saturday, one of the busiest days of the year for independent bookstores across the U.S. and a great occasion to convey the importance of indie bookselling and indie businesses of all kinds while marking the start of the holidays.
As American Booksellers Association CEO Allison Hill observed, "Indies First alongside Small Business Saturday is always a great way to kick off the holiday season. The day is a reminder that small businesses produce nearly half of the country’s economic output and employ nearly half of private employees, but customers come out for more than the economy. They come to support their neighbors, be with their community, and keep their main streets vibrant. Indies First celebrates the independent bookstores at the heart of that."
Indies First began with the idea of authors being in independent bookstores to greet customers, promote indie bookstores, do events, sign their books, and more. But in connection with Small Business Saturday, the concept of celebrating indies has expanded dramatically over the last decade. Many booksellers offer "blind date" gifts, passport arrangements with other bookstores and local retailers of all kinds, toasts, food & drink, special merchandise, and discounts both in-store and online (sometimes geared to loyal customers). A common theme is booksellers' knowledge and ability to find personal, thoughtful gifts for customers. (See what some stores are planning this year below.)
The ABA is offering a variety of resources and help for booksellers as they prepare for Indies First. They include two new features: an Indies First planning guide and a map of bookstores participating in Indies First. There are also posters for display and social media assets, and a listing of special publishers' offers for Indies First.
In addition, winners of the ABA's Indies Choice Book Awards will be announced Wednesday, November 25, in time to be promoted on Indies First/Small Business Saturday. The awards include nine categories are: Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Indie Press Fiction, Indie Press Nonfiction, Debut Adult, and Debut Children's.
The ABA emphasizes the larger context for Indies First, saying, "Although it refers to the one day, Indies First is also a campaign for the holiday season in its entirety. From University Press Week through Kwanzaa and Epiphany, there are numerous gift-giving occasions through the season that starts with Indies First."
Other organizations continue to join in. Bookshop.org will again offer free standard shipping over the holiday weekend. It's also offering tote bags for $15 and a 20% discount on the Best Books of the Year.
To celebrate Indies First/Small Business Saturday, Libro.fm is holding a "Shop Small" sale on bestselling audiobooks, many for $5 or less, that runs November 23-30. It also has special membership offers for Indies First/Small Business Saturday as well as Plaid Friday and Cyber Monday.
Origin Stories
American Express began Small Business Saturday in 2010 as a way to highlight local bricks-and mortar stores of all kinds at the start of the holiday season and as a counterpoint to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which have always featured big box stores and online sales, respectively. Over the years, American Express has invested heavily in the event, advertising it widely (and sometimes featuring bookstores!), and Small Business Saturday has become a major part of American Express's Shop Small Movement. The company estimates that since Small Business Saturday's founding, consumers have spent an estimated $200 billion at small businesses on SBS. American Express offers small businesses a variety of marketing suggestions. It also has a Shop Small Map on which bookstores can be listed.
In 2013, the American Booksellers Association founded Indies First, an idea that started when Janis Segress, at the time one of the owners of Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, Wash., suggested to author Sherman Alexie that authors promote their favorite indies on Small Business Saturday after Alexie was "bookseller-for-a-day" when Queen Anne reopened that year. Alexie liked the idea and wrote to other authors about it, which he dubbed Indies First. The ABA immediately picked up on the suggestion and began promoting and organizing for it.
Among stores with plans for this year's Indies First/Small Business Saturday:
Midtown Reader, Tallahassee, Fla., has a very full day planned for Saturday, November 28:
Byrd's Books, Bethel, Conn., is celebrating Indies First/Small Business Saturday several ways. Margot Mustich will do a signing for her new book, You Can't Rush Onions, from noon to 2 p.m. The store is also partnering with other women-owned businesses in Bethel for a passport program with the grand prize of a basket containing gift cards for each of the businesses. To be eligible, a customer needs to make a purchase on November 27 or 28 and have their card stamped. The more purchases and stamps, the more entries to win.
Watermark Book Company, Anacortes, Wash., is celebrating with a local author meet and greet. From noon until 3 p.m., Emma Comery will be on hand and promoting Have You Landed?, a collection of essays she wrote while interviewing military spouses.
Kew & Willow Books, Kew Gardens, N.Y., calls Indies First/Small Business Saturday "one of our favorite days of the year," and will celebrate in several ways: a final sale table, "a huge hit every year," will include "gems as low as $5"; local vendors will offer crochet items, handmade greeting cards, baked goods, and more; and a four-day online sale will start on Friday and run through Monday.
The Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, Mass., will celebrate with hot apple cider, cookies, and a Richard Scarry theme, with crafts and kids activities. In addition, 15% of all sales from Indies First will be donated to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
The Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick, Vt., will again hold its Week of Gratitude, during which, the store explained, "we give away bags filled with books and other fun items every day. This year is no different--beginning Sunday, November 22, and culminating on Small Business Saturday, November 28, some lucky customers will receive gift totes loaded with books. One bag will be given out each day, except on Small Business Saturday, when we will have FIVE lucky winners!"
Forage With Me Books, Nassau, N.Y., near Albany, which sells used, rare, and vintage books, is featuring two things on Indies First/Small Business Saturday. It's offering free shipping on every order placed through its site--in part to push shoppers toward buying direct from the store instead of a marketplace--and promoting a gift shelf drop that morning, a curated run of giftable vintage stock (classic sci-fi first editions, vintage RPG sets, local history) priced and listed fresh for the holiday weekend.
Events related to Indies First/Small Business Saturday that extol the values of diverse, local, and independent businesses are Plaid Friday and Cider Monday, bookending the Thanksgiving weekend and both promoted by AMIBA (the American Independent Business Alliance).
Plaid Friday, celebrated November 27, an alternative to Black Friday, offers a calm and peaceful experience supportive of indies in contrast to the frenzy that's usually marked Black Friday. Booksellers are encouraged to wear plaid, take pictures of customers and staff wearing plaid, use a plaid theme in wrapping, displays, etc.
Plaid Friday was created by Kerri Johnson in Oakland, Calif., to bring back the time when shopping for friends and family was a pleasurable and leisurely activity. Johnson recalled, "At the time Plaid Friday was conceived, there was a growing movement to boycott all shopping on Black Friday. I, as well as many of the people I knew, avoided the craziness of that day. Most small businesses didn't even open. At the time, I had a small artist-run gallery that I ran with my husband, Jason, and we would turn the gallery into a pop-up shop featuring local artisans for the holidays. I thought why not turn this crazy day into something relaxing and enjoyable, giving people an alternative to shopping at the malls at 3 a.m.? The idea was to get up late, grab a coffee, and explore the neighborhood, discovering small businesses and shopping local. A win-win for everyone."
In a similar way, Cider Monday, this year falling on November 30, promotes a more laidback, human atmosphere in stores on a day when many people furiously shop online. Cider Monday was founded in 2013 by Willard Williams, formerly of Toadstool Bookshops in New Hampshire and a co-owner of Balin Books in Nashua, N.H. As he put it, "Stop in for a free cup of cider and a snack, see some real people, and have a good time checking out what's in our stores. It's sure to be a heartwarming experience. We can promise no crashing websites, our 'servers' won’t be overloaded, and we bet they will even smile at you!"
Poet, essayist, and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib is Indie Bookstore Ambassador for 2026. The American Booksellers Association launched the Indie Bookstore Ambassador program in 2022 to highlight independent bookstores year-round. An important part of the position is to champion indie bookstores on Indies First.
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| Hanif Abdurraqib (photo: Kate Sweeney) |
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"At a time when access to books and meaningful literary engagement feel more important than ever, the Indie Bookstore Ambassador ignites indie booksellers around a shared purpose: fostering future generations of readers while championing the freedom to read, both central to indies and ABA's mission," the organization noted.
In accepting the invitation to be the ambassador, Abdurraqib said, "When I am traveling, the places I often go to first are the independent bookstores in a city, because independent booksellers often have a unique understanding of the place they are in and the responsibility they have to the people in the place, which means they can make a unique map of a city and the interests of people in it.... I am honored to serve in this role because I believe indie booksellers are masters of close attention, and the benefit of that close attention is the ability to place something in someone's hand that can be transportive, and life-altering."
Abdurraqib is the author of There's Always This Year, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; A Little Devil in America, winner of the Carnegie Medal and a National Book Award finalist; The Crown Ain't Worth Much; They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us; Go Ahead in the Rain; and A Fortune for Your Disaster, winner of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. I'm Always Looking Up and You're Jumping: Poems will be published by Random House on April 13, 2027. He is also a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant."
ABA senior marketing manager Courtney Wallace noted: "Like the best independent bookstores, Mr. Abdurraqib's work reminds us that literature isn't a luxury--it's a lifeline. Whether through poetry, criticism, or cultural commentary, he fosters the kind of thoughtful, empathetic, and deeply human conversations that indie bookstores create every day. As he prepares to publish a new poetry collection in 2027, we're honored to welcome Abdurraqib as an ambassador who celebrates the power of books, the importance of literary culture, and the essential role independent bookstores play in bringing communities together."