Indies First, the national campaign of activities and events in support of independent bookstores, is returning this year on November 30, Small Business Saturday. This year's spokesperson is Trevor Noah, former host of The Daily Show and author of Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Since the creation of Indies First in 2013, spokespeople have included Amanda Gorman, Celeste Ng, Roxane Gay, Dan Rather, N.K. Jemisin, Jason Reynolds, and Cheryl Strayed.
In Atlanta, Ga., the Indies First/SBS festivities will begin on November 22 with the start of the Atlanta Indie Bookshop Crawl. Book lovers have until December 1 to visit participating stores in the metro Atlanta area and get their passports stamped. Those who collect five stamps by December 1 will receive 20% off a purchase at a participating bookstore of their choice. Those who collect a stamp from all 28 participating stores will be entered to win a grand prize raffle. Brave + Kind, based in Decatur, is organizing the Atlanta crawl.
Porter Square Books, Cambridge, Mass., is holding a grand-opening celebration for its new location on November 30. The festivities will include local authors serving as guest booksellers, a scavenger hunt, a raffle, and a holiday recommendation event in the evening. Customers will be able to earn raffle tickets for every $25 spent, or receive them in exchange for $10 donations to the Porter Square Books Foundation. Raffle prizes will include galleys, signed copies of Stephen King's The Institute, an appointment with a personal shopper, and a private shopping spree at the bookstore.
Indies First festivities at Charis Books & More in Decatur, Ga., will include a day of author events featuring Reem Faruqi (The House Without Lights), Breanna J. McDaniel (Go Forth and Tell: The Life of August Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller), Muriel Leung (How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster), and Nibs Stroupe (She Made a Way: Mother and Me in a Deep South World). Charis will also be participating in the Atlanta Bookshop Crawl.
Once Upon a Time in Montrose, Calif., will offer special promotions, author visits, and prizes. All day long, customers will get to spin the store's wheel of prizes following any purchase, and will receive a free chocolate goodie with every purchase of $50 or more. Purchases of $150 or more, meanwhile, will come with a free gift. The day will open with an early-bird special 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and conclude with a night-owl special from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Eight authors will also stop by for signings, including: Suzanne and Max Lang (The Grumpy Monkey Oh No! Christmas), Tom Phillips (The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves), Janie Emaus (Latkes for Santa Claus), Frans Vischer (A Very Fuddles Christmas), Katie Merten Horelick (Potty Like a Rockstar), Devin Elle Kurtz (The Bakery Dragon), and Jorge Cham (Oliver's Great Big Universe: Volcanoes Are Hot!).
In Brooklyn, N.Y., Greenlight Bookstore will hold its last event of the year on Indies First Day. Local author Jane Breskin Zalben will read her newest picture book Gingerbread Dreidels. To mark the occasion, there will be gingerbread treats available for all ages.
At Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Tex., plans for November 30 include Blind Date with a Book ARCs, afternoon drinks, holiday gift bundles, a display of the store's best books of 2024, a gratitude jar at the register, and more.
Shoppers who spend $100 or more at Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn, will receive a 40th-anniversary poster or anniversary sticker packet as long as supplies last. Red Balloon is currently celebrating its 40th birthday with a week of events that began on November 17 and will conclude November 23.