Malaprop’s celebrates Independent Bookstore Day, April 29

Press release:

Independent Bookstore Day marks its third year of celebrating independent bookstores nationwide on Saturday, April 29th, with literary parties around the country.

Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St, Asheville, NC, will be celebrating with giveaways and games with prizes. “Malaprop’s will celebrate our 35th birthday this year,” said Linda-Marie Barrett, Malaprop’s General Manager. “This milestone sends a strong message that independent bookstores can and do thrive when they partner with an engaged and supportive community such as ours.”

Malaprop’s also will offer exclusive day-of merchandise created especially for Independent Bookstore Day by major publishers and authors. Since its inception in 2014, more than 150 authors have demonstrated their support for independent bookstores by donating work for Bookstore Day.

The third annual Independent Bookstore Day is sponsored in part by Penguin Random House, Ingram, and The American Booksellers Association. Last year, participating bookstores saw an average increase in sales of 200% on Independent Bookstore Day, with some stores up as much as 1000% over their average Saturday sales in April. “Indie bookstores play a crucial role in society–they are spaces where ideas live freely, thought and conversation flourish, and communities are nurtured and strengthened. Independent Bookstore Day is a national party to celebrate this significance. We love to celebrate with our customers and toast to the vitality of indies, as well as to the enthusiasm and support of avid readers everywhere!” says Katie Eelman at Papercuts J.P. in Boston.

“There are those who love Christmas, and those who love Valentine’s Day, and those for whom Independent Bookstore Day is the only holiday that matters. Three cheers to the readers, the writers, the booksellers, the kiddos, the dogs, the cats, and the bookstores that bring us all together!” says 2017 Bookstore Day Author Ambassador, Emma Straub. Straub is the bestselling author of three novels: Modern Lovers, the Vacationers, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures, and a short story collection, Other People We Married. She is also, with Michael Fusco, the owner of Books are Magic, a new bookstore opening this spring in Brooklyn.

Independent Bookstore day is proud to announce a selection of exclusive books and art pieces for Bookstore Day 2017. These limited edition, unique items will be available only at participating IBD bookstores, on April 29. Not before. Not online. And not in chain stores.

Children’s items include:

• Elephant & Piggie onesie by Mo Willems. This soft cotton onesie featuring Mo Willems’ wonderful Elephant and Piggie and an encouragement to READ makes the perfect baby gift for bibliophiles.

• A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers. From the acclaimed New york times bestseller A Child of Books, Oliver Jeffers and Sam winston offer an exclusive signed fine art print for book lovers of all ages. Jeffers’s elegant image, combined with Winston’s typographical landscapes, inspires readers to create, to question, to explore, and to imagine.

Adult items include:

• $6 Story: the Sandmeyer Reaction. A signed, limited, and bound edition of a story cut from Pulitzer Prize-winning author michael Chabon’s new novel, Moonglow.

• Welcome to Nightvale Vinyl Record

• A Literary Cocktail Party: Favorite Drinks from our Favorite Writers. A modern take on a classic cocktail guide, from 30 American writers. Learn to make an Old fashioned with Daniel Handler; discover Julia Glass’s namesake cocktail, the Julia’s Glass; or just sit back and enjoy the simple pleasure of champagne bubbles with Emma Straub. Other authors sharing their favorite drinks include Viet Thanh Nguyen, Sloane Crosley, Amor Towles, Lauren Groff, James Patterson, and many others.

• Lost and Found Print. This signed, original, black-and-white drawing by Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, is inspired by her new book, You Are Here.

• An Author’s Best Friend Canine Canvas Pouch

• Literary Tea Towels

• Literary Condoms. These cleverly beautiful literary condoms are perfect counter-top impulse buys. Developed by The Booksmith in San Francisco, they feature two designs: “Give Me That Darcy” Jane Austen condoms, and “Great Expectations” Charles Dickens condoms.

• The “Bad Citizen” Stencil. Every year Bookstore Day creates a signature “Bad Citizen” Graffiti Stencil to highlight the authors and the words that push us to think, read, and be disruptive when necessary. This year’s stencil features a quote from professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: Censorship is to Art as Lynching is to Justice. The term “bad citizen” comes from a 1997 New Yorker interview with Don DeLillo, “…we’re writing against what power represents, and often what government represents, and what the corporation dictates, and what consumer consciousness has come to mean. In that sense, if we’re bad citizens, we’re doing our job.”

• Audio Giveaways from Libro.fm, the digital audiobook platform for independent bookstores. Visitors to IBD stores can download a half dozen complimentary digital audiobooks, including William Morrow’s lead title, The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck, David Foster Wallace’s classic A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, and books for young readers such as Shadow House #1 by Michael Northrop.

To see all of the exclusive items created for IBD and for all current information, visit: http://www.indiebookstoreday.com

Independent Bookstore Day began in California in 2014 and became a national event the next year. A host of publishers and authors such as Neil Gaiman, George Saunders, Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff, James Patterson, Stephen King and many others have donated work in support of the event. Independent Bookstore Day (IBD is produced by writer and former bookseller Samantha Schoech in partnership with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association. Its sponsors include Penguin Random House, Ingram, and the American Booksellers Association.Follow Independent Bookstore Day:
Facebook at Facebook.com/BookstoreDay
Twitter @BookstoreDay
Instagram @indiebookstoreday
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