Supporting Diverse Voices & Amplifying Our Indie Voices
8/31/22
Booksellers have rightly expressed their concern about the new buying policies announced by some of the biggest players in our industry and the impact on new authors, especially concerning the diverse voices available to the book-buying public.
This is what you can do now to amplify the voice of the independent bookseller channel:
- Proudly stock diverse books that represent our communities; it’s in our DNA.
- Take a stand and invite your customers to join you.
- Promote diversity at every opportunity - online, on social media, in your newsletters, in book clubs, book talks, book fairs, everywhere you happen to be.
- Amplify our indie voice:
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- Report your bestsellers to bookweb.org (must be an ABA member). These bestseller lists are published in the SF Chronicle, LA Times, Alta Journal, among others.
- Report your bestsellers to the New York Times.
- Buy directly from the publisher! Better discount, direct channel to promotions, authors, and other perks.
- Let sales reps and your publishers know diversity remains a crucial element of your business.
What to do right now:
- Support ABFE and order your "I Read Dangerously" t-shirts.
- Order banned and challenged books for your displays.
- Plan your promotions and events.
- Sign the ABFE Banned Books Petition before September 6.
What to do in early September:
- Plan your displays and events/activities, and start promoting them!
- Use digital assets from ABFE and the ALA.
Banned Books Week, September 18 - 24, 2022
- Celebrate the right to read! Visit BannedBooksWeek.org for all the information you need!
#diversitymatters
To Our Publisher Friends:
Our booksellers are concerned about the impact on the diversity of titles that will be published because of the changes made in the buying strategies by two of the biggest players in the industry.
Booksellers want you to know that:
We’re not stopping, you shouldn’t either.