Season’s greetings!

The end of 2024 is near but indie booksellers are still working hard. Thank you to the dedicated bookstore owners and staff working long hours to serve their customers and communities during the holiday season—especially in light of the new GST/HST Break creating new challenges.

This month, we share some highlights from the past year, a preview of our 2025 professional development events, and more.

Please enjoy.

The Year in Review
 

Supporting independent bookstores is inspiring, especially in challenging times. Indie booksellers engage Canadian readers, offer books that broaden perspectives, foster understanding, and allow us to experience the world.

At CIBA, we see an industry thriving. This year, we welcomed 24 prospective booksellers to our community—passionate, driven people planning to open new indie stores from Halifax to Vancouver. We proudly represent more than 185 bookstores from coast to coast to coast.

Speaking of our members, congratulations to those who celebrated milestone anniversaries in 2024! Among them are Blue Heron Books (Uxbridge, ON), which marked 35 years, and Whodunit Books (Winnipeg, MB) which has been serving its community for an incredible 40 years.

As booksellers work tirelessly through the holiday season to help customers, CIBA's team prepares for an exciting 2025. Our plans include:

Finally, before the year ends, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our members and industry partners for investing in CIBA. Together, we’re building a stronger future for the Canadian book industry.

Here’s to a wonderful year ahead!

Save the Date for CIBD 2025

We’re ramping up our plans for Canadian Independent Bookstore Day, which will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2025!

Here are some updates on what we have in the works:

  • Canadian artist Josée Bisaillon has created custom artwork for the campaign that will be used across promotional materials and toolkits
  • Our Contest for Book Lovers will reward lucky book buyers with generous gift cards to their favourite CIBA member bookstores
  • We'll continue to work with publishers and industry partners to create dedicated customer giveaways for the big day

We’ll provide more details in January and promotional materials will be available to members in March. In the meantime, Bookseller Members can save the date for our planning session on Monday, February 3 at 1pm ET—more info below!

Not a member yet but want full access to the campaign? Join us today.

Register Now: Upcoming Events

The Insider Scoop: Save Time, Energy and Money!
Tuesday, January 14
4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT, 7pm ET, 8pm AT, 8:30pm Newfoundland 

CIBA’s Supplier Relations Committee is an important bridge between indie booksellers and the publishing industry. The committee regularly meets with representatives of key organizations to receive operational updates and advocate for member needs.

These meetings provide important insights into how indies can save time, energy, and money. Join CIBA’s Supplier Relations Committee in this session to get the insider scoop and tips to strengthen your business!

Publisher Picks: Spring Edition
Thursday, January 23 with Multinational Publishers
Thursday, February 13 with Canadian Independent Publishers
Both sessions will take place at: 3:30pm PT, 4:30pm MT, 5:30pm CT, 6:30pm ET, 7:30pm AT, 8:00pm Newfoundland

CIBA's popular Publisher Picks series is back with its spring edition! We'll bring you to the heart of publisher marketing discussions to discover the season's best bets—the books you might not know you need but will be glad you have on hand. Tune in live or view the recording within two weeks for a chance to win publisher prizes.

Green Paths: Building a Sustainable Future in Bookselling
Tuesday, January 28
11am PT, 12pm MT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET, 3pm AT, 3:30pm Newfoundland

Booksellers have the power to make their operations greener and more sustainable, but the path forward isn’t always clear. RISE Bookselling, a project run by the European and International Bookselling Federation and co-funded by the European Union, recently released the first study on sustainability in the bookselling sector.

In this session, Fanny Valembois, one of the report’s authors and a specialist in ecological transition for cultural organizations, will share key insights from the research to help booksellers identify practical strategies for more sustainable operations. Amber Harrison from FOLDE Dorset—an independent, award-winning, and B-Corp-certified bookstore in the UK—will also share their sustainability journey. This session will be hosted by Hilary Atleo from Iron Dog Books (Vancouver, BC) and presented in partnership with BookNet Canada.

Getting Ready for CIBD 2025
Monday, February 3
10am PT, 11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET, 2pm AT, 2:30pm Newfoundland

Join the CIBA team for a dynamic session designed to help Bookseller Members make the most of Canadian Independent Bookstore Day 2025!

We’ll kick things off with an overview of this year’s initiatives, the importance of creative bookseller initiatives, and why sharing your plans with CIBA is key. After the presentation, booksellers can brainstorm and share ideas for community-driven activities and practical tips to support planning for CIBD 2025. 

Enhance Your Business Relationship with UTP
Thursday, February 6
12pm PT, 1pm MT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland 

CIBA’s Supplier Relations Committee has been actively working with UTP Distribution to cultivate a productive relationship for indies. UTP has been open about how managing its free freight program and balancing a vast number of small publishers has made fulfillment more complex.  

Booksellers can join this session to hear from UTP representatives Jason Farrell, Mary Di Nardo, and Gagan Virkas, who will share best practices for enhancing the relationship with UTP Distribution and respond to some frequently asked member questions. 

Upcoming Changes to CIBA Communications

Please take note of these changes to our member communications schedule beginning in January 2025:

  1. We will no longer send dedicated emails about individual Lectures & Labs events (including day-of invitations). Instead, we will send a round-up on the first Wednesday of every month and include reminders in our monthly newsletters. Please read these round-ups carefully and register early for the events you wish to attend!

  2. We will utilize our Bulletin Board and Bookseller Forum more effectively, posting updates and invitations from industry partners in those spaces instead of sending dedicated emails. Even for those who are subscribed to the forums, this will help recipients prioritize communications from CIBA. Dedicated emails will be used when the information is time-sensitive or includes a distinctive call to action. 

As always, CIBA’s monthly newsletter is the main space to find association updates, resources, and more. We will continue to send dedicated emails to our Associate, Affiliate, and Supporter members as needed. 

We hope these changes will help Bookseller Members feel organized and informed about CIBA while keeping their inboxes manageable. If you have any questions about these changes, please give us a shout. 

Resource: 2025 Notable Public Dates Calendar

To help members plan their marketing activities, CIBA has once again created a living calendar that features key dates like public holidays, themed days/weeks/months, awards announcements, and more. This resource is accessible as a list-by-date and as a traditional calendar.

Members can access the calendar here. We will continue to add to the calendar as information becomes available. 

If you have any questions or wish to add a key date that may be of interest to all members, please email Kayla Calder. 

Benefits for CIBA Members

As a reminder, booksellers can include unlimited staff members in their CIBA Membership Bundle. Highlights of benefits for bookstore staff include:

Want to add someone to your store’s bundle? Get in touch!

Checking in with BookNet Canada

Our colleagues at BookNet Canada continue to provide unique content and helpful resources related to the Canadian book industry.

Right now you can:

We also encourage you to fill out BookNet's annual customer satisfaction survey. BookNet Canada relies on this feedback to help improve product experience and plan future development projects. Plus, every respondent will be entered for a chance to win 1 of 2 $100 gift cards or 1 of 4 copies of the forthcoming BookNet report The Canadian Book Market 2024!

Take the survey here.

Holiday Office Closure

Please note that the CIBA virtual office will be closed beginning on Monday, December 23. We will be back to business as usual on Monday, January 6. 

We hope the holiday season brings you all joy, rest, and plenty of reading time. 
 
 
 

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