Greetings,

We hope February has been kind. This month, we’re revealing our custom campaign artwork and bookseller opportunities for CIBD 2025, sharing interviews, and more.

Settled in? Coffee in hand? Let’s go!

CIBD 2025 Artwork

We can’t wait to celebrate indies across the country on April 26!

In December we shared that we were working with talented artist and illustrator Josée Bisaillon to design this year’s campaign artwork. We’re delighted to reveal Josée’s illustration below, a dynamic celebration of the role indies play in their communities and the inspiring power of books.

We asked Josée to share some behind-the-scenes insights about her approach. Read the interview here.

Our graphic designer is using Josée’s artwork to create campaign resources, including digital graphics for posters, web banners, and social media images. These graphics will be made available to members in March.

In the meantime, you can download our Save the Date here. We'll be posting this on Facebook and Instagram this coming Friday!

More CIBD 2025: Bookseller Opportunities

Since September, we’ve worked with publishers and partners on ways to drive customers to indie bookstores on April 26 (in addition to our popular Contest for Book Lovers).

To help bookstores make their CIBD plans, we’ve put together a guide outlining the opportunities available. The guide details partner-led initiatives like giveaways and product exclusives. It also provides a plethora of activity ideas for inspiration. Members can access the guide now in the Member Portal.

IMPORTANT: The deadline to sign up for giveaways is March 7. The link to sign up can be found in the guide.

Happy planning!

Register Now: Upcoming Events

CIBA Discussion Group: For Shopify Users
Thursday, February 20
12pm PT, 1pm MT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland

CIBA invites current and prospective Shopify users to share their successes, challenges, needs, and future hopes for the platform.

CIBA Discussion Group: Working with School Boards
Monday, March 3
10am PT, 11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET, 2pm AT, 2:30pm Newfoundland

This session is aimed specifically at booksellers who want to discuss the benefits, challenges, and opportunities to be found when working with school boards.

Get the Most Out of Your Relationship with HarperCollins Canada
Tuesday, March 18
12pm PT, 1pm MT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland

Booksellers, get your front row seat to an indie-channel update from HarperCollins Canada. Peter Borcsok, Senior Sales Director, will provide an overview of sales trends, provide insider tips, update you on company priorities for 2025, and more.

CIBA Coffee Break
Tuesday, March 25
10am PT, 11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET, 2pm AT, 2:30pm Newfoundland

Grab a coffee, pull up a chair, and join us for a (virtual) chat! Bring your questions, share concerns or experiences, and let us know where you need CIBA's support.

Event Recording

Booksellers, you have the power to make your operations greener and more sustainable!

At a recent event hosted in partnership with BookNet Canada—Green Paths: Building a Sustainable Future in Bookselling—attendees were provided with an overview of RISE Bookselling’s recent study on sustainability in the bookselling sector, the first of its kind. Fanny Valembois, one of the report’s authors and a specialist in ecological transition for cultural organizations, shared key insights from the research to help bookstores identify practical strategies for more sustainable operations. Following Fanny’s presentation, Amber Harrison from FOLDE Dorset shared their sustainability journey.

Watch the recording for several actionable ideas you can incorporate into your store today. For example:

Don’t order products (like notebooks) with foil blocking because they can’t be easily recycled
Try to encourage pre-orders on event stock where possible
Order non-book items from local suppliers
Only provide digital receipts
No single-use plastics in the store
and much more!

Not a CIBA member? Join now to access several benefits, including live events, recordings, and other business resources.

Feature: Black History & Futures Month

Black History Month provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians. We’re taking this opportunity to highlight some notable works—both recent and upcoming—that we encourage you to add to your shelves.

Check out the featured titles here or share our posts on Facebook and Instagram.

Bookseller Tip

We’re delighted to share another bookseller tip this month! This one comes from Scott Warris at Analog Books in Lethbridge, AB.

"January 18 was ‘National Use Your Gift Card Day.’ For the second year in a row, we ran a very successful promotion to encourage customers to redeem their Analog Books gift cards. Over 25% of our issued gift cards had never been redeemed, so we offered a 20% increase in their value for one day only.

To keep things simple, our staff added a credit line to each order based on a quick calculation—typically rounded up to the nearest dollar. The results were fantastic! Nearly 100 gift cards were redeemed, and sales nearly tripled compared to an average Saturday. In the end, the credit/discounts worked out to less than 10% for the entire day, as most customers purchased well beyond their gift card value. A total success all around!

We are now considering running this promotion on a second day later in the year, possibly during a slower month like August."

Thanks for sharing, Scott!

Do you have a tip for other independent booksellers that you’d like to share? Let us know! We’d love to feature your insights in a future newsletter.

Resources: Freedom to Read Week

Did you know that Freedom to Read Week begins on Sunday?

From February 23-March 1, readers, publishers, booksellers, and libraries encourage Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom—something that is more important now than ever before.

If this cause is important to you, we encourage you to check out some of the wonderful promotional resources available at freedomtoread.ca, including digital graphics in both official languages, articles, and local events. Print posters are also free to download via The Library Marketplace.

Freedom to Read Week is a national campaign co-led by Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, and the Ontario Library Association in partnership with the Book and Periodical Council.

New Members on the Block

We are delighted to welcome the following bookstores that recently joined our community:

Downtown Comics (St. John's, NL)
Nottawa Cottage Bookstore (Nottawa, ON)
Little Wren Books (London, ON)
Fable Book Parlour (Revelstoke, BC)

We’re also extending a warm welcome to the 16 new Provisional Members who have joined CIBA over the past six months, including egghead books in Halifax, NS. Check out @eggheadbooks on Instagram to see owner Liz documenting her journey to opening an independent bookstore.

Thank you all for joining our community of dedicated booksellers!

New from EIBF

We’re delighted to share a new report from RISE Bookselling and the European Independent Booksellers Association (EIBF), along with reminders about some time-sensitive opportunities for CIBA Bookseller Members.

Last Friday, EIBF published an article on the topic of book pricing entitled “The Price of a Book: Fixed or Free?” The article—accompanied by a series of informative infographics summarizing the book pricing system in 16 different countries—breaks down how each pricing system works, where they’re used, and what they mean for books as cultural goods. Click here to access the article and infographics.

We recently posted on the Bulletin Board that EIBF has now opened their application process for booksellers within the RISE network to attend the 2025 edition of the Bologna Book Plus programme (BBPlus) from March 31-April 3, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. The deadline to apply to get a chance to attend the event with RISE is February 24, 2025, 5:59pm ET. Booksellers Members interested in applying can find more information here.

Finally, a reminder that the deadline to register for the RISE Bookselling Conference is also February 24, 2025. This event takes place on March 23 at the Radisson Blu Conference & Spa Hotel in Riga, Latvia. Registration information can be found here.

This message was sent to you by the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

P.O. Box 36099, Halifax NS B3J 3S9

{Organization_URL}