Welcome back!

We have so much to look forward to this year. We're kicking things off with a preview of our Canadian Independent Bookstore Day plans, bookseller inspiration, and more.

Let’s jump in, shall we?

CIBD 2025 Preview
 

The countdown is officially on: Canadian Independent Bookstore Day will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2025! Building on our success over the past four years, this year’s campaign will celebrate indie bookstores and their immeasurable contributions to Canadian culture.

Here is a preview of what we have planned: 

Contest for Book Lovers

Our wildly popular Contest for Book Lovers is back with a few small changes. We will reward five lucky book buyers with generous gift cards to the CIBA Member Bookstore of their choice, with the grand prize worth $1,000.

Every book purchased from a Canadian indie bookstore on April 26 will be eligible for one entry into the contest. Books by Canadian writers and/or illustrators will be worth double the entries.

Based on bookseller feedback, we have also extended the entry period from two days to one week this year, allowing book lovers to enter the contest by May 2 for a chance to win.

Giveaways & Exclusives

CIBA is working with publishers and partners on initiatives to help drive customers to indie bookstores on April 26.

Customer giveaways include:

  • Murdle activity booklets from Raincoast Distribution Group
  • Bookish zines from Biblioasis
  • “Shop Local” chocolate bars from HarperCollins Canada
  • “Books Are Safe Spaces” stickers from Second Story Press
  • World of Munsch stickers and print-in-store resources from Scholastic
  • CIBD-branded sticker sheets from Penguin Random House Canada
  • Poetry postcards from the League of Canadian Poets
  • Stickers, activity booklets, and bookmarks from Canadian Manda Group and its partner publishers

Exclusives for retail sale include:

  • Exclusive early release of one of Spring’s most anticipated Canadian titles, 52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing by David A. Robertson (now on NetGalley). Exclusive orders will be sent with dedicated in-store promo assets care of Penguin Random House Canada.
  • Worldwide Buddies and Canadian Manda Group have developed an exclusive “We Love Indies" notebook.
  • Previous CIBD favourites from Raincoast Books, including the shopping bag designed by Michael Storrings featuring local bookstore imagery, will be once again available for retail sale.

We’ll provide our Bookseller Members with more details about these opportunities in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

The deadline to confirm giveaways and exclusives has now passed. Publishers and organizations interested in sponsorship can reach out to Kayla Calder.

Additional Promotion

We also have several promotional initiatives in the works this year.

  • Friesens Corporation will again provide CIBD 2025 promotional bookmarks to Bookseller Members in advance of the big day—this year with 3x the print run!
  • We will work with Zg Stories again to reach new audiences through targeted advertising and publicity campaigns
  • We will collaborate with publishers and industry partners to engage Canadian creators in the promotion of the campaign to their readers

Thank you to our partners and campaign sponsors for their integral support. We look forward to celebrating indie bookstores with everyone this year!

Not a CIBA member yet but want full access to CIBD? Join us today.

While all indies will benefit from this campaign, contest prizes, marketing assets, and resources are only available to CIBA members.

Supplier Relations Survey

CIBA Bookseller Members are reminded to please fill out our Supplier Relations Survey by Friday, February 7.

Our Supplier Relations Committee meets regularly with major suppliers to negotiate improved terms of trade for independents. Survey responses help ensure the committee’s priorities align with members' needs. It should only take 15 minutes to complete. Results will be collated and shared with suppliers. All personal information will be omitted and kept confidential.  

Click here to access the survey.

If you started filling out the survey but could not complete it, please submit a new response and we will gladly incorporate your completed version into our larger report for suppliers.

Register Now: Upcoming Events

Below is an overview of our upcoming professional development events. Unless otherwise noted, these events are open only to CIBA Bookseller Members. Click on the hyperlinked event names to register.

Reminder: we’re streamlining how many emails we send members! Once a month, we’ll send a round-up about upcoming events and include reminders in our monthly newsletters. Please register early for the events you wish to attend.

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 Publisher Picks will bring you to the heart of publisher marketing discussions to discover the books you might not (yet) know you need to stock but will be glad you have on hand. 

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

Presented in partnership with BookNet Canada, this session will explore the first study on sustainability in the bookselling sector, published by RISE Bookselling, a project run by the European and International Bookselling Federation and co-funded by the European Union. Registration for this event is open to the industry at large.

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

This dynamic session is designed to help you make the most of Canadian Independent Bookstore Day 2025.

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

Join UTP Distribution representatives as they share best practices for enhancing your relationship with the company and respond to frequently asked questions.  

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.

NEW: Bookseller Tip

We know how much members appreciate when booksellers share their operational tips. This month, we're sharing one from the fantastic Hilary Atleo at Iron Dog Books (Vancouver, BC):

“Last January, I went back through my fall season and took note of inventory weaknesses. Then, I went through my day planner for 2024 and wrote reminders to myself about ideal ordering dates.

For example, I had a note for the week of November 25 reminding me to order New Year resolution books, along with a list of titles that we keep in stock (e.g., Atomic Habits, Man’s Search for Meaning, and Untethered Soul), of which we need a larger quantity on hand for when sales increase between December 26 and January 31.

This work early on in the year made it easy to ensure we had plenty of stock. These reminders also prompt us to refresh our website reel and prepare timely content for our socials.”

Thanks so much, Hilary!

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

CFIB Resources on Theft and Loss Prevention

In response to feedback from members, we recently reached out to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) to collect resources related to theft and loss prevention. We know this is an ongoing concern for booksellers and we are happy to facilitate additional learning opportunities.

Here are some resources:

  • A recent report entitled "Broken Windows & Broken Trust: The Impact of Rising Crime on Small Business” discusses the year-over-year impact of crime and community safety issues on small businesses throughout Canada. Read the report here.
  • Learn more about crime-proofing your business with CFIB's original content including tips on effective loss prevention. 
  • CFIB has prepared a thorough “Opening and Closing Security Checklist” that can help business owners. Download the checklist here.
  • CFIB also has a dedicated webpage about fraud and they have conducted several free webinars on fraud including general fraud scams, credit card theft, and cybersecurity theft that members may find useful.

Booksellers: Are you interested in CIBA hosting a virtual professional development session to share your experiences with theft, loss prevention, and similar topics such as IT and cybersecurity? Please let Nicola Dufficy know!

Bookstore Inspo

Here at CIBA, we love sharing examples of indie booksellers going above and beyond for their customers in creative ways. This month, we’re highlighting “Suggestive Night” events hosted by Good Dog Books in Bridgewater, NS:

At these events, readers are invited to pitch a favourite book to others in attendance. Each person has 2-3 minutes to try to convince others that the book they brought should be their next read. Past themes have included guilty pleasures and nonfiction titles.

Once everyone has made their pitch, attendees vote on what book sounded the most interesting. The event includes prizes, snacks, and tea, and attendees leave with a list of all the books discussed.

We love how these events celebrate individual tastes, encourage readers to consider new titles, and bring local readers together. Thanks, Good Dog Books, for inspiring your customers and colleagues!

Does your bookstore host unique events or provide something special to its community that we should highlight here? Give us a shout.

Image care of @good.dog.books on Instagram

Annual Renewals & Member Benefits

We are grateful to those who have helped us build this community. We hope you will continue to invest in CIBA in 2025.

Annual members will receive an official notice from our system before their renewal date with instructions about how to renew. Depending on when you joined, you may have received this already. Once you’ve renewed, you can log in and download your updated member certificate.

Not a member yet? Now is the time! When you join CIBA, you’ll have access to a range of benefits including:

  • Professional development opportunities and business resources
  • Marketing campaign materials
  • Participation in advocacy and supplier relations activities
  • Community, connection, and shared learning
  • News, research, and industry reports

Bookseller Members may also opt into a group rate with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) which includes a wide range of cost savings opportunities, business resources, and more.

Click here to learn more or join today.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss CIBA membership, please contact Laura Carter. We'd love to hear from you!
 
 
 

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