Greetings,

We hope you’ve all had a chance to catch up on some rest and restocking following an eventful month. Our May newsletter includes a look back on the success of #CIBD2025, info about upcoming events, summer campaigns, and more.

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day 2025 was an incredible celebration of the role indie bookstores play in Canadian culture—and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our booksellers, publishers, authors, and readers.

Highlights from this year’s campaign include:

• Nationwide media coverage highlighting the importance of indie bookstores .

• A record number of entries to the Contest for Book Lovers, with nearly 3,600 participants and 13,000+ entries!

• A vibrant and heartfelt social media presence showcasing how communities showed up for their local bookstores.

• Special promotions from campaign partners including Libro.fm, Raincoast Books, and more.

• Exclusive early release of 52 Ways to Reconcile by David A. Robertson.

• Hundreds of in-store celebrations including author visits, giveaways, and community events.

Thousands of readers entered the 2025 Contest for Book Lovers by making a purchase at a Canadian independent bookstore on April 26—and we’re pleased to announce our lucky winners.

Grand Prize Winner

Prize: $1,000 in gift cards to the CIBA member bookstores of their choice

Frieda (BC)

Runners-Up

Prize: $200 gift card to the CIBA member bookstore of their choice

We’re currently gathering sales data and feedback to assess the full impact of the campaign, and we’ll be sharing those findings in a report next month.

Upcoming Events

How Booksellers can Benefit from Joining the booksellers.ca Marketplace with Les Libraires

Tuesday, May 27

12pm PT, 1pm MT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland

CIBA members are invited to attend a webinar about joining the booksellers.ca marketplace, the English-language counterpart to the successful leslibraires.ca platform.

CIBA Publisher Picks – Fall Edition!

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 season's best bets from multinational and Canadian independent publishers.

• Multinational Publishers: Thursday, June 5
• Canadian Independent Publishers: Thursday, June 12

Bluey for Beginners: A Sure-fire Brand to Boost Sales with Kyrell Grant

Tuesday, June 17

4pm PT, 5pm MT, 6pm CT, 7pm ET, 8pm AT, 8:30pm Newfoundland

Since premiering in 2018, Bluey has become one of the most watched and streamed children's shows globally. Join Kyrell Grant, Manager, Children’s Independent and School Sales, Penguin Random House Canada for an in depth look at the publishing success this franchise has enjoyed, and some channel specific insights.

In 2024, Bluey sales doubled in Canada year over year, and there is definitely room for indies to take a bigger piece of the pie!

Voting is Now Open for The Booksellers’ List!

Voting for The Booksellers’ List is now open and we’re so eager to see which titles resonate most with our independent bookseller members this fall! Booksellers, be sure to cast your votes before the end of the day on July 7, 2025.

CIBA recently hosted information sessions for booksellers and publishers to introduce the program.

If you missed these sessions, you catch the recordings:

• Information Session for Booksellers
• Information Session for Publishers

Not a CIBA member? Join today to access a range of benefits, including access to live events, recordings, and other business resources.

Engage Readers This Summer

CIBA is excited to support two upcoming summer reading promotions that will help drive traffic to your store and encourage reading across age groups.

Scholastic Canada's Summer Reading Campaign will be launching June 1, with in-store activities running through August 31. Participating booksellers should begin receiving promotional kits in late May.

Then on July 1, CIBA, IndieBookstores.ca, and Penguin Random House Canada are launching “Your Summer Is Booked ”, a national campaign that promotes paperbacks as ideal summer reads and encourages customers to shop at indie bookstores.

The campaign includes a contest where readers can win a year’s supply of PRHC paperbacks. The sales period is already underway and runs until June 15. To participate, use promo code RHP044 and reason code EE1 when ordering eligible titles through your PRHC sales representative.

Booksellers in the News

Booksellers were in the news a lot this spring, first in a wide range of interviews about the possible impact of tariffs and, on a more celebratory note, in support of Canadian Independent Bookstore Day.

This year’s CIBD received strong national and regional media attention, helping to spotlight the cultural and community value of indie bookstores across the country. Here are a few highlights from the press coverage:

• CBC Books profiled the campaign and featured stories from booksellers and readers alike in this national feature, which emphasized the role of indie bookstores as gathering places and cultural hubs.

• CTV Atlantic shared a live segment about the importance of independent bookstores and what makes them special to local communities in Eastern Canada.

• Breakfast Television chatted with bookseller about CIBD’s goals and impact in this enthusiastic interview, broadcast to audiences nationwide.

• The Vancouver Sun spotlighted five indie bookstores in Vancouver, highlighting the city’s thriving independent literary scene just in time for CIBD celebrations.

Thank you to everyone who helped amplify the message. A full overview of media coverage will be included in the CIBD campaign report. The collective impact of this coverage brought national attention to the incredible work being done by independent bookstores coast to coast.

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