Greetings,

November is here and with it comes cold weather and holiday shoppers – hopefully browsing your shelves as you read this! This month, we're sharing important funding updates, bookseller insights, and more.

No time to waste – let’s get into it.
 

We are excited to share that the Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH) has begun rolling out its Support for Booksellers funding! More than 170 independents and small chains were granted funding to help expand their online sales. You can find the full list of recipients here. 

Are you strategizing about how to invest your funding? Visit the Member Portal for existing resources now. We have also planned a brainstorming session for booksellers who wish to discuss ideas with one another:

CIBA Brainstorm: Investing Your Support for Booksellers Funding
Tuesday, November 22
12pm PT, 1pm MT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland

CIBA continues to advocate for its members. We are in regular consultation with DCH about possible changes to the program in year two. If you applied for funding but have not heard whether your application was successful, please reach out directly to DCH.

BOOKMANAGER USERS:

You can add a small funding acknowledgement to the footer of your consumer web store with just a few clicks! 

  1. Go to the new Bookmanager admin/staff site and log in: biz.bookmanager.com
  2. Under the Settings menu, select Webstore
  3. Under the General section, scroll to the bottom to find a new setting called "Display Government of Canada funding acknowledgement"
  4. Toggle this setting on to display the English version
  5. You can also check "Display Bilingual?" to show the acknowledgement text in both French and English
  6. Select the blue "Save changes" button at the bottom of the left-hand menu to make these changes live on your consumer webstore

Click here to download screenshots for this process.
 

Our holiday campaign is in full swing! Thanks to all the bookstores, publishers, industry organizations, and readers who encouraged people to shop early during phase one of the campaign.

Over the next four weeks, phase two will celebrate indie bookseller expertise, share recommendations, and highlight the season's hottest titles. Booksellers who want to participate in the campaign can share CIBA’s posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you are posting your holiday picks, consider tagging @CIBAbooks so we can boost the signal.

Members who are developing their own holiday marketing content can access our campaign assets here.

The popularity of book subscription boxes is on the rise! With the Support for Booksellers funding earmarked to boost online sales, there’s no time like the present to introduce this sales concept in your store.

We’ve put together an overview on subscription services including examples of Canadian indies who have found success with this sales model. Click here to visit the Member Blog.

Not a CIBA member? Join today to access a range of benefits including exclusive content in the Member Portal.

The Bookseller Forum is the place to talk shop with your fellow members.

This month, CIBA posed the following question: “What are your best tips for creating attractive table displays?”

Here are some excerpts from member responses shared so far:

“Focusing on a variety of genres, stacking the books in a pyramid, including backlist and new releases, and varying the colors to create more interest. Our Community Reads table also changes every couple of days to keep readers interested. It has to be something that intrigues us as booksellers and is easily shop-able.”

– Brandi Morpurgo, Daisy Chain Book Co. (Edmonton, AB)

“Table displays vary: prize shortlists, theme days, topical subjects such as the war in Ukraine, seasonal changes... We also try to tell a story, often use colour to attract attention, or bulk up on a single title for impact (such as the new Canada's Food Island Cookbook).”

– Lori Cheverie, Bookmark (Charlottetown, PE)

“Many years ago, someone told me to always tell a story with your displays. I can't say that we always do this, but we try! Connect the books by theme, subject, or some commonality and add intriguing signage. Then create visual interest with heights/colours/additions such as merch/plants/props of some sort.”

– Shelley Macbeth, Blue Heron Books (Uxbridge, ON)

Read the full responses here and add your voice to the mix. You can also post any business-related question in the forum to crowdsource answers from your peers. This forum is only accessible to Bookseller Members.

A Novel Spot Bookshop in Etobicoke, ON is celebrating a decade in business this year. The shop offers a curated selection of novels, biographies, history books, cookbooks, children’s books, and more. We spoke to owner Sarah Pietroski about the store and the role indies play in their communities.

"There are so many things that I love about being an independent bookseller. But my greatest joy is when a customer comes back and says they loved the book I recommended. There is no greater compliment than when a customer trusts us with selecting a book for them and returns to tell us how much they enjoyed it."

Read the article here.

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

This month, you can:
 
 
 

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