Making Waves 3/6/26

Spring Forum Registration Open!

GLIBA Regional Newsletter: March 6, 2026 IMPORTANT DATES 3/6: DEADLINE TO SUBMIT AUTHOR PITCHES FOR GLIBA SPRING FORUM 3/6: DEADLINE FOR BOOKSTORES TO REGISTER FOR CHICAGOLAND BOOKSTORE CRAWL 3/15: DEADLINE TO PLACE ORDERS FOR THE SUMMER CATALOG 3/31: INDIE BOOKSTORE DAY 2026 PARTICIPATION FORM CLOSES 4/7: NATIONAL BLACK BOOKSTORE DAY 4/24-4/25: PULP & PRESS LIT ARTS FEST  IMPORTANT LINKS • REGIONAL BESTSELLERS • PUBLISHER PROMOTIONS • BOOKSELLER ARC PREFERENCE FORM • JOIN OR RENEW MEMBERSHIP REGIONAL NEWS SPRING FORUM REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! REGISTER FOR SPRING FORUM! Wednesday, April 15 Bookstore Tour Opening Receptoin Thursday, April 16 Spring Forum Author Reception We are thrilled to host Spring Forum at the indomitable Loganberry Books in Cleveland, OH. All participating authors are welcome to join us for the bookstore tour & reception on the 15th, lunch on the 16th, and the author reception directly following the author events. Important Links • Attendee Registration • Hotel Accommodations (last day to book hotel: 3/24/26) • Spring Forum Information • Spring Forum Schedule  • Publisher Guidelines • Publisher Pitch Authors • Publisher Promotional Opportunities AUTHORS ANNOUNCED! more authors announced soon... LAST DAY FOR BOOKSTORES TO REGISTER FOR THE CHICAGOLAND BOOKSTORE CRAWL! The Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl returns in 2026 on Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 25, 2026! Complete this form to register your bookstore’s interest in participating in the 2026 Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl. The CHIBA/GLIBA team will follow up with additional details as planning continues. There is a $50 registration fee for participating. The registration fee helps to cover the cost of printing. Deadline to register is Friday, March 6.   Register here, and follow CHIBA on Instagram: @chilovesbooks! MICHIGANDERS FOR MONEY OUT OF POLITICS Michiganders for Money Out of Politics is looking for Michigan Indie Bookstores to host a petition and be listed on their website as a location voters can sign. MMOP is a broad, grassroots coalition working to finally take back our political power. This citizen-led ballot initiative will ban pay-to-play politics, close dark-money loopholes, and bring transparency back into our elections. In order for this proposal to get on the ballot, MMOP must collect 356,958 valid signatures. You can help support this initiative to get money out of politics in Michigan by signing up to collect signatures at your independent bookstore. Sign up at mopupmichigan.org/biz to get more information and all the materials you’ll need! Submit Titles for the SUMMER Catalog! Want to see a particular favorite frontlist or upcoming summer title in our catalog? Recommend it! Your recommendations matter and we want to know what you want to sell. Also, order your 2026 Indie Summer Reading Guide today. The deadline to order is March 15th. Publishers, you can reserve ad spaces now. PLACE YOUR ORDERS TODAY! Just TWO Months Into 2026 and we have TEN! NEW! MEMBERS! Welcome to all of our new GLIBA Members! Goblin Market - Chicago, IL Calliope Bookshelf - Washington, MI Lilliput Books - Chicago, IL Bookspace Columbus - Columbus, OH Swoon Books & Wine - Oakwood, OH Build Coffee & Books - Chicago, IL Plot Twist Used Books - Chicago, IL Love's Sweet Arrow - Tinley Park, IL Pink Couch Books - Wilmette, IL Partners in Crime Bookshop - Chicago, IL ANNOUNCING THE 2026 INDY INDIE BOOK CRAWL! Indianapolis, IN— The Indy Indie Book Crawl (IIBC) is back for its third year in Indianapolis and the surrounding area March 19-22, 2026, with 36 independent bookstores and 7 literary organizations. The 2026 Indy Indie Book Crawl is generously supported by Indiana Humanities, Ross Bemis at Maywright Property Co., and Bottleworks Hotel. New features for this crawl include nine additional participating bookstores, pop-up bookstores hosted at The Stutz, and an updated Book Crawl Bingo card packed with activities hosted by local literary organizations. All information about the 2026 Indy Indie Book Crawl – including the participating locations – will be posted to the official Instagram page: @indyindiebookcrawl. □PUBLISHERS□ Author pitches are now open for Spring Forum! Click here for the pitch form and to view all author and publisher sponsorship opportunities. The deadline to submit pitches is Friday, March 6, 2026. AUTHOR PITCH FORM PUBLISHER GUIDELINES INDUSTRY NEWS Signups open for Libro.fm Golden Ticket program Participating bookstores will receive a Golden Ticket good for 12 Libro.fm audiobook credits to hide in store on Independent Bookstore Day (April 25, 2026) for one winner to find. To qualify, your store will need to agree to post about the promotion on social media. We’ll send you everything you need. Click here for more information. NAB2 launches National Black Bookstore Day: April 7th Mark your calendars. April 7 is the inaugural National Black Bookstore Day. We’ve already secured official recognition in multiple jurisdictions — and momentum is building. We invite Black booksellers to pursue recognition in your own city and state so you can be formally acknowledged and celebrated locally. Download the toolkit below for step-by-step guidance and sample language to make the process simple.Let’s make April 7 a nationwide celebration honoring and uplifting Black-owned bookstores across the country. PBS Bookstore Finances Registration is open now! Bookstore Finances is designed to educate on the day to day and long term finance-related needs of an independent bookstore, considering both high level financial topics such as taxes and accounting and deep dives into financial reporting and strategy. IPC Display Contest IPC invites independent bookstores nationwide to participate in an in-store display contest and a social media campaign to take place throughout the month of March. Full contest guidelines are available on the sign-up page. Winners and runners-up of the display contest will be announced in Shelf Awareness. Indie-to-Indie Playlist for March: Women's History Month Publisher members of the Independent Publishers Caucus have curated a pair of playlists to help populate and distinguish displays. The theme for February is Women's History Month. Click for the link to these playlists as Edelweiss collections! From the ABA  Nominate a Bookseller for ABA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council Take the Holiday Sales Survey by 01/16/2026. Check out our Q1 checklist to help you reset and prepare for 2026! ABA's Valentine's Day assets are available now. Send us your store's news to be included in our future newsletters! Send Store News! Professional Booksellers School Links A Learners' Guide to PBS Independent Study Basic Bookselling Self Guided Basic Bookselling Store Subscription Bookstore Financial Literacy Bundle Upcoming Courses BINC Links  Binc Mental Heath Wellness Program Financial Assistance for BOOKSELLERS from Binc Scholarship Opportunities ABA Links Apply for Winter Institute 2026 Scholarships Take the Annual Membership Survey Now Independent Bookstore Day Planning Guide ABFE: ABA's Free Expression Initiative Indies Take the Gold Campaign Assets Current and Previous ABACUS Data Monthly Marketing Calendars Nominate Someone for the ABA Board Download the Bookseller Resources Poster ABA Event & Program Calendar Indie Next List Deadlines Report Sales to New York Times, Indie Bestseller Lists ABA Affiliate Partnership Offers for Members

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