Making Waves Newsletter 3/7/25

3/10/2025

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GLIBA Regional Newsletter: March 7, 2025

REGIONAL BESTSELLERS

PUBLISHER PROMOTIONS

ARC PREFERENCE FORM

JOIN OR RENEW MEMBERSHIP

GLIBA SPRING FORUM!

ATTENTION PUBLISHERS! LAST CALL! SUBMIT AUTHORS FOR GLIBA'S

2025 SPRING FORUM! FORM CLOSES TONIGHT!

SUBMIT AUTHORS HERE!

Registration is now open for GLIBA's 2025 Spring Forum! We are thrilled to host the 2025 Spring Forum at the legendary Schuler Books in Grand Rapids, MI! We are hosting two days of events! The first is a Grand Rapids bookstore tour and Spring Forum that includes education, author events, reception and special programming at Schuler Books. Please watch for program announcements with updated author events.

Have questions? Please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected].

SPRING FORUM SCHEDULE

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Grand Rapids Bookstore Bus Tour & Reception Schedule

1:30 pm CT - Bus Pick-Up at The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel

2:00 pm - 5:00 pm CT - Bus Tour

Join us for a special tour of the unique bookstores Grand Rapids has to offer!

The tour will end with a reception.

5:00 pm - 7:00 pm CT - Reception (location TBA)

Bookstores on the Tour

Books & Mortar, Cellar Bird Books, Redux Books, Vault of Midnight

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Schuler's Books

2660 28th St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512

10:00 am CT - 3:00 pm CT - Spring Forum Programming

6:30 pm CT - Live recording of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me

Schedule

10:00 am - 12:45 pm ET - Arrivals and Welcome; Education; Tour of Schuler Books

1:00 pm - 1:30pm ET - Lunch with Cookbook Author Presentation

1:45 - 2:45 pm ET - Meet the Authors (author line-up announced soon)

3:00 - 3:45 pm ET - Keynote Author Event (announced soon)

4:00 - 5:30 pm ET - Author Reception

Lunch will be provided on Thursday, 4/17.

RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATIONS

Amway Grand Plaza, Curio Collection by Hilton

187 Monroe Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

(616) 774-2000

Room Rate: $199

Reservation Link

Reserve Your Room Today!

About Schuler Books

Schuler Books is an independent bookstore with four locations across Michigan. Husband and Wife Bill and Cecile Fehsenfeld, graduates of the University of Michigan, opened our first store in Grand Rapids in 1982. Our second store opened in Okemos in 1990, and we added our Ann Arbor store, formerly Nicola’s Books, in 2014. Our newest store in West Bloomfield opened in May 2023. Even though our four stores are larger than the average independent bookstore, we’re still small independent booksellers at heart. We value our relationships with the communities we serve and with our local and Michigan authors.

ORGANIZATION NEWS

Haven't ordered your RAMP Summer Catalog yet?

Have no fear--there's still one week left!

This year's beautiful cover is from Zoé de Las Cases' Paris Colouring Book from Octopus Books/Hachette.

Ways to use the catalog:

create a catchy display in-store or in the window
place at the register
stuff in bags
place at community partner locations for cross promotion
use as basis for a Book Talk with local organizations
use as book list for summer reading contest (kid and adult titles!)

Order Summer Catalogs Here >>

Just in time for Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer, this 8-page square catalog is THE summer resource for readers. Don't miss this high-energy compendium of summer titles!

Member stores can order 500 FREE catalogs to be shipped direct-to-store at no cost

Catalogs can be distributed in-store, at curbside, through store order shipments and delivers, at events, AND through neighborhood partners!

Personalize the catalog back cover with a store stamp or label

Quantities over 500 may be purchased for $55 per 500

Catalogs are full-color, 8 pages, 7.125" × 7.125" square on thick paper

Target date for catalog delivery is May 8

ORDER SUMMER CATALOGS HERE

Heartland Fall Forum Virtual Office Hours

Below are the sessions for March and April 2025:

March 18th, 10am & 4pm CST: Call for Education Topics!
April 1st, 10am & 4pm CST: Feedback for Education Sessions & Retreats
April 28th, 10am & 4pm CST: Education Sessions: General Slate (Feedback, Topics, Panel Leads)

Click here for the Google Meet link for sessions, or click the button below to the Events page on the GLIBA site. For any questions, reach out to Executive Coordinator February Spikener at [email protected].

REGIONAL NEWS

Twenty-seven Independent Bookstores Ready Their Shelves

for Annual Indy Book Crawl

Indianapolis, IN—MARCH 4, 2025--The Indy Indie Book Crawl (IIBC) will span Central Indiana for its second year on March 20-23, 2025, with 27 independent bookstores and 7 literary organizations participating. This year’s book crawl is generously supported by Indiana Humanities and Butler MFA, as well as local business sponsors Maywright Property Group, Cafe Lending, Pegedo E-Bikes, UVA Wine Tastings, and Bottleworks Hotel, and venue sponsor Maven Space.

For IIBC, Hoosier bookworms visit as many participating locations as possible (no purchase necessary) for chances to win great prizes like a free night at the Bottleworks Hotel, gift cards, and merch from participating bookstores. IIBC welcomes everyone - from casual readers to literary aficionados - to explore the growing independent literary scene in Central Indiana and connect with other story-lovers in their community.

"A bookstore — especially an independent bookstore — is just as much a gathering space for folks to meet and share ideas as it is a place to find their next favorite book. Each of the bookstores on this crawl is a crucial part of our community, and Indiana Humanities is thrilled to be a part of this event to encourage support of local booksellers and connection within the literary community," said Megan Telligman, director of programs for Indiana Humanities.

The format will remain the same as the first IIBC in 2024: visit any of the participating

bookstores and they will stamp your official bookmark (available at all book crawl locations

starting on 3/20). At the conclusion of the book crawl, enter your information into the form linked on the official bookmark and the Indy Indie Book Crawl Instagram page and you will be entered to win one of three prize packs. The more stores you visit - the higher your chances of winning!

New features for this second annual book crawl include four more bookstores participating

compared to the previous year, a new Bookstore Bingo full of activities to complete with local literary organizations to win additional prizes (like UVA Wine Tastings and Pedego bike rentals), and a sold-out Book Crawl Kickoff Party in partnership with Silent Book Club Indy on Wednesday, March 19 at Maven Space.

“I think the success of last year’s book crawl took us all by surprise. It was wonderful to see that level of enthusiasm for our growing Indy lit scene and to introduce the Golden Hour experience to people from far outside our neighborhood’s streets. The book crawl brought in countless new faces, many of whom, a year later, we now consider regulars. We’re so excited to take part in it again,” said Sara Gelston Somers, owner of Golden Hour Books

“The first Indy Indie Book Crawl in 2024 blew away all our expectations - over 2,000 people participated from all over the Midwest. We’re expecting an even bigger turnout for this year’s crawl! It’s incredible to see the Indy literary community in collaboration together - readers, bookstores, and literary organizations, as well as the broader support and excitement from the Indy community. See you in March,” said Jake Budler, co-owner of Tomorrow Bookstore and creator of Indy Indie Book Crawl.

All information about the 2025 Indy Indie Book Crawl – including the participating locations – will be posted to the official Instagram page: @indyindiebookcrawl. For more information or questions regarding the promotion of IIBC, please contact Kasey Upchurch at [email protected].

INDUSTRY NEWS

S&S Seeks Field Account Manager

The Simon & Schuster Indie Team is looking for Field Account Manager based in the San Francisco Bay Area to sell their complete list - Wholly-Owned Children’s, Adult, Audio, and Distributed Client titles - to an account base of 40 independent bookstores in the Bay Area. Details and application here.

PBS Bookstore Finances Course Registration Opens & Other Announcement

Registration for Bookstore Finances opens Monday, March 10 at 1 pm ET / 12 pm CT.

Discount Code: GLIBAbf

Important Information this course:

There are 20 seats for active students (doing all the homework, which requires access to a store's financial records) and 20 seats for auditing students.
Everyone who enrolls has to have been a store owner or manager for at least one full year. We are checking on this and will cancel and refund anyone who doesn't meet this criteria

PBS COURSE REGISTRATION

INDIE PRESS DISPLAY CONTEST

CHOOSE BLACK-OWNED CAMPAIGN

Indie-to-Indie Playlist: Women's History Month

Publisher members of the Independent Publishers Caucus have curated a list of titles to help populate and distinguish your Women's History Month displays. View the list in Edelweiss by clicking here!

March is Indie Press Month!

$500 display contest and a social media campaign to raise awareness

for indie presses and the bookstores that love them!

What You Need To Know:

COMMIT: To creating an in-store display of Indie Press month titles (available on Airtable and Edelweiss). You are welcome to feature titles outside of this list (we want every bookstore to celebrate in a way that is authentic to them) but we ask that 50% of your display include these promotional titles!

SUBMIT: A picture of your display. All stores, regardless of social media, will be considered for the $500 prize.

PROMOTE: Indie Press Month, your display, and indie presses in general on social media. You can post anytime in March, but the first five posts on March 5 will receive $50 in co-op. (Tag us @indiepubs on Instagram).

Marketing assets for social, email newsletters, and in-store displays are available.

All of this information and more is available on our Indie Press Month website, so check it out now! We hope you'll celebrate with us and take this opportunity to raise greater awareness for the awesome work indie presses do!

Books Across Borders 2025-26 applications open

Books Across Borders (BAB) is accepting applications for the Fall 2025-Spring 2026 season starting Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Booksellers interested in diverse and international literature and in fostering relationships with the international literary community are encouraged to apply. Strong consideration is given to booksellers who demonstrate a history of reading and promoting international literature, and who communicate a kinship with Books Across Borders’s mission and values. Fellows are chosen by the Books Across Borders Board of Directors. The application deadline is May 1, 2025.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY!

Countdown to Independent Bookstore Day 2025

We are just over three months out from Independent Bookstore Day 2025!

Get your store ready with the ABA's To-Do List for January.

Independent Bookstore Day Planning Guide

IBD Key Dates

March 31, 2025: Indie Bookstore Day 2025 Participation Form closes. (Stores that didn't order exclusive items can sign up to participate until this date.)
April 4, 2025: Indie Bookstore Day Searchable Map goes live on IndieBound
Early- to mid-April: All exclusives ship to bookstores
April 21–25, 2025: Indie Bookstore Day Spirit Week
April 26, 2025: Independent Bookstore Day