Almost 300 authors sign up to participate in 'Indies First' effort
Following 鈥淭he Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian鈥� author Sherman Alexie鈥檚 call to fellow authors to work at an independent bookstore on Small Business Saturday, almost 300 writers have signed up to participate.
Alexie wrote a letter in September asking authors to come out and sell books at their local independent bookstore as part of a movement that he's calling Indies First. Indies First is an effort to promote independent bookstores on Small Business Saturday, an annual event begun in 2010 to promote small local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year Small Business Saturday will fall on Nov. 30.聽
鈥淣ow is the time to be a superhero for independent bookstores,鈥� the author wrote at the time. 鈥淲e book nerds will become booksellers鈥�. The most important thing is that we鈥檒l all be helping Independent bookstores, and God knows they鈥檝e helped us over the years.鈥�
According to the 鈥� which says that Indies First is "brand new and moving fast" 鈥� more than 285 authors have signed up to sell books on that Saturday. Writer Wiley Cash will be working at North Carolina store Pomegranate Books, while James Patterson will be popping up at Florida store Classic Bookshop and writer David Small will be a staff member at the Michigan indie Lowry鈥檚 Books and More, to name only a few.
According to the ABA, the website will soon be posting a map of participating stores so book lovers can find a location near them.
Will the effort have an effect on indies鈥� sales for the day? We鈥檒l have to wait and see.
