Independent Bookstore Day!

This year’s fourth annual Independent Bookstore Day celebrations at Bookshop Santa Cruz will feature a huge variety of daylong celebrations that you don’t want to miss--replete with contests and prizes, flash mobs and family events, refreshments, and trivia. To be among the first to hear about Bookshop Santa Cruz's lineup of events, sign up for our events e-mail newsletter. Launched in California in 2014, this celebration of Independent Bookstores has since expanded nationwide and is one of our most anticipated events. Join us all day long for exclusive items, laughter, and a festival of literary proportions!

Bookshop's line-up of events and day-long activities is still being finalized, but mark your calendars now to join us at 9 am on Saturday, April 29th, for refreshments provided by Verve Coffee and get first crack at these exclusive items, ONLY available in-store on Independent Bookstore Day:

The “Bad Citizen” Stencil. Every year Bookstore Day creates a signature “Bad Citizen” Graffiti Stencil to highlight the authors and the words that push us to think, read, and be disruptive when necessary. This year’s stencil features a quote from professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.: CENSORSHIP IS TO ART AS LYNCHING IS TO JUSTICE. $35

$6 Story: The Sandmeyer Reaction. A signed, limited, and bound edition of a story cut from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon’s new novel, Moonglow. $6

A Literary Cocktail Party: Favorite Drinks from Our Favorite Writers. A modern take on a classic cocktail guide, from 30 American writers. Learn to make an Old Fashioned with Daniel Handler; discover Julia Glass’s namesake cocktail, the Julia’s Glass; or just sit back and enjoy the simple pleasure of champagne bubbles with Emma Straub. Other authors sharing their favorite drinks include Viet Thanh Nguyen, Sloane Crosley, Amor Towles, Lauren Groff, James Patterson, and many others. $16.99

Literary Condoms. These cleverly beautiful literary condoms are perfect counter-top impulse buys. Developed by The Booksmith in San Francisco they feature two designs, “Give Me That Darcy” Jane Austen condoms and “Great Expectations” Charles Dickens condoms. $3.99/condom.

Welcome to Night Vale Vinyl Record. A vinyl edition of the bestselling Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. This edition features highlights from the audiobook and exclusive commentary from Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor, and Cecil Baldwin. Beautifully packaged with “flypaper” sleeve, the purple vinyl also includes a full-length digital download of the Welcome to Night Vale audiobook performed by Cecil Baldwin, Dylan Marron, Retta, Thérèse Plummer, and Dan Bittner. $24.95

An Author's Best Friend Canine Canvas Pouch. This handy 100% cotton canvas zippered pouch (perfect for pencils, make up, cash, and other sundries) features portraits of real author dogs like Sparky Patchett and Jennie Sendak. All hand drawn especially for IBD. Cute! $14

Literary Tea Towels. This year’s flour sack tea towels feature two food-related literary quotes:

“ONE CANNOT THINK WELL, LOVE WELL, SLEEP WELL, IF ONE HAS NOT DINED WELL.” – VIRGINIA WOOLF, A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN

“I HATE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT MEALS. IT IS SO SHALLOW OF THEM.” – OSCAR WILDE, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

Design by Evan Robertson of Obvious State. $22

An Elephant & Piggie onesie by Mo Willems This soft cotton onesie featuring Mo Willems’ wonderful Elephant and Piggie and an encouragement to READ makes the perfect baby gift for bibliophiles. $22

"Lost and Found" An Original Print by Jenny Lawson. This original, black and white drawing by Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, is inspired by her forthcoming activity book You Are Here (Mar. 17). The pro-books, pro-reading design is printed on archival, gallery quality paper and can be framed and hung as is or used as a large-format coloring poster. $17.99

Child of Books. Limited Fine Art Print by Oliver Jeffers. Behold a piece of picture book magic. From the acclaimed New York Times bestseller and #1 Indie Next title A Child of Books, Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston offer an exclusive signed fine art print for book lovers of all ages. All 1000 giclée prints are signed and suitable for framing. $29.99

A Literary Map of the U.S. The 52 titles featured on this beautiful literary map of the US are an unpredictable mix of modern classics and more obscure novels that create a reading list for America. Each state is represented by a single novel that captures some important essence of its setting. Created by 3Fish Studios, creators of Bookstore Day’s A Literary Map of California and A Literary Map of the Seas. $42

Free Items! Bookshop will have a limited supply of these free items created exclusively for Independent Bookstore Day!

Got Character? Card Game The Got Character? card game uses classic and contemporary characters from Macmillan’s bestselling and award-winning titles like Bad Kitty and Tikki Tikki Tembo to update Go Fish. Large cards are made for little hands.

"Kindred Spirits" Short Story by Rainbow Rowell From best-selling young adult author Rainbow Rowell, a short story about a girl camping out to see the new Star Wars movie who unexpectedly meets an unlikely someone who might truly understand the way she feels.



What is Independent Bookstore Day?

Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different. But in addition to authors, live music, cupcakes, scavenger hunts, kids events, art tables, readings, barbecues, contests, and other fun stuff, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day. Not before. Not after. Not online.

Why are we celebrating independent bookstores?

Independent bookstores are not just stores, they’re community centers and local anchors run by passionate readers. They are entire universes of ideas that contain the possibility of real serendipity. They are lively performance spaces and quiet places where aimless perusal is a day well spent.

In a world of tweets and algorithms and pageless digital downloads, bookstores are not a dying anachronism. They are living, breathing organisms that continue to grow and expand. In fact, there are more of them this year than there were last year. And they are at your service.