Show your local independent bookstore some love

For avid readers and independent booksellers, Saturday might feel a bit like Christmas.

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day takes place every year on the last Saturday in April and features promotions, giveaways and plenty of fun at independent bookstores across Canada.

The celebration is an initiative of the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association, a group founded in 2020 that represents more than 200 bookstores across Canada, offering services and programs to members and advocating on their behalf.

Despite hand-wringing about the state of book sales, the industry appears to be relatively strong in Canada. BookNet’s most recent Canadian Book Market report found sales of print books in Canada were up from $1.127 billion in 2024 to $1.145 billion in 2025, and that sales of books by Canadian authors and published by Canadian-owned publishers had also risen.

Both Angela Torgerson, general manager of McNally Robinson Booksellers, and Chelsea McKee-Trenchard of Raven’s End Books were in Verona, Italy, earlier in April attending a bookseller conference, and returned with a sense of optimism about the industry.

“I took a real sense of positivity away from the conference. It’s always great to spend some time with other Canadian independent bookstores and talk about successes and challenges and strategies, and what the different regions are facing,” Torgerson says. “But it was also such a great chance to be with booksellers from all over the world and celebrate all the things that are working well for us.

“I came away feeling very, very inspired about the state of the industry and publishing as a whole.”

The camaraderie among independent booksellers was key to helping McKee-Trenchard open Raven’s End in early 2024.

“Before I opened my doors, Michael (Bumsted) at Whodunit? and Chris (Krawczyk) at Little Ghosts Books in Toronto both provided their time and expertise to help answer any questions I had,” she says. “I’ve seen bookstores work to build each other up. I like to say a rising tide raises all ships, and that’s never more evident than in the bookseller industry. It’s not just about my bookstore succeeding, it’s about all bookstores succeeding, and that means working together.”

Local independent bookstores have also been buoyed by the renewed buy-local sentiment of late.

“Independent bookstores aren’t going anywhere — they’re only getting stronger. There has been a surge in local support and patronage of bookstores when once it was thought Amazon had secured our downfall,” McKee-Trenchard says.

Torgerson agrees.

“Independent bookstores in Canada are going from strength to strength. We’ve seen enormous loyalty from our customers and support from our community. People are really continuing to focus on shopping local and giving us their support versus online or chain platforms.”

Initiatives such as Independent Bookstore Day make a noticeable impact on sales. Bookseller software company Bookmanager reported sales during the event in 2025 were 67 per cent higher than a normal Saturday, and up 10 per cent from 2024.

But it’s not just about the bottom line.

“We’re very lucky to have such a loyal group of customers and community of readers in the city who come out to help celebrate with us. It’s a really positive, fun-filled day. It gives us a really big lift,” Torgerson says

McKee-Trenchard feels the same way.

“We look forward to this day every year — it’s always a great chance to show how much we love our customers, and how grateful we are that they choose us when we know they have other options,” she says.

For a complete list of participating bookstores and promotions, click here..

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What’s up for grabs

Here are some of the promotions and giveaways happening in conjunction with Canadian Independent Bookstore Day (CIBD)

• The Canadian Independent Booksellers Association is running a central contest in support of CIBD. Five prizes are available to be won — one of four $200 gift certificates to be used at the indie bookstore of their choice, and a grand prize of $1,000 to the winner’s favourite shop. Each book purchased today is worth one entry — fill out the entry form at indiebookstores.ca/cibd-contest/ by Friday and you’re in for the prizes.
• Five of Winnipeg’s indie bookstores have come together to create a passport to be stamped at each shop. Participating stores are Bound to Please (995 McPhillips St.), Raven’s End Books (1859 Portage Ave.), Bison Books (424 Graham Ave.), Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore (163 Lilac St.) and Prairie Sky Books (871 Westminster Ave.). Pick up a passport, get a stamp on the passport from each (either today or tomorrow) and email a photo of the completed passport to info@ravensendbooks.com by end of day Monday. Those who complete and submit their passport will be entered to win one of two prize packages, the winners of which will be announced on May 1.
• Both Raven’s End and Whodunit? have hidden a golden ticket in their respective stacks and shelves — find the golden ticket, and win 12 free audiobook credits from libro.fm, a service that works with indie bookstores to deliver audiobooks.
• For those who love a prize wheel, Prairie Sky and Raven’s End have you covered. Or tag Raven’s End in your social media feed with today’s big finds and you could win a pair of tickets to the new movie Hokum starring Adam Scott.
• McNally Robinson Booksellers also has plenty of giveaways, including movie tickets to see Animal Farm, the new animated film directed by Andy Serkis and based on the novella by George Orwell, at Grant Park’s Landmark Cinemas. The city’s biggest independent bookstore will also have giveaways from the publishers including tote bags, pouches, stickers, bookmarks and pencil sets (on a first-come, first-serve basis), as well as prize draws at both Winnipeg stores for new releases, sweatshirts, gift cards and other swag. McNally Robinson totes and sweatshirts will be 10 per cent off, or 20 per cent off for Reader Reward card holders.