Independent Bookstore Day!

Announcing the Field Guide to Bookstores of Brooklyn!

Brooklyn bookstores celebrate Independent Bookstore Day on April 27 with a new incentive program

In celebration of the nationwide Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 27, seventeen Brooklyn bookstores are collaborating on a program to reward customers for visiting bookstores in the borough.

Inspired by similar programs in Seattle, Washington, DC and other metro areas, the Field Guide to Bookstores of Brooklyn celebrates the unique and vibrant bookstore culture of Brooklyn, known worldwide as a literary destination. From stores that have been serving their communities for decades to those that opened their doors just this year, each independent bookstore offers a unique experience for book lovers, and helps to create the fabric of a Brooklyn literary culture.

The Field Guide to Bookstores of Brooklyn will showcase 17 mini-portraits of participating stores, designed by Brooklyn-based artist Julia Rothman. The reverse of the half-sheet cardstock guide will feature contact information for all bookstores, and boxes where customers can receive a stamp or other validation when they visit each store.

Customers who visit at least five participating stores with the Field Guide will receive a 25% off coupon good on any single purchase at any participating store. Customers who visit all 17 stores on April 27 will be entered in a grand prize drawing, with the winner receiving a prize package of branded bookstore merchandise from every store, as well as signed first editions and other special items.

Each bookstore will celebrate Independent Bookstore Day with programming or other festivities in their stores, and many will offer exclusive Independent Bookstore Day merchandise for sale, including special edition books, literary tea towels and pencil cases, pins, stencils, and other exciting items for bibliophiles.

Participating stores:

Berl's Brooklyn Poetry Shop

Books Are Magic

Books Through Bars @ Freebird Books

Cafe con Libros, A Feminist Bookstore

Community Bookstore

Greenlight Bookstore - Fort Greene

Greenlight Bookstore - Prospect Lefferts Gardens

McNally Jackson - Williamsburg

Melville House

POWERHOUSE Arena

POWERHOUSE on 8th

SPOONBILL & SUGARTOWN, BOOKSELLERS

Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab

Terrace Books

The Center for Fiction Bookstore

Unnameable Books

WORD - Brooklyn

All participating stores will offer free Field Guides to customers leading up to Bookstore Day, so book lovers can start their journey through the borough’s bookstores at any location on April 27.

The Field Guide to Bookstores of Brooklyn joins other programs promoting bookstores for Bookstore Day, including the Brooklyn Book Crawl, now in its fourth year, which suggests itineraries for visiting Brooklyn bookstores based on interests and geography. Participants in both programs are invited to the Brooklyn Book Crawl's afterparty; details forthcoming at bkbookcrawl.com.

“The bookstores of Brooklyn are a literary ecosystem like no other – an incredible community of independent businesses with the mutual goal of supporting our neighborhoods and our literary culture,” says Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo, co-owner of Greenlight Bookstore. “We hope the Field Guide will help book lovers discover bookstores in our own borough that they might never have visited, and experience the incredible diversity of our offerings. Bookstore Day is going to be a great day in Brooklyn this year!”

MORE ABOUT ARTIST JULIA ROTHMAN:

Julia Rothman is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, books, wallpaper, fabric, stationery, subway posters and billboards. She has worked for clients such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Target, Crate & Barrel, Ann Taylor, Hillary Clinton and the MTA Arts for Transit. She has authored and illustrated nine books including Hello NY, an illustrated homage to her hometown, which was praised by The New York Times and on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show. She is the co-founder of Women Who Draw, an open directory of female professional artists created as an effort to increase visibility of female illustrators, emphasizing women of color, LGBT+, and other minority groups of female illustrators. Julia lives and works in Brooklyn and teaches Surface Design at the School of Visual Arts.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo, Co-Owner / Events & Marketing Director

Greenlight Bookstore

jessica@greenlightbookstore.com

(718) 246-0200

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