Last Saturday was Record Store Day, a day held every April to celebrate independent record stores, and this Saturday (April 28) is your chance to support your local independent bookstore.
Canadian Independent Bookstore Day is held on the last Saturday of April to celebrate indie bookstores in communities across Canada. It’s a day when authors take the time to give back to the bookstores by making appearances and when readers show their appreciation by visiting and supporting their local indie bookstore.
It’s also a day when we can all raise awareness of indie bookstores and how important they are to our communities, our reading lives, and our cultural well-being.
In the Kawarthas, most independent bookstores are hosting events for Canadian Independent Bookstore Day. All events are free to attend.
In Brighton from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Lighthouse Books (65 Main St., Brighton, 613-475-1269) will be celebrating Canadian Independent Bookstore Day by welcoming authors Susanna Kearsley (“Bellewether”), Ania Szado (“Studio Saint-Ex”, “Beginning of Was”), Cathy Marie Buchanan (“The Painted Girls”), Trevor Cole (“Whiskey King”), and Brad Smith ( “The Return of Kid Cooper”).
In Cobourg from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Let’s Talk Books (45B Covert St., Cobourg, 289-252-2214) will be welcome local authors Reva Nelson (“Hippie Chick Abroad”), Stuart Ross (“Pockets”), Linda Hutsell-Manning (“That Summer in Franklin”), Jennifer Bogart (“Newvember”, “Hot Dogs are Diet Food”), Felicity Reid (“Alone: A Winter in the Woods”, “Hill Spirits III”), Cynthia Reyes (“Myrtle the Purple Turtle”), Kim Aubrey (“What We Hold in Our Hands”), Cindy Stone (“Scorpion”, “The Incidental Guru”), Susan Statham (“The Painter’s Craft”), Rene Schmidt (“Canadian Disasters”, “Leaving Fletchville”), and Shane Joseph (“Crossing Limbo”, “In the Shadow of the Conquistador”).
In Port Hope from 10 a.m. to noon, Furby House Books (65 Walton Street, Port Hope, 905-885-7296) will be hosting Canadian authors Susanna Kearsley, Ania Szado, Cathy Marie Buchanan, Trevor Cole and local authors Dan Buchanan and Heather Chisvin. The celebration continues in the afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. at Cobourg Public Library (200 Ontario St., Cobourg) with Brad Smith (“The Return of Kid Cooper”) in conversation with Kelly Beers and Julie Maynard.
In Lindsay from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Kent Books (15 William St. N., Lindsay, 705-328-1600) will welcome local authors Shayne Randall (“The Pepper Kid: The Life and Times of Ken Randall, Hockey’s Bad Hombre”), Catherine Cerveny (The Felicia Sevigny Series), and Geoff Taylor (“Tom Thomson’s Last Bonfire”). You can also play “Bookstore Bingo” for a chance to win $1,000 worth of books, and there will be door prizes, treats, and lots of bargains.
In Campbellford, beginning at 2:30 p.m., Kerr’s Corner Books (39 Bridge St. E., Campbellford, 705-653-4335) will welcome four authors in celebration of Canadian Independent Bookstores Day: Ania Szado (“Studio Saint-Ex”), Dan Buchanan (“Murder in the Family”), Cathy Marie Buchanan (“Painted Girls”), and Trevor Cole (“Whiskey King”).
In Peterborough, Hunter Street Books (164 Hunter Street Unit #3, Peterborough, 705-400-8229) isn’t holding a Canadian Independent Bookstore Day celebration this year, but from 2 to 4 p.m. is hosting the SPARK Photo Festival opening reception of “An Accidental Collection of Photographic Prints” featuring works from the private collection of SPARK festival director Robert Boudreau.
As far as we know, no Canadian Independent Bookstore Day celebration is planned at Happenstance Books & Yarns (44 Queen St., Lakefield, 705-652-7535), but drop by the store anyway on Saturday to support Lakefield’s independent bookstore.
