Brooklyn authors and bookstores join nationwide ‘Indies First’ movement
Authors become booksellers to support independents on November 30
This Nov. 30, Small Business Saturday, Brooklyn authors will show up for work at their local independent bookstores and become booksellers for a day. Bookstores in DUMBO, Fort Greene, Greenpoint, Park Slope and other neighborhoods will play host to their favorite authors, offering customers a chance to talk books with their literary neighbors.
Initiated by acclaimed author Sherman Alexie, Indies First is a grassroots movement that calls on authors to show their support for independent booksellers by signing up to work at their favorite indie bookstore on Small Business Saturday, celebrated this year on Saturday, Nov. 30 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving).
“Here’s the plan,” writes Alexie in an open letter to authors, “We book nerds will become booksellers. We will make recommendations… Maybe you’ll sign and sell books of your own in the process. I think the collective results could be mind-boggling (maybe even world-changing)… The most important thing is that we’ll all be helping independent bookstores, and God knows they’ve helped us over the years.” Sherman also suggests that authors add a “buy” button linking to an indie bookstore on their website.