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AWP's Indie Lovers' Gift Guide

November 17, 2021

holiday gifts wrapped in brown paper

The holiday season is a perfect time to support our local bookstores and indie presses, and we have curated this guide to help you find ways get involved and make a difference in your community. Due to the pandemic, the literary world continues to be impacted by industry-wide shipping delays, so please consider placing your gift orders as soon as possible.

  • The Women’s Prison Book Project operates year-round to give inmates books, partnering with Minneapolis bookstores Boneshaker Bookstore, Black Garnet Books, Moon Palace Books, and Thrift Books. You can make a difference in someone’s life with a thoughtful book donation, especially during the holidays, which can be a lonely time for those cut off from loved ones. The WPBP 2021 Give to the Max fundraiser aims to raise $10,000, allowing them to provide more incarcerated readers their books of choice.
  • Greenlight Bookstore is partnering once again with NYC Service, a division of the Mayor's office, to provide new books to kids for the holidays! As part of the Secret Snowflake initiative, they have selected special books in different age ranges to be donated to the city's most vulnerable kids at a 30 percent discount. You can purchase books on their website, and they will take care of processing and shipping. The book drive runs November 1–29.
  • Donate a copy of The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story! Help Bookshop.org and One World donate copies to schools and Black-owned community organizations across the country. Donations accepted from November 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022.
  • Haymarket Books’s holiday sale is here early this year! All Haymarket titles are 40 percent off through Monday, January 3. You can browse their special sales and more on their website.
  • Third Place Books gift cards never expire and can be used to purchase any items sold in the bookstore. Gift cards work at all three Third Place Books locations. Only valid for in-store or phone purchases.
  • Elliott Bay Book Company is offering unique, handcrafted gift certificates and customizable subscription boxes, both fantastic treats for the booklovers in your life.
  • Left Banks Books has assembled their 2021 Holiday Catalogue, curated with love by staff to help you find the perfect gift by genre and price.

For more ideas and to find your local bookstore, visit IndieBound.org.

Whether you go all out for the holidays this year or prioritize time spent in quiet reflection, no gift is too small to spread some cheer. Thank you for supporting your local bookstores and indie presses!

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Writing News Roundup
November 9, 2021

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