Small Business Saturday At Bards Alley: Prizes, Authors

From Bards Alley: Bards Alley, a new independent bookstore located at 110 Church St. NW, will celebrate its first Small Business Saturday and Indies First Day with giveaways, chances to win $1,000 worth of Random House Books in the #shopindiesfirstsweepstakes, and signings by guest booksellers and authors Laura Murray, Mary Rand Hess, and Ian Caldwell.

Small Business Saturday, according to the U.S. Small Business Association, is “a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities.” Indies First Day, founded by the American Booksellers Association and held on Small Business Saturday, “brings together authors, readers, and publishers in support of independent bookstores.” Given the dual focus on Small Business Saturdayand Indies First Day, as well as its proximity to the holidays, Bards Alley expects Saturday to be its biggest holiday shopping day of the year.

Customers will have ample opportunities throughout the day to win free books and merchandise. The first ten customers who purchase a middle grade book will receive a signed and wrapped book by a popular middle grade author, and ten other customers who purchase $50 worth of books at a randomly drawn time will be eligible for a tote bag containing a free book and swag.

Bard Alley customers are also invited to participate in the Shop Indies First Sweepstakes for a chance to win $1,000 worth of books from Penguin Random House: Between November 15 and November 26, Twitter and Instagram users who tag a U.S. independent bookstore and use the hashtag #shopindiesfirstsweepstakes will be entered into the sweepstakes; if a Bards Alley customer wins, then Bards Alley will also win $1,000 worth of Penguin Random House books to donate to a charity.

Author Laura Murray (of The Gingerbread Man series) will be guest bookseller from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; Mary Rand Hess (co-author with Newbury Award Winner Kwame Dawes of Solo), will be guest bookseller from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; and Ian Caldwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Fifth Gospel and global mega-bestseller of The Rule of Four, will be guest bestseller from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Image via Bards Alley