On Saturday, May 2, Phinney Books and hundreds of our fellow independent bookstores across the country will be celebrating the first annual Independent Bookstore Day, with parties, special events, and exclusive items created just for the day by some of our favorite authors. At Phinney Books we'll be open for extended hours (9 am to 9 pm), with fun stuff planned in the store all day long, some exclusives of our own, and rotating discounts every hour. (See our full schedule below.)

#SEABookstoreDay

Seventeen local stores, from Mercer Island to Poulsbo, and Georgetown to Lake Forest Park, will be passing out bookstore passports, which you can get stamped at every store. Get at least three stamps during the day, and you'll be entered to win signed first editions and a grand prize gift-certificate package from all seventeen stores. Get stamped at all seventeen stores during the day (it's possible, but consult your ferry schedule!), and you'll earn our super-duper grand prize: a 25% discount at all participating stores for a full year!

Exclusive Bookstore Day Items at Phinney Books

We'll have many of the exclusive items created for Independent Bookstore Day for sale, but in very limited quantities: Limited edition prints by Chris Ware and Allie Brosh, a new essay collection by Roxane Gay, literary maps of the seas and Huck Finn, one-of-a-kind tea towels and onesies for book lovers, and more. It'll be first-come, first-served, although if we run out, you may be able to find them at other local shops.
We'll also be offering an exclusive poster of our own: "A Partial Inventory of Gustave Flaubert's Effects" by Joanna Neborsky (the illustrator of Tom's A Reader's Book of Days), illustrating, in delicious, hodgepodge detail, many of the items M. Flaubert left behind when he died. It's a gorgeous print (Tom loved it so much it's what led him to ask Joanna to illustrate his book). We have just a handful of copies, available on bookstore-day only at a discounted price of $50.
And all day long (as long as supplies last) we'll be giving out special Bookstore Day bookmarks letterpress-printed by Elinor Nissley at Krank Press (designer of our logo and t-shirts, and printer of those lovely gardening calendars we feature on our front counter).

BOOKSTORE DAY DISCOUNTS

Every hour, we'll be offering alphabetical discounts: 10% off every book in the store whose author's name begins with the special letters of the hour (see below). [Technical details: the last name of the first listed author only, except for a few authors, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whose "last name" is their middle name. We'll make any judgment calls!] And all day long, any customer showing their ticket to the PNA Auction that night will also receive 10% off (in addition to any other discount!).

Bookstore Day Schedule: Open from 9 am to 9 pm

9 am (Discounted letters of the hour: A & B)

Coyle's Bakeshop treats for the first 25 customers

10 am (Discounted letters: C & D)

11 am (Discounted letters: E & F)

Design Your Own Glittersweet Case workshop with Laura Silverstein: You design and cut out the appliqué design; she'll sew it up for you to take home. Space is limited, so email info@phinneybooks.com to reserve a spot for you or your favorite young Glittersweet fan.

12 noon (Discounted letters: G & H)

Kids' Storytelling with Steph: For all our Steph fans, and for toddlers who can't get to her usual spectacular storytelling sessions on Fridays, a Saturday storytime.

1 pm (Discounted letters: I & J)

2 pm (Discounted letters: K & L)

Bind Your Own Book workshop with Elinor Nissley of Krank Press: Elinor (designer of our logo and t-shirts and printer of those lovely gardening calendars on our counter that are so popular) is visiting from Los Angeles to help you create a miniature book to take home. Appropriate for ages six and up (way up).

3 pm (Discounted letters: M & N)

4 pm (Discounted letters: O & P)

Poem-Writing workshop with Poetry Northwest: Kevin Craft, editor of Poetry Northwest, and poet and translator Emily Thompson will lead an impromptu poetry reading and writing workshop. Appropriate for all poem-writing ages.

5 pm (Discounted letters: Q & R)

6 pm (Discounted letters: S & T)

7 pm (Discounted letters: U & V)

8 pm (Discounted letters: W, X, Y & Z)

Silent Reading Hour. Just what it sounds like: pull up a chair!