Announcing the continuation of Indie Shindig, a virtual event series for independent booksellers created by Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, Candlewick Press, Chronicle Books, and Sourcebooks that benefits Lambda Literary and the National Coalition Against Censorship.
For the third year in a row, the Indie Shindig events series is being offered to independent booksellers, combining the very best of trade shows, sales calls, and author events in a virtual format. The theme of this year’s Indie Shindig series is Everybody Needs Pride, featuring books with queer content and/or by queer creators and is raising funds for Lambda Literary and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). This initiative is a collaborative partnership between Abrams Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, Candlewick Press, Chronicle Books, Sourcebooks, and Workman Publishing Co.
In 2022, Indie Shindig will consist of four events, each of which will last one hour, occurring on Mondays April 4, May 2, June 6, and June 13 at 4 pm ET. The participating publishers will split a donation of $20 per bookseller attendee for each event between Lambda Literary and the NCAC, with a cap of $18,000 total.
Featuring more than 50 titles and authors, the specific event dates, times, and themes are:
April 4: Adult Fiction Exploring the Past, Present, and Future/Alternate Worlds Moderated by Candice Huber, owner of Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Book Shop (LA)
• May 2: YA Panel of Authors, PLUS a discussion of book banning and censorship
• June 6: Everybody Needs Pride in Children’s Picture Books and Middle Grade Titles Middle Grade panel moderated by Nicole Lintemuth, owner of Bettie’s Pages (MA)
• June 13: Celebrating Queer History & Culture
The first event will showcase literary fiction and genre authors in rounds of discussion about their books with settings in the past, in the present, and in future or alternate worlds, and how that impacted their writing of queer content. Participating authors include Louis Bayard, Terry Blas, Talia Dutton, Grace Ellis, Silas House, Timothy Janovsky, Joshua Moehling, Katrina Monroe, Natasha Pulley, Katee Robert, Zak Salih, Samantha Shannon, and Alyssa Songsiridej. Later events will feature children’s, YA, and adult authors A. R. Capetta, Vincent Kirsch, Nina LaCour, Ryan La Sala, Marika McCoola, Nicole Melleby, medina, Rob Pearlmann, Danny Pellegrino, Carla Perez-Gallardo, Steven Salvatore, and Molly Wizenberg, among others.
Interested booksellers can find out more about Indie Shindig and sign up for events via the Indie Shindig sign-up form.
“The National Coalition Against Censorship is honored to be included in this wonderful program. Booksellers, authors, and publishers are some of our most important allies in defending free expression and the right to read. This year’s onslaught of attacks on books in schools and libraries has shown one thing for certain: access to books that excite and challenge readers has never been more important,” said Chris Finan, NCAC’s Executive Director.
“Lambda Literary is proud to be included in the Indie Shindig program this year. Now more than ever, books are vital lifelines for the LGBTQIA2S+ communities. Participating in events that champion queer, trans, and non-binary books and authors while also fighting censorship aligns with Lambda Literary’s core values. We’re excited to join in the celebration with our bookselling and publishing allies,” said Monica Carter, Program Manager for the LGBTQ Writes in Schools Program for Lambda Literary.
Of the partnership, BrocheAroe Fabian, Marketing Manager at Sourcebooks, said, “An unanticipated result of the past two years has been the strong virtual programming that became an inclusive way to strengthen connections between publishers and booksellers, and we see great support for continuing this same accessible event series in 2022. Especially at a time when equity and equality are being threatened, the Indie Shindig events create an opportunity for sharing wonderful titles by LGBTQIA2S+ creators while providing financial support for Lambda Literary and the NCAC, doubling our efforts to stand against censorship and giving voice to those historically – and presently – silenced.”
