how to participate | sponsors | literary prize packs
Once again, Rain Taxi's Twin Cities Literary Calendar is teaming up with great independent bookstores in the Twin Cities to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day by creating the 2021 Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport! Jam-packed with bookstore coupons and illustrations by local artist Kevin Cannon, the Passport is FREE to pick up, and a great way to celebrate the book purveyors that make our metro area so great.
This year, you can take a full week to get your Passport stamped at the stores you visit, keeping in mind your own safety precautions and those of the stores—and as always, each and every stamp activates a store coupon. Get it stamped at multiple stores for a greater level of discounts and entry into our prize drawings!
Read on to find out where to go and how
you can win prizes. Post photos of your bookstore journey to @RainTaxiReview with hashtags #bookstoreday and #bookstorepassport.
See you at the stores!
- Pick up a Passport! You can get one any time between April 18 and April 24 at any of these stores:
NOTE: These stores will be open during the Passport week in different ways: in-person browsing, appointment only, curbside or window pickup only, pop-up activities planned, etc. Don’t forget to check each store’s web link for their status before visiting them! No matter their particular method, they are happy to give you a Passport and a stamp!
- Visit any of those stores between April 18 and April 24, and ask a bookseller to stamp their page in your Passport. Of course, with a full week to collect stamps, we encourage you to take time to look for a book while you’re there—you never know what treasures you’ll find in a great independent bookstore!
- Each stamp activates that store’s coupon; just bring your Passport back on a later date to redeem the coupon.
AVID READERS: Collect 10 stamps and ask the 10th store to stamp a special square that activates ALL 23 store coupons—the ones listed above and these additional stores that are currently online-only:
BOOKSTORE FANATICS: Collect all 18 stamps by end of day on April 24, and you’ll be entered to win a literary prize pack, each chock full of new books and other great prizes from our sponsors! Just ask the 18th store to stamp your Prize Entry form in the Passport, and then follow the instructions on that page to enter. Winners randomly chosen, and one lucky winner from this group will win the grand prize, see details on that below!
Rain Taxi will notify the winners via e-mail and send your prizes within one week of Independent Bookstore Day. Thank you, and happy book hunting!
Thank you to this year's sponsors for their generosity and support of independent bookstores in the Twin Cities — please take a minute to visit their websites by clicking the links below and learning about all they have to offer!
Don’t forget that those people who visit ALL the stamp-giving stores over the course of the week will be entered in a drawing to win a Literary Prize Pack full of these great items!
Our Grand Prize winner will receive a set of books selected by each of the independent bookstores participating in this year's Passport—and a handwritten note from each one explaining why they chose it!
These are just some of the great items in the Grand Prize!
Each store is offering a book that they feel is representative of both their store and their community of readers, so collectively this is a one-of-a-kind prize that reflects the wide array of reading tastes that the bounty of independent bookstores in our community affords. Good luck to all you intrepid readers, and from all the booksellers in the Twin Cities and Rain Taxi, we thank you for your support!