how it works | participating bookstores | sponsors | literary prize packs | grand prize pack
Thanks to all who visited bookstores in the week leading up to Independent Bookstore Day and on the day itself!
Another successful Independent Bookstore Day is in the books! Thousands flocked their favorite indie bookstores with the Twin Cities Bookstore Passport in hand to celebrate.
Congratulations to Grand Prize winner Melissa Z.; to Literary Prize Pack winners Morgan M., Kyle H., Angie B., Jacob V.W., and Kelsey Y.; and to #ItsMeMargaret Prize Pack winners Ami P., Chloe B., Keeli G., Anna H., and Deb S.!
The Passport wouldn't be possible without our incredible sponsors. Thank you for supporting our cities' great independent bookstores and this fun program, and for all you contribute to the world of books!
Many thanks to Finishing Line Press, The Givens Foundation for African-American Literature, Graywolf Press, Professional Editors Network, The Book House in Dinkytown, Candlewick Press, The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, Haymarket Books, Lerner Publishing Group, The Loft Literary Center, Milkweed Editions, Mizna, and the University of Minnesota Press.
Rain Taxi's Twin Cities Literary Calendar is once again publishing its Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day! Passports will be available at the participating bookstores listed below starting Monday, April 24, 2023 and continuing to IBD itself on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
Packed with bookstore coupons and illustrations by local artist Kevin Cannon, the Passport is FREE to pick up at any participating store. Once you obtain a Passport, get it stamped at ALL the stores you visit that week for future discounts and a chance to win prizes. Don’t forget that each stamp activates that store's coupon; read on for more details below. We’ll see you in the bookstores!
How it Works
Pick up a passport and activate the coupons
Start your bookstore journey at any of the participating stores listed below, and then get a stamp at each bookstore you visit through April 29, 2023. Each stamp activates that store’s coupon; just bring your Passport back after May 1 to buy books and save!
Get any 12 stamps, and you activate ALL store coupons
Collect stamps from any 12 bookstores and ask the twelfth one to stamp a special page that will activate all 23 coupons in the Passport — you’ll have bookstore savings for months to come!
Get all 23 stamps, and be entered to win the Grand Prize
Collect stamps from ALL the bookstores and ask the final one you visit to stamp the special square in the back of the Passport; you’ll then be eligible to win one of five literary prize packs, or the Grand Prize! If you have obtained all 23 stamps, simply email a picture of the "Bookstore Hero Stamps" page to calendar [at] raintaxi [dot] com by end of day on Monday, May 1, or tear out and mail on Monday to Rain Taxi, PO Box 3840, Mpls MN 55403 with your email address or phone number included. Winners will be notified by email on Friday, May 5.
Thanks and best wishes on your travels with
the Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport!
2023 Participating Stores
Click on these links to learn more about the open hours, special activities, and limited or exclusive items available at each participating store!
2023 Passport Sponsors
Literary Prize Packs
Passport holders who collect ALL the stamps over the course of the week leading up to Independent Bookstore Day will be entered in a drawing to win a Literary Prize Pack full of these great gifts!
Grand Prize
Our Grand Prize winner will receive a new book from each of the independent bookstores involved in this year's Passport—and a handwritten note from each one explaining why they chose it! 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 bounty that independent bookstores in the Twin Cities provide.
#ItsMeMargaret Prize Packs
Five winners will receive prize packs full of goodies for the new film Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the adaptation of Judy Blume's beloved middle grade novel!
