No? Okay, me neither…
I’m guilty, I’ll admit it. If I want to buy a book, I usually turn to the “big A.” Especially these days as I’m favoring eBooks over paper. Indie bookstores? I thought most of them were long gone. But a recent piece in my local newspaper about Authors For Indies caught my attention. And after a bit of research, I realized there are a surprising number of indie bookstores right here in Northern Ontario.
As mentioned in Heidi’s article, Bay Used Books is a mainstay of downtown Sudbury. Even though their focus is used books, they also carry a selection of new books by local authors. Sudbury authors, Nikki Koski and Rosanna Battigelli, are volunteering their services tomorrow to help promote Authors for Indies.
North Bay (the setting for Giles Blunt’s Cardinal mysteries, so my wife tells me) is home to Gulliver’s Quality Books & Toys on picturesque Main Street. As well as new books, they also stock puzzles and games. And just down the road is Allison the Bookman with a huge selection of used books.
Is Parry Sound in Northern Ontario? That always generates a lot of debate 🙂 But as it’s only 2 hours away from here and one of my favorite summer destinations I’ll put in a plug for Parry Sound Books and Bearly Used Books.
Let’s head back north at this point. Definitely no controversy about Cobalt being in Northern Ontario! Their downtown bookstore is also a publisher – White Mountain Publications. They acquired some titles from the renowned Highway Book Store after it closed in 2011.
And our last stop is Chat Noir Books in nearby New Liskeard. They have a quote from my favorite writer, Robert Heinlein, on their web site home page, and they serve lattes. I see a trip further north in my future very soon.
It’s great to see that all these indie bookstores are very supportive of local authors, whether “traditionally” published or otherwise. As an indie writer, I try to support other indie ventures as much as possible. So next time I’m buying print books, I’ll definitely be thinking indie.
If you’re out and about tomorrow, why not stop by an indie bookstore and show your support. You can find a list of events and participating stores at the Canadian Authors for Indies site.
