Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day!

We like to keep busy here at Skylark, so after the happy madness of the Unbound Book Festival, we scarcely have a chance to draw a breath before throwing ourselves into the festivities of Independent Bookstore Day, the annual nationwide celebration of independent bookshops. By happy coincidence our first IBD also falls on the day of the District’s Spring Shop Hop, a day of exclusive offers, free refreshments, free parking, and tons of fun events for everyone to enjoy throughout Columbia’s downtown.

So how are we marking the occasion? Well, let us count the ways:

First of all, we’re super-excited to host our first-ever DRAG STORYTIME at 1:00 p.m. Come and listen to some favorite children’s picture books told by our beautiful friends!

Secondly, at 4:00, the brilliant Samantha Fierke will be performing live jazz with her band. Sam is a wonderfully talented young vocalist and you will be charmed and delighted by her songs and performance. Come and enjoy some first-class jazz and browse for books while you’re at it.

… and while we’re on the subject of browsing for books, we would be remiss - since, well, we are a bookshop - if we didn’t tell you that we have a ton (probably quite literally) of signed books from last week’s festival, including a few signed by George Saunders (although these are going very fast and may be all gone by the time Saturday rolls around.)

We will also be selling excellent hardcover books at significant discount, so come by and hunt for a bargain. And we’ll be doing our regular promotion with our friends at Yellow Dog Bookshop, just down the street: buy a book from us, buy a book from them, and we’ll give you a token for a free ice cream at Sparky’s. What, as they say, is not to like?

In addition to all this, we’ve just taken delivery of a bunch of cool stuff that we’re not really allowed to tell you about, save to report that it will be available exclusively on Independent Bookshop Day, and you won’t be able to find it or buy it anywhere other than a participating independent bookshop. So come on out, enjoy the free parking, and help us celebrate the District and independent bookshops! See you there?