Philly makes Independent Bookstore Day coast-to-coast

Literary people have a well-documented affinity for cats. It’s no different at the Spiral Bookcase, Manayunk’s secondhand bookstore since 2010, whose resident feline Amelia has become something of a local celebrity. Quirk Books, the Philly-based publisher responsible for offbeat titles like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, named Amelia the winner of a global contest for bookstore cats. As you can see above, she has even inspired fan art.

Amelia will play a big role at the Spiral Bookcase next week for Independent Bookstore Day, a nationwide event that celebrates local purveyors of the printed word (much like Record Store Day praises the merchants of vinyl). Begun in California in 2014, Independent Bookstore Day will bring all kinds of programming and limited-edition collectibles — including a Neil Gaiman coloring book and a signed essay collection by Ann Patchett — to some 420 stores around the country on April 30.

This will be the first year a location inside the city has participated in earnest.

Books, treats, and feline fan fiction

“People are already getting really excited, so I do anticipate an uptick in customers,” says Ann Tetreault, owner of the Spiral Bookcase. “In past years I haven’t noticed a huge amount of difference, but I think it’s because we weren’t using the promotion to our advantage, really highlighting the store.”

What will Tetreault use as a draw? Amelia the cat, mostly. Out of Print, a literary-themed clothing company, included her likeness on a zipper pouch that will be among the items sold exclusively for Independent Bookstore Day. The Spiral staff will solicit fan fiction about Amelia and set up drawing stations where customers can sketch tributes to her. They will also sell posters, serve tea and cake, and feature local authors who have relationships with the store.

Keeping bookstores alive on the Main Line

Although Spiral is the only one within city limits, nine shops in the Philadelphia region will participate in this year’s Independent Bookstore Day. One three-year veteran of the celebration is Main Point Books, which opened in Bryn Mawr in 2013.

“I didn’t want to live somewhere without a bookstore,” says Cathy Fiebach, Main Point’s owner. “When Borders closed, there was very little left on the Main Line. To me, it seemed easier to open a bookstore than to move.”

This year, Fiebach will host a trio of local authors: Larry Shenk, a longtime employee of the Phillies who wrote If These Walls Could Talk, a history of the team; Beth Kephart, author of the Jersey Shore-set YA novel This Is the Story of You as well as Love: A Philadelphia Affair and many other books; and Allyson Kramer, who has penned a series of gluten-free cookbooks.

“I wanted a place where people could come, discover new books and talk about books — more of a community center,” Fiebach says. “People can buy books cheaper elsewhere. They know that, but they also know why they want a bookstore.”

Independent Bookstore Day will take place on April 30.