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HarperCollins has launched a campaign to support growth across the independent bookshop sector.
The "Indie Initiative" will consist of four strands and is designed to help independent booksellers new to the industry as well as provide additional benefits to bolster sales across the independent sector.
The first strand, the Indie 50, is a tailored selection of 50 frontlist titles which will be available to all independent bookshops at an extra discount in autumn 2021 and spring 2022. Initial titles will include Girl A by Abigail Dean, Fireborn by Aisling Fowler and The Good Ally by Nova Reid.
Strand two involves 20 networking grants for new booksellers. These will be up to £200 and are available to staff from both new bookshops that have opened during the pandemic and those who have joined existing shops. The grants can go towards the travel costs of attending the next "Independent Thinking" event in HarperCollins' London offices in January 2022.
The third strand, the indie reading pack, will include proof copies of five new titles from across the HarperCollins group, each chosen by the Independent Thinking team, with an option to access proofs digitally via Netgalley. There will be 100 subscriptions available to the quarterly packs. The first pack will include titles such as A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon and The Memory Library by Janelle Monáe.
Finally, the author events forum will help bookshops new to events or looking to reboot an existing or stalled programme. There will be 30 places available and attendees will have access to two online forum sessions with members of the HarperCollins publicity team, as well as individual one-to-one sessions for each shop.
Debbie McNally, sales director, said: "Like so many businesses, Indie bookshops have had a tough time over the last year-and-a-half. But you should never underestimate the indie sector’s resilience, and it has been brilliant to see so many of our favourite bookshops reopening and welcoming customers through their doors again. We’re delighted to launch the Indie Initiative to offer further support as we head into the autumn season and beyond."
For more information or to apply for the Indie Initiative, bookshops should email independentthinking@harpercollins.co.uk for an application form and qualifying terms and conditions.