*THIS YEAR ONLY!* SAN DIEGO BOOKSTORE TOURS, SEPT. 13TH: ROSEVILLE BOOKS + HEY BOOKS!

Join fellow booksellers the day before Fall Fest for a special tour of San Diego Stores. Made possible by our friends and members at the UC San Diego Bookstore!

We've asked the participating stores to share what they love about San Diego and what places to visit! We'll feature 2 stores each week leading up to August 30th (end of registration).

Bookstore Tour bookseller registration closes Aug. 30th at 11:59pm PT

Click here for more details.

"What I love about San Diego is that it is still growing. There are unseen pockets of neighborhoods to explore and new areas that are creating community and opportunity. In Point Loma, folks should check out the La Playa Trail just a few blocks from our bookstore, originally traced by the Kumeyaay people. I like to grab fish tacos from Point Loma Seafoods and walk the trail to Kellogg's Beach for lunch. From there you can imagine the ships in the late 1700's unloading goods
and following the trail in to Old Town and the Mission de Alcala." —Amy Hesselink,
Roseville Books

"East Village San Diego's Analog Alley is the perfect park-and-play day. We're also in San Diego's pastry playground and coffee capitol: from Ukranian sourdough at Shoreside Bakery to flakey savories at Relic Bakery; from the city's best coffee and matcha at Rikka Fika to the comfy hangout of Tori Cafe to the wild style and breakfast tacos at The Invigatorium, East Villiage will get your taste buds buzzing. Oh, and we share our block with Tajima Ramen, Pokez Mexican, and Hodad's burgers and shakes. So... see you here!

What do we really love about our neighborhood? It's the most diverse, cooperative, and
down-to-earth area in the city. Our regulars include seniors who drop in every day to say hi, often rubbing shoulders with international tourists and celebrity visitors." —Matthew Hein, Hey Books!

CALL FOR BOOKSELLERS

Looking for extra staffing or employment this summer?

JOIN A CALIBA COMMITTEE

CALIBA OFFICE HOURS

Join our monthly office hours (fourth Thursdays) to co-work with Hannah! Have a question, idea, or comment about a CALIBA program? Office hours are a great chance for you to check in directly with your Executive Director. Click here to register for a morning session (9-10am) or afternoon session (2-3pm) — or email Hannah to set up an appointment.

CALIBA MARKETING ASSETS

• BIPOC Committee: We Are America Campaign
• Certified Indie Bookstore Campaign

MORE MARKETING ASSETS

• ABA: Get Out the Vote! | Back to School| Q4 marketing calendars
• National Book Foundation’s annual Summer Reading Adventure - Submit by August 26th | Summer Reading Adventure toolkit
• Banned Books Week 2026 Assets

SHOW OFF YOUR CALIBA SPIRIT
Click here to download the Proud Member
of CALIBA file (Login required).

August: Black Business Month / Women In Translation Month / Back to School Month

August 29: Black Boosktsore Day

August 30: 2026 Fall Fest registration closes - Register Now

August 31: We Love Memoirs Day

September: Self-Care Awareness Month / National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)

September 7: Labor Day

September 8: International Literacy Day

September 11-13: Rosh Hashanah

September 13-15: 2026 Fall Fest: Bookstore Tour, Bookseller Conference & Golden Poppy Awards

September 15: National Voter Registration Day

September 20: Yom Kippur

September 22: Autumn Equinox/First Day of Fall

September 25: National Comic Book Day

1 - Word on the Street Bookstore, in Livermore, celebrated their new brick and mortar with a soft opening.

2 - Mysterious Galaxy, in San Diego, shared their book recs for Bookstore Romance Day.

3 - Pleasant Pheasant Books, in Woodland, showed off their "blind date with a book" display for Bookstore Romance Day.

4 - Bookshop Santa Cruz hosted Camp Daydream on Bookstore Romance Day - with romance related crafts, a prize wheel, giveaways, and so much more.

5 - The Love Potion Library, in San Francisco, has the perfect pairing this Friday - romance books & wine!

6 - Christopher's Books, in San Francisco, welcomed Lily Berlin Dodd into their store to sign "The Last Ember."

7 - LibroMobile, in Santa Ana, has their weekend LitFest coming up with a full day of community, creativity, conversations, and books.

8 - Old Haunts Bookshop, in Granite Bay, displayed this week's new releases and some late arrivals.

In the News

• Bay Area SFF Bookstore Turns 50
• #BookstoreRomanceDay: 'It's the Most Romantic Day of the Year!'
• Forget New York, some of the most ambitious literature in America is happening in California

Don't forget to follow and tag us (@caliba_20) to be featured! CALIBA's Media Outlet Resource Doc has info about being featured by Shelf Awareness, USA Today, and Bay City News.

Want to share your personal story or concerns as a small business owner more broadly? Share your OpEd, Think Piece, or Slice of Life story with your local media outlets. CALIBA is building a shared Media List here. Find or add contacts.

BOOKSTORE: TOP 5 BESTSELLERS Submit your top 5 best sellers in our new "Flying off the Shelves at..." feature in our weekly newsletter! Submit your best sellers list here. Note: must be a CALIBA Member.

BOOKSTORE MEMBER CORNER Want to be featured in the Member Corner? Submit your details here. Note: must be a CALIBA Member.

Alecia

Supporting Staff

Die for Me

Shirlene Obuobi

9780143139188

Hannah

Executive Director

The Storm of Echoes

Christelle Dabos

9781609457891

Valentina

Operations Manager

Lucky Day

Chuck Tingle

9781250398673

Check out CALIBA’s 2026 Reading List!

Hannah Walcher

Executive Director

hannah@caliballiance.org

Valentina Moberg

Operations Manager

valentina@caliballiance.org

Alecia Reddick

Supporting Staff

alecia@caliballiance.org

Support CALIBA

Publishers support CALIBA when bookstores participate.

Bookstore Participation = Publisher Sponsorship = CALIBA = Bookstore Education, Advocacy, Networking +++