Carmichael's Letter Writing Campaign in Support of MN Bookstores

Date postedJanuary 20, 2026
Advocacy, Member News,

Johanna Hynes, sales rep and part-time bookseller at Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky, has sent out a call to fellow booksellers to support the bookstores of Minneapolis, whose communities are contending with the influx of federal agents. She has allowed SIBA to repost the letter for any booksellers who want to take part or do something similar.

Carmichael's Bookstore Letter Writing Campaign, photo credit Carmichael's Bookstore

Dear Bookselling Friend,

I’ve been spinning my wheels for days. Like that blistering summer of 2020, I can’t get my beloved Twin Cities out of my mind. Every time I open my email or scroll my social feeds, there’s another fresh horror. As then, I feel gutted—heartbroken and helpless.

Two booksellers here in Louisville asked me this week what we should do to support our MN community and I was stumped. But last night, I started re-reading Louise Erdrich's The Sentence, set in her Minneapolis bookstore during 2020. In one scene, the main character, Tookie, describes writing thank-you notes to customers as she packs their orders—tweaking her handwriting, drawing flowers for readers whose book choices she admires. And in that moment, Tookie offered what feels like a call to action:

"When everything big is out of control, you start taking charge of small things."

There’s little we can do—aside from daily calls to legislators—to change what’s unfolding in neighborhood after neighborhood in Minnesota. But we can remind our fellow booksellers that the world is watching, and that our hearts are with them. A card in the mail won’t change everything, but I hope it can be a hand outstretched in solidarity.

So tonight, after work, I’m going to sit down and start writing cards to each bookstore in the Twin Cities. Would you like to join me? If so, here is what I hope is a comprehensive list of both new and used bookstores:

Don’t be daunted by the length of this list—choose a couple stores, write one or two a day, or split it with friends. Throw on a Prince album and turn it into a letter-writing party in your back room. Whatever you do will matter. Slip in a bookmark from your store, send a postcard from your town—and I’ve never known a bookseller to turn down chocolate. Let’s remind our fellow booksellers of the kindness there is in this industry, of the community we share together. Pass this email on to your friends and colleagues: Let’s take charge of the small things.

In peace, Johanna

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