Independent Publishers Caucus to celebrate third annual Indie Press Month

NEW YORK, New York (January 7, 2026) — The Independent Publisher’s Caucus (IPC) is pleased to announce its third annual celebration of Indie Press Month, taking place in March 2026. With more than sixty IPC member presses participating and over a dozen national partnerships confirmed, this year’s campaign is set to be the largest and most impactful to date.

IPC is proud to partner with Bookshop.org, Brooklyn Public Library, EveryLibrary, Libro.fm, Ingram Content Group, Shelf Awareness, Publishers Weekly, Foreword Reviews, Open Road Integrated Media, American Booksellers Association, Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association, Pacific Northwest Independent Booksellers Association, California Independent Booksellers Alliance, Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association, Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, New England Independent Booksellers Association, New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, and The Independent Bookseller on this years’ initiatives.

“We believe these expanding partnerships will help our thriving Indie Press Month campaign reach a broader audience–both digitally and in-person at bookstores and libraries across the country,” said IPC Executive Director Daniel O’Brien. “At the same time, this remains a deeply indie-to-indie effort. Our focus continues to be on in-person engagement—celebrating the creativity of independent bookstores and libraries, the power of physical displays and events, and the relationships that sustain our communities.”

IPC invites independent bookstores nationwide to participate in an in-store display contest and a social media campaign to take place throughout the month of March.

Through the Indie-to-Indie program, IPC will award $2,000 in cash prizes–including $500 to the bookstore with the winning display, and $100 to runner ups. In addition, IPC has expanded its co-op marketing program this year from five to twenty-five stores, each of which will receive $50 for posting their display to social media. The display contest is supported by Bookshop.org.

All participating publishers, bookstores, libraries, and partners will receive downloadable social media graphics and in-store marketing materials. Bookstores attending Winter Institute 2026 will also receive a bundle of Indie Press Month bookmarks.

Sign-ups will be accepted through February 27, 2026, the final day of Winter Institute. Full contest guidelines are available on the sign-up page. Winners and runners-up of the display contest will be announced in Shelf Awareness.

The full promotional title list is available on Airtable, and as a CSV/XLS download. Marketing assets will also be available for press use. Additional information can be found on the Indie Press Month website.