The Strand Celebrates Indie Bookstore Day

Strand Book Store has announced participation in the 10th Anniversary of Independent Bookstore Day.

Independent Bookstores play a unique and vital role in our communities, a place to gather, to learn, to expand one's views. For years Strand has made the choice to carry books that are banned or challenged, standing up for rights protected by the first amendment-but recently, it's not just books that are under fire. Creative expression is being threatened by restrictive anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, just another form of censorship.

This year, to help continue the crusade against banning books, Strand's Indie Bookstore Day will be hosted by the store's drag queen friends! Kendall Knight, Lana Del Trey, and Bertha Vanayshun will headline the day's celebration. Programming includes a family friendly story hour for kids as well as a literary themed drag variety show in the Rare Book Room in the evening.

Visitors can expect discounts from Brooklyn Roasting Company, Strand's in-store coffee shop, tastings from RuPaul's House of Love canned cocktails and mocktails, plus giveaways including a library of banned books. There will also be a discount of 20 percent at strandbooks.com.

"For almost 100 years my family has made the Strand a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone," says Nancy Bass Wyden, the store's third generation owner. "We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Kendall and friends for Indie Bookstore Day, it's going to be a blast!"

Strand plans to donate a portion of the day's profits to ACLU's Drag Defense Fund ensuring that the freedoms and self-expression of everyone are, and continue to be, protected.

Strand Book Store's flagship at 828 Broadway is open 10:00am-8:00pm, The Strand Upper West Side at 450 Columbus Ave. is open 10:00am-8:00pm, and the Central Park Kiosks at 5th Ave. and 61st St. are open 10:00am-6:00pm.

About the Strand:

Strand Book Store was founded in 1927 on Fourth Avenue on what was then called "Book Row," an area that covered six city blocks and housed forty-eight bookstores. Ben Bass was twenty-five years old when he began his modest used bookstore. He sought to create a place where books would be loved, and book lovers could congregate. He named Strand Book Store after the London street where avant-garde writers like once gathered. 96 years and 18 miles of books later, The Strand is still run by the Bass family and is home to four floors of more than 2.5 million used, new, and rare books, a wide array of bookish gifts and goods, and events held almost every night of the week. The store's locations are: the long-standing flagship at 828 Broadway, The Strand Upper West Side at 450 Columbus Ave., Central Park Kiosks at 5th Ave. and 61st St., and The Strand Bowery Bay Shops at LaGuardia Airport. www.strandbooks.com