Last week the Bookstore Relations Coordinator at ABA came to speak at the NYU Summer Publishing Institute. I was so moved by his presentation that I thought I would share a little bit of it here.

Declaration of IndieBound

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain independent.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stores are not created equal, that some are endowed by their owners, their staff, and their communities with certain incomparable heights, that among these are Personality, Purpose and Passion. The history of the present indies is a history of experiences and excitement, which we will continue to establish as we set our sights on a more unconstrained state. To prove this, let’s bring each other along and submit our own experiences to an unchained world.

We, therefore, the Kindred Spirits of IndieBound, in the name of our convictions, do publish and declare that these united minds are, and darn well ought to be, Free Thinkers and Independent Souls. That we are linked by the passions that differentiate us. That we seek out soul mates to share our excitement. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the strength of our identities, we respectively and mutually pledge to lead the way as we all declare that we are IndieBound!

Just in case you’re not familiar with IndieBound, here’s a little bit about the organization. It was created to bring together independent bookstores so that publishers would be forced to listen to their voice. These bookstores are havens for communities to talk, think, react and read. Check out their website: IndieBound

Check out all of my other NYU Summer Publishing Institute posts:

• Week 1: Magazine Publishing
• Week 2: Magazine Publishing
• Week 3: Magazine Publishing
• Inside Random House