Binc’s special initiative benefits bookstores & comic shops, helping communities thrive with these key businesses
The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation announced today the Survive to Thrive, the special, one-time store grant initiative, will make awards to 115 independent bookstores and comic shops totaling $1.1 million. Ninety-nine stores will receive grants of $10,000 and 16 will receive $7,500. The grant recipients were determined by a juried application process with the goal of assisting stores that were poised to make a strong recovery from the pandemic.
“We are incredibly pleased to announce grants to stores in 40 states plus DC. Bookstores and comic shops are vital to the cultural and economic fabric of their communities, and by helping to retain these community anchors, we are helping to preserve the literacy, economic and social benefits bookstores and comic shops provide,” said Pamela French, Binc’s Executive Director. “Every bookstore and comic shop is important to their community, and we are delighted to help as many as we can. Thank you to everyone who donated to Survive to Thrive. Every gift made a difference in helping these stores recover, survive and thrive.”
The Survive to Thrive initiative was launched in March with a leading gift of $500,000 jointly from Ingram Charities and Ingram Content Group. Survive to Thrive received strong support from across the publishing and bookselling communities with leading gifts from Bookshop.org, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Special thanks to the 12 authors and creators led by Garth Stein and Amor Towles, who made a combined $40,000 matching gift, which influenced an additional $55,000. Thanks also to An Unlikely Story bookstore for their benefit auction.
“Our goal is to do well by helping others do well. Supporting local bookstores and comic shops is an excellent way to support communities as we continue to move beyond the pandemic crisis,” said John R. Ingram, Chairman of Ingram Industries and Ingram Content Group. “Above all else, I am happy to have been a catalyst for helping a group of stores recover from the pandemic. Thank you to my friends and colleagues in publishing and all those who joined together to make the Survive to Thrive initiative successful.”
Thank you to Fletcher Chu-Fong, Nicole Magistro, Erica Rodriguez Merrell, Michael Tucker, and Lori Tucker-Sullivan, who served as the highly knowledgeable review panel, and to Judey Kalchik, who managed the Survive to Thrive grant project. Every application was reviewed and ranked anonymously by all five of the reviewers.
The grant recipients represent 45 percent of the 255 stores in the applicant pool and are located across 48 states. The stores will use the funds to continue implementing innovations and improvements begun as a response to the pressures of the pandemic. Grants are based on ranking criteria that considered economic harm due to the pandemic and each store’s plans to use the money to solidify their operations for long-term success. The grants will be distributed in early July.
Stores receiving $10,000 grants:
- A Novel Idea Bookstore, Lincoln, NE
- Aamazing Fantasy Comics, Littleton, CO
- Again Books & Bazaar, Rapid City, SD
- Anderson’s Bookshops, Naperville & Downers Grove, IL
- Anime Imports & Coastside Comics, Pacifica, CA
- Arcadian Comics & Games, Newport, KY
- The Astoria Bookshop, Astoria, NY
- Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA
- Bards Alley Bookshop, Vienna, VA
- Basically Books, Hilo, HI
- Battenkill Books, Cambridge, NY
- Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA
- Between Books 2.0, Arden, DE
- Between the Covers, Harbor Springs, MI
- Blue Bicycle Books, Charleston, SC
- The Book Cellar, Chicago, IL
- The Book Dragon Shop, Staunton, VA
- Book Mark, Ludington, MI
- The Book Nook & Java Shop, Montague, MI
- The Book Rack, Vernon, CT
- Bookie’s — Chicago & Homewood, IL
- Bookish, Atlanta, GA
- Booklink Booksellers, Northampton, MA
- Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC
- BookPeople, Austin, TX
- Books of Wonder, New York, NY
- Broadway Books, Portland, OR
- Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca, NY
- Captain Blue Hen Comics and Entertainment, Newark, DE
- Casablanca Comics, Portland, ME
- Cavalier House Books, Denham Springs, LA
- Challengers Comics, Chicago, IL
- Comic City, Canton, MI
- Comics Plus, St. George, UT
- Comix Revolution, Evanston, IL
- Cornerstone Used Books, Villa Park, IL
- Cream & Amber, Hopkins, MN
- Defunct Books, Nashville, TN
- Dogtown Books, Gloucester, MA
- Duende District, Washington, DC
- East City Bookshop, Washington, DC
- East End Books, Provincetown, MA
- Fairytales Bookstore, Nashville, TN
- Fantom Comics, Washington, DC
- Folio Books, San Francisco, CA
- Friends of the Library, Rockville, MD
- Gatekeeper Hobbies, Topeka, KS
- Gathering Volumes, Perrysburg, OH
- Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH
- Gods & Monsters, Orlando, FL
- Grasshopper’s Comics, Williston Park, NY
- Grassroots Books, Reno, NV
- Green Brain Comics, Dearborn, MI
- The Haunted Book Shop, Mobile, AL
- The Head & the Hand Books, Philadelphia, PA
- Hearthside Books, Etc., Juneau, AK
- Infinity Flux, Chattanooga, TN
- J & M’s Used Bookstore, Parkersburg, WV
- Kelly’s Books, Watsonville, CA
- Kepler’s Books & Magazines, Menlo Park, CA
- The King’s English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, UT
- Knowhere Games and Comics, San Marcos, CA
- Let’s Play Books Bookstore, Emmaus, PA
- Linden Tree Books, Los Altos, CA
- Little Shop of Stories, Decatur, GA
- Magic City Books, Tulsa, OK
- Main Street Reads, Summerville, SC
- McAllister & Solomon Book, Wilmington, NC
- Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Harrisburg, PA
- Mutiny Information Cafe, Denver, CO
- Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, PA
- Neighborhood Comics, Savannah, GA
- New Story Community Books, Marshall, MI
- The Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, VT
- Other Worlds, Portland, OR
- Packrat Comics, Hilliard, OH
- Point Reyes Books, Point Reyes Station, CA
- Powerhouse Arena, Brooklyn, NY
- Pretty Good Books, LaGrange, GA
- Read With Me Children’s Books & Art, Raleigh, NC
- Reading Leaves Books, Townsend, MT
- Revolution Books, New York, NY
- River Bend Bookshop, Glastonbury, CT
- Roebling Point Books & Coffee, Covington, KY
- Roundabout Books, Greenfield, MA
- Roundabout Books, Bend, OR
- Serendipity Books, Chelsea, MI
- Source Booksellers, Detroit, MI
- Talking Leaves…Books, Buffalo, NY
- Titan Moon Comics, Cedar Park, TX
- Topos Bookstore, Ridgewood, NY
- Tribe Comics and Games, Austin, TX
- Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Book Shop, New Orleans, LA
- Underground Books, Carrollton, GA
- Undisclosed, Florida
- Up Up & Away!, Cincinnati, OH
- Walls of Books, Cornelius, NC
- West Side Books & Curios, Denver, CO
- The White Rabbit, California, MD
Stores receiving $7,500 grants:
- Best of Books, Edmond, OK
- The Bookworm & BW Gifts, East Aurora, NY
- Chapter2books, Hudson, WI
- City of Asylum Bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA
- Comic Carnival Partners, Indianapolis, IN
- Comic Realms, Bismarck, ND
- Floating World Comics, Portland, OR
- Frugal Muse Books Music and Video, Darien, IL
- Gamble House Bookstore, Pasadena, CA
- HearthFire Books and Treats, Evergreen, CO
- Hipocampo Children’s Books, Rochester, NY
- Joseph Fox Bookshop, Philadelphia, PA
- Krav’n Comics, Pottstown, PA
- MainStreet BookEnds of Warner, NH
- The Sequel Bookshop, Kearney, NE
- Willamette Valley Christian Supply, Albany, OR
“Throughout the pandemic, bookstores and comic shops have been incredibly creative, resilient and innovative. We are proud to help these stores and their communities survive and thrive,” said Binc’s Pamela French. “Thank you to all the stores that shared their stories with us. We hope that the Survive to Thrive initiative has helped to raise the profile of independent bookstores and comic shops, and rally communities to support their indies.”