If you've followed me for a while, you have probably heard me throw the words "Indie Next" around 100 times. But many of you may not know what that is and why it's one of the most special parts of my job as a bookseller/bookstore owner.

The Indie Next List is a monthly (or bi-monthly for kids) list of recommended new releases curated by independent booksellers in the US. The 25 books included each month are selected through written nominations by indie booksellers pre-publication date. Why is that important? Because while, yes, there are always politics and marketing involved in any capitalistic-centric systems, the list is NOT based on sales numbers. Instead, it can be influenced by the pure enthusiasm of booksellers, making it THE grassroots-version of a bestseller list.

For bookstores, the list provides us with trusted reviews for upcoming titles and helps us discover new titles that might resonate with our individual customer bases. customers. It's also a free marketing tool for us to use in-store as the ABA graciously mails out physical copies of the list to participating stores.

For publishers, it's a great way for them to gain insight into what resonates with those of us on the ground-floor of bookselling. What kind of books are we excited to promote to our customers? What are our exact reviews/thoughts/feelings about the stories they're publishing?

And maybe most importantly, for authors these lists can have a real financial impact on their careers. There have been so many debut or mid-list titles–cough cough, Of Monsters and Mainframes in the June 2025 list–that have seen major sales or visibility boosts thanks to the passion of real readers and not the amount of marketing dollars they've been allocated by their publisher.

Though it may seem like a "chore" to be reading on a schedule and not have complete freedom over my reading list, this part of my job is important and impactful. This is also why I always try to prioritize reading and nominating books from marginalized, debut, or authors that I feel deserve more love from the industry at large.