Bookworms all over Greater Cincinnati will be trawling shelves and getting passports stamped for the third-annual Cincy Bookstore Crawl, happening Friday-Sunday, Oct. 3-5.
The Cincy Bookstore Crawl began in 2023, with 12 independent bookstores on both sides of the Ohio River taking part in the inaugural crawl (think of it like a bar crawl, but with books). The event will return this year bigger than ever, with 23 local, independent bookstores taking part.
The goal is to visit as many bookstores as you can. You’ll pick up a passport at the first store you visit and get it stamped at every shop thereafter. Each stamp gets you an entry into prize drawings. If you visit 16 or more stores, you will qualify for the “Super Crawler” drawing.
To enter the drawings, you’ll need to fill out a form on the crawl’s website here and upload a photo of your passport by midnight, Monday, Oct. 6. Prizes include $35 gift cards to each participating store, a basket containing each bookseller’s current favorite book along with personal notes, a free annual membership to the Mercantile Library and Mercantile merch and a $35 gift card to one store. Winners will be drawn randomly and announced on the crawl’s social media pages.
Participating bookstores include:
- Book Bus Depot in Sharonville
- The Bookmatters in Milford
- Downbound Books in Northside
- Hierophany and Hedge in Covington
- Household Books in College Hill
- Joy & Matt’s Books in Downtown Cincinnati
- Roebling Point Books in Covington and Newport
- Snapdragon Books and Gifts in Green Township
- Tome Books and Novelteas in Anderson Township
You can find the full list of participating bookstores here. All stores will be open from at least 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, but some stores may have extended hours, plus special Crawl offers.
More info: cincybookstorecrawl.my.canva.site.
