The Booksellers’ List is here! Well, almost here — the voting period for the inaugural list has closed, and the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association (CIBA) will be announcing the selected titles on September 1, 2025.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, The Booksellers’ List is a collective marketing program coordinated by CIBA. The lists are compiled seasonally, based on votes for titles from bookseller members across the country. You can find out more about the program on CIBA’s website.
Let’s talk about how publishers and CIBA members can get involved during the next list's voting period!
How do booksellers recommend titles?
If you’re a CIBA member and you wish to recommend titles for future adult and children’s lists, you can do so through the CIBA website; NetGalley; or CataList, BookNet’s online catalogue service and order management tool.
To recommend an eligible title on CataList, log into your CataList account at bnccatalist.ca and click the Recommend button that displays next to the title.
If you don’t see the button for a title, then that title doesn’t meet the eligibility requirements. Learn more about recommending titles for The Booksellers’ List on CataList.
Aside from recommending titles on CataList, you can view publisher-sourced interior images, samples, and other resources for the titles directly on the site. You can also request advance reading copies (ARCs) through CataList or NetGalley so that you can read the book before deciding to recommend it.
Don’t have a CataList account yet? Booksellers can sign up for free!
How can publishers promote their titles on CataList?
Check out CIBA’s guidelines for publishers to see a list of suggestions on what you can do to bring your eligible titles in front of CIBA members. If you’re a publisher with access to CataList, here are a few CataList features that can help:
Create a custom catalogue to share a shortlist of eligible titles that you think would be a great fit for the program.
Edit the catalogue recipients to make the catalogue available to all CataList users — then, once you’ve published the catalogue, you can share the link to it as far and wide as you like.
Add the custom catalogue to your publisher landing page for more visibility.
Enable the ARC request tool for your titles.
Upload full previews of your children's books.
Upload supplemental content such as interior images, samples, and reading group guides.
Keep an eye out for the announcement on September 1, and happy selling!
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