Tampa Bay’s first crawl

Tampa Bay turned Independent Bookstore Day into a monthlong scavenger hunt: 13 bookstores and pop-ups across St. Petersburg, Tampa, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, and Dunedin are sharing one “passport” that readers can stamp from April 1 to April 25. (wusf.org) The crawl ends on Saturday, April 25, which is the 2026 date for Independent Bookstore Day, a national event organized through the American Booksellers Association. (bookweb.org) The basic idea is simple: start at any participating shop, pick up the passport, and collect stamps as you go. Tampa Bay’s list includes Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, Black English Bookstore in Tampa, Portkey Books in Safety Harbor, and The Gilded Page in Tarpon Springs. (wusf.org) A stamp does not require only one kind of purchase. WUSF reports readers can earn one by buying something, following a store on Instagram and showing a bookseller, joining a newsletter list with staff, or posting their visit on social media and tagging the store. (wusf.org) The prize structure is built to reward distance. Participants turn in the passport to their “home bookstore” by April 25, and each stamp counts as an entry for a drawing whose grand prize is a $25 gift card from each participating store. (wusf.org) This is the first time Tampa Bay has had its own area-wide crawl, but the format already exists elsewhere. IndieBound’s 2026 Independent Bookstore Day map lists bookstore crawls and passport programs in places like Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, California, and Arkansas. (indiebound.org) That helps explain why local booksellers framed this less like one sale and more like a neighborhood tour. Tombolo Books founder Alsace Walentine told WUSF the store had wanted to do a crawl for years after seeing groups organize informal versions on their own. (wusf.org) The stores are not all the same kind of shop, which is part of the draw. Coverage from local outlets describes the lineup as ranging from children’s bookstores to romance-focused and adult-oriented shops, with coffee and wine at some stops. (thatssotampa.com) The crawl also gives smaller stores a shared calendar instead of 13 separate marketing campaigns. WFLA says the participating indies teamed up for the event, and Tombolo’s own events page tells readers to grab a passport and visit as many stores as possible between April 1 and April 25. (wfla.com) (tombolobooks.com) On April 25, the crawl folds back into a single-day celebration at individual stores. WUSF reports Tombolo Books plans Independent Bookstore Day merchandise, a local makers market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. signing with author Sarah Penner. (wusf.org)