Today is a great day because we can officially say that INDIE BOOKSTORE DAY IS ONE MONTH AWAY 🎉 Mark your calendars for April 25, prepare your TBRs, and get ready to show your indies all the love they deserve!

Thanks again to @juliesedivy.bsky.social for hosting me at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social last week for wonderful conversation. Happy to see my novel "To Place a Rabbit" reach a few more readers in Calgary!

hey Calgarians! Help celebrate the launch of DO IT WRONG: HOW TO BE A POET IN THE 21ST CENTURY at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social May 28th!: shelflifebooks.ca/events/48657...

Last fall, Alberta schools were ordered to review their library collections and remove material containing explicit depictions of sexual acts. Ira Wells says Alberta’s order turns a blind eye to legal definitions of obscenity and demeans students' intelligence: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Thank you for the visit Monique Gray Smith! @houseofanansi.bsky.social

Presenting the longlist for the #InternationalBooker2026, supported by Bukhman Philanthropies. Find out more about the books, authors and translators: thebookerprizes.com/ibp2026

On #BookBans — the last few years have seen lots of books removed from schools, libraries and bookstores. The latest episode of The Chapter has Kudakwashe Rutendo and Mirian Njoh weigh in on the topic, discussing influential challenged titles from their own lives: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

The full lists of the books targeted for removal from two Alberta school districts have been published, and both feature a slew of familiar LGBTQ2S+ titles.

Thanks to @shelflifebooks.bsky.social for sharing this beautiful shot of APPARITIONS (Margo Glantz, translated by Ellen Jones): Two nuns, and one obsessed mother, doing everything in their power to achieve communion with the one they love. Get it now: charcopress.com/bookstore/ap...

Yesterday, freedom for information requests revealed the lists of dozens books removed by two Alberta school boards. The lists reveal that 42 titles were removed by one board, and 33 titles by the other. Graphic novels are the focus of the full list of prohibited book: thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...

Check out our Instagram for a chance to win tickets to see Vivek Shraya with @calgaryphil.bsky.social along with some other goodies! 📚🎫

Woohoo @trinamoyles.bsky.social!

TOMORROW! We're closed for inventory!

Not sure what to read this year? Maybe consider the 313 books we’re most looking forward to in 2026.

It's here, it's here! Our annual Credit Bundle Sale starts today! 🥳 Today through December 11, stock up on audiobook credit bundles for yourself, or to gift this holiday season—all in support of your indie bookshop. ⁠ Pssst: We only do this once a year 🙃⁠

November and December typically account for 20%+ of an indie bookshop’s annual sales. Our support is needed to help them keep the lights on in the new year. Shop small this holiday season & beyond, so your indie can support your community in 2026 & beyond.

Shop small and shop local this holiday season! Pick up a holiday passport in store starting this December and once you've completed the card, enter to win a huge prize pack with prizes from each small business!

Today's a great day to support your indie bookstore 🥰

‘We had never read anything quite like it. It is, in many ways, a dark book but it is a joy to read’ We're delighted to announce Flesh by David Szalay as the winner of the #BookerPrize2025.

Calgary if you're looking for a pleasant way to spend the evening @shelflifebooks.bsky.social has got you covered

Zine Party! Saturday! Be there!

Tomorrow night! Jun-long Lee launches his debut poetry collection, Abode, at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social with guests Natalie Simpson and Nikki Sheppy, and hosted by Kyle Flemmer. Come celebrate with us! www.facebook.com/events/67570...

Some of you may know I wrote a book, but did you know you could come see me talk about that book, and ask questions about that book? See all the details in the pictures. And maybe see you soon. @coachhousebooks.bsky.social @shelflifebooks.bsky.social @audreysbooksyeg.bsky.social

Next week! Jun-long Lee celebrates the publication of Abode at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social with guests Natalie Simpson and Nikki Sheppy, and hosted by Kyle Flemmer. It's going to be a wonderful night of readings and refreshments. www.facebook.com/events/67570...

Head over to Shelf Life Books in Calgary and pick up your copy of Harvest Moon Volume One, our anthology of remarkable artwork, fiction, and poetry. Follow @shelflifebooks.bsky.social #WritingCommunity #PoetryCommunity #ReadingCommunity #5amWritersClub #Canadian #Albertan #LitMag

ZINE PARTY RETURNS on Saturday Nov. 8th from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. now at @pinbaryyc! Featuring local makers, artists, & vendors selling zines, books, prints, pins, art, stickers, tee, cards, totes & more!

Thank you @albertandp.ca for helping us celebrate our 15th birthday last weekend in such an exciting way! We're so proud to be recognized for fostering community, curiosity, and a love of reading!

Good news! @ryanfitzpublic.bsky.social is hitting the ole dusty trail and bringing No Depression in Heaven to a bookstore near you! Get your local dose of the Grand Ole Opry at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social, @mcnallyrobinson.com, and more! ⁠📖No Depression in Heaven is available now! 📖

LET'S GO JUN!! Everyone go buy your copy of Abode!! Written by our delightful former events host and we couldn't be more proud!

Happy 15th to Calgary's @shelflifebooks.bsky.social! Check them out on October 4th.

Shelf Life Books is turning 15! We're celebrating on October 4th with 15% off everything, in store and online. Giveaways, swag & treats all day! Enter to win a $500 shopping spree, 20% off for free and other prizes!

Calgary! Head to @shelflifebooks.bsky.social on October 21 to celebrate the launch of No Depression in Heaven by @ryanfitzpublic.bsky.social, Beaver Hills Forever by Conor Kerr, and crohnic by Jason Purcell. Can't wait to see you there!

Edmonton was a blast. See you soon Calgary at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social

Calgary readers! Join us this Thursday 7pm at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social to celebrate positive love and comics. Alberta Comics Love is our new anthology featuring 50 short comic stories about love in all its unique, quirky & diverse dimensions can bring us. #yyc #booklaunch

Hello, friends! I’m excited to be on the creator panel for the volume 2 book launch of ALBERTA COMICS: LOVE—this Thursday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m. at @shelflifebooks.bsky.social downtown. Come on out! Jackson Gee and I have a story (FUR HEART) in this wonderful anthology. @renegadeartsent.bsky.social

Zine Party returns! Apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Back to school book haul from the always amazing @shelflifebooks.bsky.social! 😍📚

Ready? Set! Go! 🎉 We’re thrilled to introduce the inaugural edition of The Booksellers’ List! For the first time ever, Canadian readers can look forward to a list of trusted recs—handpicked and voted on by local booksellers. All titles are available for pre-order now!

Congratulations once again to Rona Altrows, winner of this year's Prairie Grindstone Prize. Here she is at a wonderful celebration at Shelf Life in Calgary (L: Rona / R: Lisa Murphy-Lamb). https://bit.ly/3zoWZAk Photo credit: Carol Gauzer. @ronaaltrows.bsky.social ‪@shelflifebooks.bsky.social‬

We’d like to acknowledge @shelflifebooks.bsky.social's generous sponsorship of the 2025 Alberta Book Publishing Awards! You are a valued indie bookstore and community member. #ABPubAwards #ABbooks

UKETSU HIVE!

We are delighted to reveal the #BookerPrize2025 longlist – 13 books ‘all alive with great characters and narrative surprises’. Huge congratulations to the authors who make up this year's Booker Dozen. ➡️ Discover the full list: thebookerprizes.com/bp2025

Some of our summer reading books have hit this list! Check out all of our recommended reads here: bit.ly/45dwVc4

What does Climate Justice mean to you? Join us and Calgary Climate Hub for a free zine-making workshop that invites you to creatively explore your perspective on climate justice. Get creative, share stories, and spark conversation!

This July we are excited to be reading Iris and the Dead by Miranda Schreiber, out now from @bookhugpress.bsky.social This book deftly explores love and desire, disability and madness, trauma and recovery. Our latest episode of Bookstorm delves into the book further! Listen here: bit.ly/4ltz4Xb

Hello 👋 We're open from 11-4 today!

Special visitor

TONIGHT! TONIGHT! TONIGHT!

Tonight! Come celebrate our Book of the Month with Chyana Marie Sage!

See you Thursday!!