Passport to Prizes: Celebrate 13 Local Shops on San Diego Book Crawl

The San Diego Book Crawl is back for its sixth year with 13 participating book stores across the county and more prizes for crawlers than ever. 

The sixth annual Book Crawl, beginning Saturday, lasts for three days and marks Independent Bookstore Day. In addition, Lizz Huerta, author of a young-adult fantasy novel, will serve as the official Author Ambassador, the first selection of the San Diego Book Crawl Book Club.

She said that “San Diego indie book stores hold a special place in my life.”

“Indie booksellers have not only championed my debut novel, The Lost Dreamer, but they have provided me with the best book recommendations in a variety of genres. I’ve spent countless hours in conversations with booksellers and know they are some of the most brilliant and hilarious people around,” she added.

The Book Crawl, which started in 2018, encourages San Diegans to visit as many of the 13 participating local independent book stores – in San Diego, La Jolla, Coronado, Del Mar and more – as possible.

Those who join in receive a Book Crawl “Passport” at their first stop and receive a stamp in that passport when they spend at least $10 at a store. The more stamps participants collect, the more prizes they win, from stickers to totes to mugs.

“The success of the San Diego Book Crawl puts to rest any doubts about whether or not San Diego is a book town,” said Scott Ehrig-Burgess, manager of the Library Shop and public engagement manager for Library Foundation SD. “It most definitely is.”

The 13 local stores are Bay Books in Coronado, Bluestocking Books in Hillcrest; Diesel in Carmel Valley; Joyride Bookshop in Liberty Station, La Playa Books in Point Loma; Libélula Books & Co in Barrio Logan; The Library Shop in the Downtown Central Library; Meet Cute and Verbatim Books in North Park; Mysterious Galaxy in the Midway; Book Catapult in South Park, and the UC San Diego Bookstore and Warwick’s in La Jolla.

Hours vary for each store, but that information and more may be found via the San Diego Book Crawl site or the event Instagram account.