We are thrilled to announce LeVar Burton as the 2025 official spokesperson for Indies First, a national campaign of activities and events in support of independent bookstores that takes place on Small Business Saturday, the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Past spokespeople have included Trevor Noah, Amanda Gorman, Celeste Ng, Roxane Gay, Dan Rather, N.K. Jemisin, Jason Reynolds, Cheryl Strayed, and more.

LeVar Burton is an actor, director, producer, and podcaster whose decades-long body of work includes Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Reading Rainbow. He is the honored recipient of seven NAACP Awards, a Peabody, a Grammy, and 15 Emmys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Inaugural Children's & Family Emmys. 

As a lifelong literacy advocate, Burton has dedicated decades to encouraging children to read. In 2023, Burton premiered his first documentary, The Right to Read, a film that positions the literacy crisis in America as a civil rights issue. The Right to Read was an official selection at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and SXSW EDU. 

Burton continues to exercise his passion for storytelling as the award-winning author of Aftermath, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, and A Kids Book About Imagination. He launched his first book club with Fable, a digital book club community, and partnered with Masterclass, to share the power of storytelling. 

His production company, LeVar Burton Entertainment (LBE), develops projects in the film, television, podcasting, and publishing space with the mission to share stories that foster empathy, champion diversity, and build community. 

The enormously popular LeVar Burton Reads podcast has over 175 episodes in its catalog, boasting 25 million downloads. LBE's first Kids & Family podcast, Sound Detectives, debuted on Stitcher in July of 2023. Both podcasts are available wherever you get your podcasts. 

As a pop culture icon, Burton has the unique ability to reach across all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic groups — communicating to a large fan base that is highly engaged and motivated to embrace his message.

Readers are invited to celebrate Indies First by visiting their favorite local bookstore (or bookstores!) the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Follow news about Indies First in Bookselling This Week and via the hashtag #IndiesFirst on social media.

Inquiries about Indies First can be directed to [email protected].