Sandias Inc., which operates the commercial BL review site Chil Chil, has announced that commemorative merchandise for BL Award 2026, along with select items from the 2025 and 2024 award lineups, will be sold at Kinokuniya bookstores across the United States this fall.

Key visual for the BL Award 2026 US pop up announcement, marking the merchandise line’s debut at Kinokuniya stores nationwide. (Image: Sandias Inc.)

The rollout follows a preview run at Anime NYC, where the goods will be sold inside the Kinokuniya booth from August 20 through August 23. A pop up event then moves to thirteen US Kinokuniya locations from August 28 through September 27, spanning New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Chicago, Carrollton and Austin in Texas, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Anita, Torrance, and Santa Monica. Online sales through Kinokuniya USA’s webstore follow from September 28 through November 1.

Promotional art for the domestic Chil Chil Store pop up, opening August 21 at Animate’s Ikebukuro flagship location. (Image: Sandias Inc.)
Promotional art for the domestic Chil Chil Store pop up, opening August 21 at Animate’s Ikebukuro flagship location. (Image: Sandias Inc.)

Buyers will receive a purchase bonus: a two card pack styled like a couple’s photo booth strip, printed with reproduced signatures and offered in five random designs. Sandias notes that distribution details for the bonus, along with specifics on which items from each year’s lineup will be sold at each location, are being handled through Kinokuniya USA’s own announcements rather than Sandias directly.

A selection of BL Award 2026 commemorative merchandise, with items to be sold across the US Kinokuniya pop up and webstore. (Image: Sandias Inc.)
A selection of BL Award 2025 commemorative merchandise, including items from the Bright night pooL sticker set, also included in the US sales. (Image: Sandias Inc.)
A selection of BL Award 2024 commemorative merchandise, including the CP smartphone sticker set, also included in the US sales. (Image: Sandias Inc.)

This international expansion runs alongside the annual domestic pop up, Chil Chil Store, which opens at Animate’s Ikebukuro flagship store on August 21, with parallel sales through Animate’s mail order service.

BL Award is Chil Chil’s annual fan selected awards program recognizing boys’ love titles and creators, and the pop up shop has become a recurring fixture tied to each year’s results. This marks the program’s first announced expansion into US retail space through an established bookstore chain rather than convention exclusive sales alone.

Source: PR Times