FIRST THINGS FIRST: REALLY IMPORTANT DEADLINES

• The deadline to nominate Spring Okra Picks (April - June titles) is March 1.
• The deadline to sign up for Candlewick's Find Waldo program is March 1.
• The deadline to apply for a Binc College Scholarship (awards of $3500, $5000, and $10000) is March 5.
• The deadline to nominate books for the Willie Morris Southern Fiction Prize (bookstores are reimbursed for the eligible titles they send) is March 31.

INVENTORY ACTIVISM WEBINAR NOW ONLINE

Erica Merrell's Wild Iris Books was a feminist bookstore and community center in Florida. Kimberly Daniels' The Country Bookshop is in a small historic town in central North Carolina. Two completely different communities, and two different, creative approaches to "inventory activism." There's more to it than just facing out a few books!

HOW COME I HAVE $10.20 in B3! POINTS?

In the new edition of your Booksellers Benefits Package you will see that SIBA has updated and simplified the way we track B3! points for our members. The goal is to encourage and reward stores for participating in SIBA programs, so the new formula is quite simple:

500 points = $50 in SIBA credit

That means every point is worth ten cents. So rather than keep a running total of points, SIBA has started handing out virtual dimes like there is no tomorrow.

Those dimes will accumulate in store accounts as SIBA credit until the Discovery Show. After the show, the total reverts back to $0.00 and stores can start building up credit again for the next year. B3! credits can be applied to any SIBA expense, including store dues. Stores only have to request to use their credit, and SIBA will apply it.

For a list of what earns credit, click here

EUREKAsiba RECAP AND READING LIST

EUREKAsiba is a necessary event! I feel like a lot in our industry goes unquestioned or taken for granted and EUREKAsiba gives us all an opportunity to present and discuss topics that are both important and perhaps sometimes overlooked! -- John Cavalier, Cavalier House Books, Denham Springs, LA

By all accounts, SIBA's inaugural EUREKAsiba event was a big success. Feedback from attendees and presenters has been enthusiastic. SIBA will be making all the presentations available on video soon, but in the meantime, here's a list of some of the books and resources different presenters mentioned in their talks:

Jill Hendrix, in her talk "Profit is Not a Dirty Word" recommended two personal finance books that she used to help understand her store's financial goals and relationship to profitability:

• All Your Worth by Elizabeth Warren
• Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Simple Living by Elizabeth Willard Thames
• She also recommended Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster Into a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michaelowicz

Kelly Justice, in "Small Store, Big Mouth" stressed the importance of reading outside the industry, especially when it comes to being aware of trends. She watches Shark Tank, the business-themed reality television show, and sets a couple hours aside every month to read a variety of business and culture-themed magazines: Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Wired, (and Variety, naturally!)

Kelly also made a point of the importance of picking "mentors" both in and outside of the book industry -- people whose leadership example she admires and tries to emulate. Oprah was on her list, but so was Barbara Corcoran, Anthony Bourdain, and RuPaul!

EARN $100! DISCOVERY SHOW SEEKS NEW EXHIBITORS

You get $100.  You get $100.  You get $100.  

In order to grow the Discovery Show, SIBA is asking its bookstore members to reach out to potential exhibitors they would like to see on the show floor. You all have local companies you love who would benefit from the exposure -- help us to bring them to the rest of SIBA territory!

Any bookseller who recruits a first-time Exhibitor to the 2018 Discovery Show in Tampa gets $100 for themselves and $100 for their exhibitor that can be used towards any subsequent SIBA programming.

We want to make this easy so if you or your exhibitor emails SIBA and mentions the bookstore who recruited them, or the exhibitor they have recruited, the credit will be applied to your account. 

Only first-time exhibitors who purchase their exhibit table at full price will qualify for the $100 credit.  Booksellers can recruit more than one exhibitor, receiving $100 of credit each time that can be used towards any SIBA event for any bookseller you choose.

Send your favorite potential exhibitors SIBA's show information packet.

Registration is now open for booksellers and exhibitors!

OKRA PICKS NEWSLETTER: LAST CALL

Normally the newsletter would be sent the middle of February, but this season we've scheduled it for after EUREKAsiba, so you still have time to participate.

See a sample here | Sign up here

COMING UP ON LADY BANKS PICK OF THE WEEK

SIBA has received several requests from booksellers to be informed what books are going to be advertised on "Lady Banks Pick of the Week" -- the banners running on store websites as part of the banner-for-dues program.

SIBA keeps a calendar of the upcoming titles on its website, which members can access anytime. Here are the titles scheduled for March and April:

B3! WEBINARS & BOOK CLUB

March 14 at 2PM: B3! Book Club discusses When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink (keynote speaker at WI18)

Is the last chocolate always the best chocolate? Robert Gray's recent column in Shelf Awareness newsletter is all about Daniel Pink's book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. It makes fascinating reading:

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3191#m39509 

Click here for more webinars and registration info