See you Soon in New Orleans!

We’re excited to see so many of you next week at our fall conference in the beautiful city of New Orleans. Over 110 folks will join us for two days brimming with programming and networking opportunities. The event is sold out, but we’ll share takeaways in future newsletters. And maybe we’ll see you next time we’re in person!

Our team is finalizing details around a conference with many moving parts. This morning I purchased batteries for our a/v equipment, and local handcrafted chocolate bars for our author gift bags, and thought, “we can power this event with batteries and dark chocolate!” We’re scheduling the on-site staffing, working out bus tour logistics with crowd size and social distancing front of mind, and in talks with our reception host and hotel on final counts for meal planning. It’s like planning a wedding, but for booksellers and industry friends who will bond in a shared adventure at a Sheraton perched next to the French Quarter, within view of the Mississippi.

This weekend I made bookmarks for attendees, and chose themes of alchemy and time(lessness) to represent the magic of booksellers and authors and industry friends connecting through books. Our hope is that everyone leaves feeling refreshed, reinvigorated, and inspired to try something new in their stores, in their art, and in their publishing work. That is the alchemy possible at in-persons, when positivity, innovation, and curiosity are encouraged, and celebrated. We plan on doing just that.

See you soon!

Linda-Marie Barrett