Excitement was high at SIBA's two-day conference in New Orleans last week. Over 100 people including almost 70 booksellers from 37 different bookstores across SIBA's territory came together for SIBA's largest gathering since the beginning of the pandemic three years ago.

That booksellers were eager to meet in person became clear when all the events in the program sold out in advance well ahead of the registration deadline. So many people were interested in the now de rigeur bookstore tour that SIBA had to add a second bus. Even so, the tour quickly filled up and SIBA was forced to implement its first-ever wait list for an event!

The first day of the two day conference was dedicated to experiencing a bookseller's New Orleans -- beginning with a tour of four NOLA bookstores, Octavia Books, Tubby & Coo's Mid-City Bookshop, Garden District Bookshop, and Baldwin & Co. It was especially encouraging to see expansion plans in the works for some of the stores. A number of people remarked on the positive outlook the NOLA stores had towards the future and the plans they were making to grow their businesses.

After the tour, and in keeping with SIBA's commitment to showcase the historical significance of the community hosting them, booksellers attended a "Welcome Reception" at The Historic New Orleans Collection. HNOC is a museum, publisher, and bookstore which SIBA members were already familiar with from Fatima Shaik's Reader Meet Writer presentation of Economy Hall, which they published. They also produced the video which received special mention at last year's inaugural VIndies Awards, "We Are the Holy Ones." As a special surprise poet Kelly Harris-DeBerry, who wrote the poem featured in the video, was in attendance.

Kelly Harris-DeBerry and Linda-Marie Barrett

Booksellers heard from the new SIBA Board President, Jamie Southern, ABA CEO Allison Hill, and Binc Director of Development Kathy Bartson, each of whom spoke about their delight to be there in person, and to emphasize the continued importance of bookstore engagement. Southern spoke about the SIBA Board's current work on redefining their core membership and asked booksellers to get in touch with the board to voice their opinions and concerns and to attend the forthcoming town hall. Hill talked about plans for the upcoming Banned Books Week, and encouraged booksellers to sign the petition posted on their website. Bartson discussed some of the ways the organization has helped booksellers facing crises, and provided a preview of a new initiative to help bookstores to open in under-served communities.

Day two of the conference was dedicated to education, with breaks at lunch and at the end of the day to hear from authors with books launching this fall and in 2023. The education itself was pragmatic in focus. The session led by Jill Hendrix, owner of Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC) "Bookselling A Hero's Journey" concentrated on creating a positive work environment for both yourself and your co-workers, and thus creating a staff that is trusted, resilient, and creatively engaged:

“Jill Hendrix was awesome! I felt like I got a really great handle on big picture management and how to make communication and positivity tangible.”

Angela Trigg (owner of The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, AL) and Shari Stauch ( owner of  Main Street Reads in Summerville, SC) provided a whirlwind tour into the apps and platforms they find useful in increasing productivity and -- more importantly -- saving time:

 “Incredible, gave enough info for us to know if we want/need to look further, TONS of resources. Carefully planned and well-presented. SO GOOD”

The American Booksellers Association did a deep dive into understanding Profit & Loss statements, an un-sexy topic that booksellers described as "fun and engaging" as they left: "The presenters killed it! Making a P & L session fun and engaging sounds impossible but I could listen to those two present anything-learned so much and loved every minute."

The day ended with a bookseller-to-bookseller "what's working" idea exchange led by booksellers from eight NOLA bookstores -- a session attendee wanted to go longer: “I love this-we all do amazing things and need more opportunities to share our brilliance!

"Sharing our brilliance" is perhaps the best description of SIBA in New Orleans.

Read more in the media:
Publishers Weekly
Shelf Awareness