Dear Friends,

We have a big announcement for you this week: SIBA and NAIBA will partner in 2023 for an in-person show, under the New Voices New Rooms brand. For over two and a half  years, SIBA & NAIBA staff have worked together to create virtual conferences that brought unprecedented levels of participation by our stores, and fantastic support from our publisher partners. We have collaborated on new programming, like the VIndies, celebrating the best of bookstore video in social media, and new networking opportunities, like Publicity Speed Dating.  At our virtual retreats and education, booksellers from both regions cross pollinated and crowd-sourced ideas and best practices. We are excited to bring more innovation your way as we move to an in-person conference next summer. 

We know this is a big change for SIBA, as our pre-Covid conferences were the highlight of our year. We always had a party, even during the toughest times, and came away renewed and inspired. We plan on bringing the party to our New Voices New Rooms conference, and  SIBA-exclusive programming and opportunities will be part of the schedule, not just at the conference, but year-round.  SIBA will continue to host smaller in-person spring and fall gatherings around the territory to reach booksellers where they are, to increase accessibility and opportunities for stores and booksellers who prefer, for a variety of reasons, not to travel far, or be away from their stores for very long,  for professional gatherings. 

We hope you’ll reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns  about the new joint conference, programming you’d like to see, logistics you’d like us to consider to make the event better for you. This is your show and we want you to love it. For more information on our plans, check out the press release below.