2023 for SIBA was a year of building on good things. The organization  grew its membership and  expanded member engagement, expanded programming, increased support for bookseller development, and provided more resources for bookstores.

In 2023 SIBA hired its first Membership Coordinator, Candice Huber. In their role , Candice helps SIBA bookstores to understand and take advantage of their member benefits. Even more importantly, Candice talks to bookstores to find out what they need from the organization. Since coming on board, Candice has been a motivating force behind the growth of SIBA's membership from about 175 bookstores at the end of  2022 to 192 at the end of 2023. In August they also took on the task of running SIBA's social media accounts, and has made a point of profiling SIBA bookstores and amplifying store news.

In Person Events

SIBA returned to an active in-person event schedule in 2023, bringing back the popular March Madness event series in the spring, in which 100 booksellers participated in events at 10 SIBA bookstores across SIBA territory. In the fall, SIBA also launched the first Indie Press Social in Atlanta, where representatives from small and indie presses spent the day with about 50 booksellers talking books, bookselling, and then finishing the evening at a local restaurant for more talk over (very) good food.

Virtual Programs

SIBA also continued its virtual programming, which created a forum for booksellers facing difficult situations in the current political climate. In May SIBA hosted a panel on Supporting Trans Bookseller Staff and Community which was attended by over 100 people from across the country. In November, SIBA partnered with PEN America to host a virtual panel on Book Banning and Best Response Strategies which specifically covered safety strategies for store and store staff targeted by agitators and hostile internet trolls. At the same time SIBA also launched a Banned Books Resource List of tools for bookstores facing book banning in their communities. This past fall SIBA created a Discord Community for booksellers to network with each other, trade advice, expertise, and support.

New Voices New Rooms (NVNR)

The programming partnership between SIBA and NAIBA was also very active in 2023, hosting both virtual events and its first in person conference in Arlington, VA. NVNR now has a regular schedule of virtual Owners Retreats, Publicity Speed Dating, and other networking events. The conference in Arlington drew nearly 100 SIBA booksellers from over 50 bookstores for a week of networking, education, and author events.

Bookseller Development

SIBA increased opportunities for financial aid and professional development support for booksellers, including continuing DEI training for booksellers via the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge, and offering more scholarships for booksellers to attend training and programming. SIBA also actively worked with other book industry groups to co-sponsor scholarships for booksellers. A co-sponsorship with the Independent Publishers Caucus allowed 44th and 3rd Bookseller to attend the 2023 Frankfurt International Book Fair.

Reaching Readers: RAMP & SBR

The RAMP Catalog program provided bookstores with both summer and holiday-themed gift catalogs to use with their customers and in their communities. The Winter Catalog featured artwork from Caldecott-winning illustrator Doug Salati (Hot Dog). SIBA once again subsidized imprinting costs for participating stores.

The Southern Bookseller Review (SBR), the reader-targeted newsletter and website which promotes bookseller reviews, grew its readership by 11% in 2023, and increased its number of published reviews by 9%. In May SBR published its 150th issue, and at the same time launched "Decide for Yourself." SIBA bookseller reviews of books which appear on PEN America's Banned Books List. To date, 1890 SIBA bookstore reviews can be found on the SBR website.

It's said that all good things come to an end, but this is not case in the land of SIBA. Southern booksellers continue to shine and SIBA has been gratified to be able to support them.