What We're Doing: SIBA in 2024

SIBA members have much to look forward to in 2024. Popular programs from 2023 will return for this year, including the March Madness Bookstore Series, the Summer and Holiday Catalog programs, more Indie Press Social events, and the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge. Also on the horizon are more events from the New Voices New Rooms partnership, including multiple Owners Retreats, a virtual Publicity Speed Dating event, a virtual Genre Buzz event, and the multi-day in-person conference, once again in Arlington, VA.

SIBA will also be launching some new programs: a "fireside chat" discussion series on SIBA's Discord Community and a revamped and updated Peer Bookseller Resource Library featuring tools road-tested by bookstores. Also watch for the launch of The Bookstore Doctor, a financial check-up opportunity for bookstore owners, with bookstore owner and Professional Bookseller School dean Jill Hendrix (Fiction Addiction). SIBA will also be holding a 2024 Census of its bookstore members. The Census, which is open to any independent bookstore in SIBA territory, provides invaluable information for SIBA when planning new programming and anticipating the needs of its members.

Perhaps most importantly, SIBA members should watch for the announcement to review and approve SIBA's new bylaws. The SIBA Board has been working diligently for several years to update the organization's bylaws, including a new, more inclusive definition of a "core member bookstore." Read more in outgoing SIBA President Jamie Southern's Letter to Members.

It is a brave new bookselling world in the SIBA region, and such an exciting time to be a bookseller in the South.