When I was a bookseller, I waited in a very long line at BookExpo to meet David Levithan, whose writing I cherished. When I finally got to the front of the line and met him, I shared how much his work meant to me and our customers. I invited him to our store, and (gently) thrust my business card into his hand. When his next book came out, we were on his tour. Was this a coincidence? I don’t know, but we had requested him through the grids time after time, and this was the first time we were chosen for his tour. 

Connecting with authors at conferences is one of the most compelling reasons to attend. If you’re an event-driven store, enjoy translating those special moments at keynotes, panels, and signing lines into stories to share when handselling an author’s book, or are seeking to discover new titles for your store through hearing about them from their creators, these connections make a difference. Authors are eager to meet the booksellers who promote their work out into the world to future readers. As we all have likely experienced, these in-person meetings begin and deepen relationships that may result in the author requesting your store on their tour, for a presale campaign, or a Zoom-in with your book club. 

This year’s NVNR features author event programming on every day of the conference, from our Early Bird Reception on Sunday evening to our Moveable Feast breakfast on Wednesday morning. Every day presents opportunities for booksellers to hear from and talk to the authors whose books will be on store shelves in the upcoming season. Because NVNR is smaller than a national conference, there’s more time to have longer conversations at events and in hallways, at author dinners and signing lines. As you get ready to attend NVNR, prepare your paper or digital business cards, update your press kit, and check out the list of over 90 authors attending the conference. Share the author list with your staff, too, to make sure you make the connections and get those special ARCs to make your store’s upcoming holiday season even brighter.

Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance

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