This month SIBA reached a milestone as a steady influx of new bookstores joining the organization has brought our active membership total to 300 bookstores. Here are all our new bookstore members that joined since the New Voices New Rooms Conference in August:

Anna's New, Used and A Little Abused Books & More (Rockmart, GA)
Bentontown Books (Franklin, TN)
The Book Garden (Tarboro, NC)
The Book Rack (Charlotte, NC)
The Bookcase
The Bookdragon's Lair Bookstore (Port Charlotte, FL)
Bright Side Books & Wine (Raleigh, NC)
The Brown Dog Bookshop (Kennesaw, GA)
Citrus and Sage Bookshop (Brooksville, FL)
Dixon Books (Natchez, MS)
Favorites Bookstore (Batesville, MS)
Flutters and Flowers, LLC (Irmo, SC)
Goosey's Books (Hillsborough, NC)
The Hive (Knoxville, TN)
Mecklems dba Bookish Fort Smith (Fort Smith, AR
) The Spine Bookshop (Smyrna, TN)
Stir the Plot Books
TBR Books & Tea (Baton Rouge, LA)
Thrifted Shelf Used Book Store (Casselberry, FL)
Tide Turners Books & More (Poquoson, VA)
Triumvirate Books (Matthews, NC)
Turtle and Bea Book Boutique (Edgewater, FL)
Watermark Books LLC (Beaufort, NC)
Wilding's Bookshop (Lexington, KY)
Yer Mom's Bookstore and Wine Cafe Wine Cafe (Louisville, KY)

All told, SIBA has had 77 new bookstore members join the organization this year, 25% of our current membership, and an increase of 31% over 2024. And, of the 245 bookstores who were members in 2024, 223 have renewed for 2025. That is a 91% renewal rate, well above the average retention rate for trade organizations.

What does all this tell us? Broadly, the rise in new bookstores and the relatively small number of store closures suggest that despite a volatile economy and a strained political climate, booksellers in the South are galvanized and committed to their communities. It really is "a bright future" for Southern bookselling.