SIBA's newsletter for the week of October 16, 2025 is now available. 

Contents:

• Why swipe fee reform is important to bookstores
• Update from SIBA Staff on SIBA's transition to a new membership platform and website
• Read This Next! November: the unhinged and unreliable narrator

Last week, I joined bookstore and retail advocates from across the country in Washington, D.C., for a “Fly-In” sponsored in part by the American Booksellers Association, to meet with members of Congress — all to push for a simple but vital reform that impacts every independent bookseller: swipe fee reform.

Happily, the senators' offices we met with were receptive to the message but also non-committal. Meaning: more pressure is needed from retailers and consumers alike to push this one over the finish line!

Every time a customer uses a credit card, merchants pay “swipe fees” to banks and networks — fees that have more than doubled over the past decade. These costs don’t just hit retailers. They ripple outward, increasing prices for everything from books and groceries to medical bills, fuel, and vet visits.

That’s why the American Booksellers Association is calling on us to urge Congress to support the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) — a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS). The CCCA would require that credit cards issued by the largest U.S. banks be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks, giving merchants the power to choose a lower-cost, more secure alternative. One network could remain Visa or Mastercard; the other could be an independent network like Star, NYCE, or Shazam.

This would make a difference. In many other countries, merchants pay just one-seventh to one-eighth of the swipe fees we do. And despite claims from credit card companies that reform would hurt rewards, the numbers tell a different story: last year, swipe fees generated close to $185 billion, while rewards paid out totaled about $40 billion — mostly funded by membership fees and interest, not by merchants.

We’re now at critical mass. For many booksellers and any US business accepting Visa/MC, swipe fees have become the single largest operational cost after labor. If we can’t control this cost, our ability to serve our communities is at risk.

“Swipe fees have become the highest operational cost after labor for most bookstores.”

 Take Action Today
It takes just a minute! Visit Bookweb’s Advocacy Action Center to email your members of Congress and urge them to support the Credit Card Competition Act. Let’s use our voices — together — to level the playing field for independent bookstores everywhere.

Shari Stauch
Main Street Reads
Summerville, SC

Unreliable narrators, unhinged characters, and anti-heroes -- Read This Next! November is a rambunctious collection of memorable and irrepressible voices.

RTNX Bookseller Resources:
Edelweiss Collection | Flyer | Flyer Graphic

What SIBA Booksellers have to say:

Best Offer Wins: A Novel by Marisa Kashino
Meet your new favorite anti-hero, Margot. She's smart, she's accomplished, she's driven ... but she's also stressed and desperate for a forever home. If you like stories that make you laugh and cringe in equal measure, this is the perfect appalling tale for you!
–Maggie Robe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

I, Medusa: A Novel by Ayana Gray
I'm always up for an origin story and especially like to hear a familiar tale from a different character's perspective. I, Medusa delivers this and more. Gray explores timely themes of power, diversity, agency and humanity through a mythological lens.
– Ginger Young, Wordsworth Books in Little Rock, Arkansas

The White Hot: A Novel by Quiara Alegría Hudes
A perfectly flawed narrator who I found myself in equal measures horrified by and empathizing with throughout the novel. April's rage screams from the pages at times and quietly seethes at others. Abandonment is at the heart of this novel but also reclamation of the self.
– Kelsey Jagneaux, Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, Florida

Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams
his book not only delves into the intricacies of running a black bookstore but also explores the vibrant narratives and rich experiences within these spaces. They offer a deep dive into the triumphs and trials that bookstore owners face and a nuanced understanding of the dedication and passion involved.
– VaLinda Payne-Miller, Turning Page Bookshop in Goose Creek, South Carolina

Flat Earth: A Novel by Anika Jade Levy
This book spoke to me on levels that nothing else this year has even come close to. Anika Jade Levy is no stranger to the art, good writing, or insufferable people you meet in your 20s, and her debut novel homes in on these facts and crafts a dystopian, frolicking book I could not put down.
– Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review.

About Read This Next!

Based on our booksellers' conviction that you can never have too many good books, Read This Next! is a list of books coming out next month that booksellers are especially excited about. Read This Next! Kids is a bimonthly list of forthcoming Children's and Young Adult Books receiving Southern indie bookseller love. Each list includes resources for booksellers, including an Edelweiss collection, downloadable flyer, and sharable graphic. All the included books are featured in The Southern Bookseller Review newsletter, and promoted as "Weekend Reads" on SIBA's social media channels, along with the bookstore which wrote the review.

Whenever I went to an ABA event, I would look for Dan Cullen, the ABA’s former senior strategy officer. His quick smile and reassuring words soothed me as I introvertedly entered a big crowd where I likely knew few people well. He was the kindest man with the best laugh, and always gave me a warm welcome.

I first met him when he was presenting at an ABA education session on efficiency. He wore a t-shirt that read “Deadlines Amuse Me.” The session was great, and I admired his self-deprecating sense of humor as well as his passion for a job well done. I would come to know him as a fierce advocate for indie booksellers, ever open to conversations around how we could improve our industry. 

When the ABA staff were doing volunteer stints at stores during the holidays, he volunteered at Malaprop’s, my former bookselling home. He brought his familiar cheery spirit and a willingness to do anything we needed. He became our official gift wrapper. He also diplomatically noted that our signage could be better. I gathered that he often got lost in our maze of bookshelves while leading customers to where he thought/hoped/prayed a book might be, furiously scanning for our artsy, hard-to-read, and imaginatively placed section signs. We fixed them shortly after his visit.

The ABA held its 2015 Winter Institute in Asheville, and I had a chance, once again, to see Dan for more than the usual conversation in a hallway during a conference. The photo is from the ABA’s opening reception, where he’s speaking with my husband, Jon Mayes, the former PGW rep for the Southeast. I’m in the background, kind of a ghost between them. Dan’s expression is pure Dan. 

When I heard of his passing, I was shocked because I can’t imagine a world without him. Not because I knew him so well, as I wish I’d known him better, but because he was such a bright light, the kind of light we need especially now. I’m sure he is greatly missed by every life he’s touched. We send our deepest sympathy and love to his family and friends.

Linda-Marie Barrett
Executive Director

Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: How to Fake a Southern Gentleman by Mayra Cuevas and Marie Marquardt. A romcom based in Atlanta and set against a backdrop of racism, classism, and misogyny. Must finish ASAP and begin Autumn by Ali Smith for my book club discussion next week.
Listening: To lively bird chatter and the end-of-season clicking and droning of insects outside my office window.
Watching: Fall colors are brightening up the landscape in Western North Carolina. On SP’s suggestion I’m enjoying The Marlow Murder Club, which offers the usual British cozy features: beautiful setting, multiple murders in a village where everyone knows everyone, and tea offered to folks in distress. Every Friday I’m watching the newest episode of the Great British Baking Show because it’s the best TV ever.

Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories by Virginia Woolf. Various books about identifying mushrooms.
Listening: The audiobook version of Penelope's Bones: A New History of Homer's World Through the Women Written Out of It by Emily Hauser.
Watching: Well there was the Yankees' Wild Card games. I didn't even know what that meant until mom and dad took it upon themselves to educate me. But a lot of my "watching" lately, or maybe "looking" would be a better word, has been while I am walking Lucy in the woods. Yesterday we found a big patch of "chicken in the woods" -- which is an edible fungi that tastes like, well, take a guess. Not that we were brave enough to test it ourselves. Lucy, who will eat almost anything, was NOT INTERESTED.

SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: Not reading yet since it doesn't come out until next week, but I am looking forward to Mirage City, the next book in Lev AC Rosen's queer noir Evander Mills series set in 1950s San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Listening: I saved up the latest episodes of some culty/MLM podcasts for a recent road trip which made the miles just fly by.
Watching: The Crow Girl, a very dark and twisty British adaptation of a Swedish thriller/crime series of novels. Think The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo meets Killing Eve meets every single British procedural with a frumpily dressed workaholic woman detective with a complicated personal life, AKA the perfect show!

Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: All the scary books I can get my hands on! Currently I'm into Widow's Point by a father/son team we're hosting next week.
Listening & Watching: I'm combining these this week because we binged The English Teacher this weekend and it's got a bangin' soundtrack of 80's and 90's gems.

The Southern Book Prize season is almost upon us! Designed to highlight indie booksellers as a trustworthy source for what to read next, and to extend the shelf life (and therefore sales) of the buzz-worthy books of the year, the list of finalists will be announced to the public on November 1, and the ballot will open for the bookstores' customers to vote on "the best Southern books of the year."

SIBA Bookstores should watch their inboxes next week for an early sneak peek of the 2026 Southern Book Prize finalists. Member stores receive advance notice to give them time to check stock levels and make plans for their own displays and social media campaigns.

What to expect: The Southern Book Prize timeline

October 1: Six finalists are chosen in the three categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, and Young Readers. Finalists are chosen from books that have received the most nominations and positive reviews from SIBA member bookstores, and represent the favorite "handsells" of Southern booksellers for the year. Read more about eligibility requirements here.

October 15: Booksellers receive the list of finalists, and their Southern Book Prize toolkit with SBP marketing assets including downloadable flyers, shelf talkers, and bookmarks as well as social media graphics. SIBA also arranges an additional 2% discount with Ingram for orders of finalist titles. No code required.

November 1: The Southern Book Prize Ballot is launched at The Southern Bookseller Review. The ballot is meant to be a tool for bookstores to use get their customers engaged in the question of what should be the best Southern book of the year. Anyone can vote, but readers have to list their local bookstore, and say what they love about it. In the past this has created a truly heartwarming collection of praise for SIBA's member stores, ranging from "They always recommend great books" to "They keep every Star Wars novel in stock." SIBA provides bookstores with the option to host the ballot on their own website and drive traffic to their own store.

November 1 - January 31: The Southern Book Prize voting period. During this time SIBA will promote what booksellers have to say about each of the eighteen finalists. They will be featured in The Southern Bookseller Review, and shared on social media with the reviewing store, the author, and the publisher tagged.

February 14: Southern Book Prize Winners announced. From February 1-14, SIBA hosts a Southern Book Prize social media scavenger hunt to get readers engaged in the outcome and following Southern indie bookstores.

An annual meeting may not sound like the most riveting hour you could spend, but here are some very good reasons to attend:

1. You will hear what SIBA has done over the past year. SIBA is an active organization with a full programming schedule. Find out what your SIBA membership makes you a part of.
2. You will hear about what SIBA is planning. There is a reason SIBA calls it "A bright future."
3. You will hear from your SIBA Board. They has been working hard all year on behalf of their fellow booksellers and they are looking forward to talking about what they have been doing.
4. You can ask questions and raise your concerns with SIBA's staff and board. And you can hear the questions and concerns your fellow bookstores raise. You are not alone in the challenges you face.
5. You will hear about resources that can help your business. Did you know that SIBA recently released a Banned Books Week toolkit for stores? Or that the SIBA Board is offering free DEI training to SIBA members?

SIBA's Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, October 30 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

SIBA's mission is to help its member bookstores become more successful and profitable businesses. Come to the annual meeting to hear how we are doing that.

Register now

As part of SIBA's "a bright future" transition to a new website and member platform, the organization is consolidating and reorganizing some of its website content. Beginning in October, the newsletter and blog archives will move offsite and will no longer be updated on the current website platform. All newsletter content will be available in SIBA's "In the land of SIBA" newsfeed.

As part of its commitment to an anti-racist stance and to confront bias in the book industry, SIBA is making its innovative 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge available as a packaged training kit for bookstores. The training kit supports businesses in educating staff and community on how anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging enrich and better connect all of us.

The kit is divided into three sections, which seek to help users confront and dismantle bias at ever-widening levels. The sections can be pulled out and used individually for personal training, or they can be used together for a longer training, group sessions, and community dialogue. It includes self-guided lessons, worksheets, concrete action items, journal prompts, and in-depth recourse lists. The toolkit is built for bookstores; however, SIBA encourages anyone in the industry to use it for personal and professional training and reflection.

Click here to request a training kit.

SIBA Executive Director Linda-Marie Barrett said, "Our goal and hope for SIBA’s Anti-Racism Training Kit is to provide an important and very usable resource to our member bookstores. This toolkit is tailored to consider the concerns and challenges of our industry, and organized to be used selectively or as a whole. Whether you’re doing the work on yourself, your store, or the community you serve, our kit offers resources, potential actions, and reflections that apply in the bookstore and beyond."

Inspired by a similar program from the Food Solutions New Englang, SIBA created its original 21-Day Racial Equity Challange in 2021, and has offered it yearly since its inception, as part of the organization's commitment to confronting racism and bias.

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance stands against racism. SIBA is committed to amplifying and supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) voices in our membership and industry and to offering educational programming on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to members, SIBA staff, and Board.

November 5 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern on Zoom

SIBA will host an owner's retreat for new and prospective bookstore owners on November 5 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern / 12:00 noon Central, on Zoom. The event moderators will be Alsace Walentine, owner of Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, Florida and Janet Geddis, owner of Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia.

SIBA has seen unprecedented growth in its membership in 2024-2025, averaging approximately 50 new bookstores per year, and the organization expect to reach 300 bookstore members by the end of 2025. Many of the new members are also brand new or not-yet-open bookstores. SIBA created the New and Prospective Bookstore Owners Retreat in order to provide networking opportunities, access to resources, and to help these new businesses succeed.

The retreat is intended for prospective and new (open under two years) bookstore owners to give them an opportunity to share information and advice on the challenges of establishing a new business.

Register here (requires login)