Nominations are now open for the Nancy Olson Bookseller Award, named for the late founder of Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina and a pillar of the literary community. The deadline to nominate is November 26, 2025.
An admirer of Olson, in conjunction with SIBA, awards two $2500 gifts in her memory in December. Recipients will be announced on December 18.
The award honors Nancy Olson: a legendary bookseller, a first-class wit, a remarkably gentle soul, and a tireless supporter of writers, especially new writers looking for a chance in the publishing world. Simply put, she was one of the best folks to ever work in the book business, and her Quail Ridge Books was—and is—a literary institution.
SIBA booksellers—but not owners—are eligible for the awards. Booksellers from stores who have received the award in the last two years are not eligible. Writers, readers, and/or storeowners may submit a name and any helpful information here. Individual booksellers may also nominate themselves.
While the nominations should explain why a particular nominee deserves to be selected, there are no hard and fast rules or requirements or guidelines for the submissions—the hope is to honor Nancy and recognize special booksellers who particularly excel in the areas important to Nancy: customer service and helping writers, especially new writers, reach their reading audience. The winners will be selected from these nominations by Sarah Goddin of Mcintyre’s Books, SIBA’s Linda-Marie Barrett, Nancy’s husband Jim, and the donor of the gifts.
The SIBA Annual Meeting on October 30th was attended by approximately 50 booksellers. The SIBA Board acknowledged the service of outgoing board member Jamie Anderson (Downtown Books, Manteo, NC) and welcomed incoming board member Dave Lucey (Page 158 Books, Wake Forest, NC) whose term begins in January. Board members reported on the work they have been doing in 2025, and the SIBA Staff reported on the state of the organization and plans for its upcoming transition to a new member platform and redesigned website.
Meeting Highlights:
SIBA Governance Policies Under Review
After SIBA members voted to adopt newly revised Bylaws in 2024, the board turned its attention to SIBA's governance policies; reviewing them to ensure they are in line with the bylaws relevant to SIBA's current situation, and responsive to member feedback. SIBA is run on the Carver Method of governance, and all board members receive Carver training.
Committees to be Established
In order to a create stronger connection between the Board and SIBA member bookstores, committees will be created to allow bookstores to provide their priorities to the board. Committees may be comprised of board members, booksellers, or a mix of both. The first will be a "Benefits Committee" tasked with looking at what other regional organizations offer and what SIBA members want. Other committees will be created based on member need and feedback.
State of SIBA Report
SIBA grew rapidly in 2025, experiencing almost a 30% growth in membership, and now stands at 290 Bookstore members. Member engagement is high for SIBA programming, including record-breaking attendance at the spring March Madness Bookseller Series and the annual New Voices New Rooms conference in Atlanta in August. SIBA has also produced well-received bookseller resources including a Banned Books Week Toolkit and an Anti-Racism Training Kit. SIBA's catalog program also received an increase in store participation compared to previous years.
Financial Stability
SIBA is likely to show some losses for both the annual New Voices New Rooms conference, which faced high prices in the Atlanta market, and for the holiday catalog, which is experiencing waning publisher support. However organization remains financially stable, thanks to its commitment to building reserves over the past five years.
A Bright Future
SIBA's plans to transition to a new membership platform and new website design are on schedule for mid-November. The new site will be more user-friendly with easier access to programs and member benefits.
Fifteen booksellers attended SIBA's New and Propective Owners Retreat on November 5th on Zoom. Moderated by Janet Geddis (Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA) and Alsace Walentine (Tombolo Books, St. Petersburg, FL), the event was an hour-long lively discussion over a wide range of topics including:
Concerns about potential delivery delays because of the government shutdown
Revising business plans and how to prepare for conversations with banks and lending institutions
Building good relationships with other local businesses
Running a business while maintaining another job
Managing tasks and workload
Hiring practices and using interns
Booksellers traded personal experiences and possible solutions for the different issues that were raised, such as noting how valuable it is to join local business organizations and groups, because participating in their programs helps build connections with other local entrepreneurs.
Booksellers traded their favorite systems for managing tasks, such as designating different days for different kinds of tasks, or using a "top three" priority system, with the most important task first, so that you always finish at least one important thing each day.
Attendees received a list of "Five Things to Do Right Now" for new store owners and a list of other helpful resources from SIBA Membership Coordinator Candice Huber. Contact Candice to request a copy.
More SIBA Owners Retreats are being planned for 2026.
The Southern Book Prize ballot launched on November 1, and has already received over 100 responses from readers and customers of 60+ bookstores in all 11 states in SIBA's territory.
As part of the ballot, readers are asked to name their local bookstore and say why they like to shop there. The responses, which in the past have ranged from "They have great staff" to "they carry every Star Wars book I'm looking for," are something SIBA staff always look forward to reading. SIBA also shares the nice things people say with the bookstores and on social media. Here are a few from the first week of voting:
"They are my favorite place to go in the city that I love. " --a customer of All Good Books in Columbia, SC
"I absolutely love the feeling when I step inside Square Books. It's like a warm hug from a friend you want to spend hours with. " -- a customer of Square Book in Oxford, MS
"Knowledge is power! Feed the people fuel the revolution!" --a customer of Blacksburg Books in Blacksburg, VA
"They do the best event programming!" --a customer of Charis Books & More in Decatur, GA
"THE best. It’s like stepping in between worlds. Great service too." --a customer of Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director: Reading: The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page. I just finished her Six Little Words and loved it, so am now starting her debut novel, which I might like even better. She’s very clever with characters and dialogue, and often quite funny.
Listening: The “Relaxing Guitar” station on Pandora is currently my favorite thing. It’s the perfect background music for dealing with all things Quickbooks (my focus these days).
Watching: Young Sheldon’s final season, The Great British Baking Show, and Beyond Paradise. It’s also the time of year to watch the Lord of the Rings extended versions.
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: I finished my crafting activism books! I'm excited to dig into Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams.
Listening: I'm still in spooky season mode, so I started Zomromcom by Olivia Dade. I'm hoping it's as entertaining as it sounds!
Watching: Finally started the last season of Squid Game. I also added 28 movies to my holiday watch list, and that doesn't include holiday specials and TV! Nov. 2 - Jan. 2 is my official holiday watch season :)
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard, by Jessica K. Whitehead. Listening: She Speaks! by Harriet Walter. Again. Don't judge me. Watching: Halloween night SP and I watched Carnival of Souls, which inspired every zombie movie that has been filmed since, and was even better than I remembered (5 stars for creepiness). I spent a little time mourning the fact that the Saltair Pavilion where it was filmed was long since burned down.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: Holiday gift making is in full swing, which is seriously cutting into my reading--at least for anything other than articles and patterns. Listening: I finished Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America and found it far more disturbing than any dystopian fiction I've ever read. The album of the week is Snocaps by Snocaps (Kate Crutchfield/Waxahatchee and her sister Alison).
Watching: Nicki chose the gorgeously haunting and unsettling Carnival of Souls (1962) to watch Halloween night, and I've thought about it every day since. Dreamlike (like an actual dream, not a Hollywood dream), melancholy, creepy, and mysterious, it's gone straight onto the list of my favorite films.
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: Now that I've got my Best of the Year List pretty much down, I'm reading whatever I feel like - even backlist! Currently I'm reading Leigh Stein's If You're Seeing This, It's Meant For You. A friend gave it to me and I'm loving it.
Listening: Amy Pohler hosted Kate McKinnon on her Good Hang podcast recently and it's a magical episode.
Watching: I am waiting for election results to come in tonight!
This month, as part of its "A Bright Future" transition to a new platform and website, SIBA has upgraded its email service, which will now be handled by the state of the art email delivery service, Constant Contact. The move coincides with a shiny new design for SIBA's newsletters using SIBA's new logo and branding. Most importantly, Constant Contact's system offers a more stable and reliable platform, which means a better experience for SIBA's members no matter what device they use to read their email.
SIBA members started receiving email via Constant Contact last week. Members do not need to do anything to update their accounts in order to remain subscribed to SIBA notifications. In fact, once SIBA's transition to its new website is completed, members will be able to have even more control over the kinds of email they wish to receive from the organization.
Voting for the 2026 Southern Book Prize opens next week. The full list of books
on the ballot will be announced publicly on November 1 on the Southern Book Review website at southernbookprize.com.
However, SIBA Booksellers can see all the finalists here:
Orders placed for any of the finalist titles from Ingram will receive an extra 2% discount, no code required.
SIBA has also created a marketing toolkit for bookstores which includes posters, flyers, shelf talkers, logos,
and code stores can use to embed the Southern Book Prize ballot on their own websites, so they can encourage their customers to vote.
What SBP means for bookstores:
Wide-scale consumer target marketing program: Authors and publishers with books on the ballot will independently ask their readers and followers to vote.
Ongoing social media and newsletter support from SIBA.
Voting customers entered into a raffle to receive a selection of the books on the ballot and a $100 gift card to their local indie bookstore.
For more information about The Southern Book Prize and how it can be used for your store, reach out to Nicki Leone at nicki@sibaweb.com .
SIBA's fall survey asked booksellers about the effect of tariffs and the ongoing government shutdown on their businesses. A significant number of the respondents said they had been effected by one or both issues:
Are current or proposed tariffs affecting your business?
58% of respondents answered "yes." Some of the issued noted include:
Price increases on books
Security system upgrades and planned construction costs have increased
Tariffs affecting the costs for goods and shipping from overseas
Low traffic from international markets
People planning cheaper holiday celebrations or not planning to travel for the holidays
When ordering sidelines, we're particularly careful to avoid products that have been hit with rising tariffs
Is the government shutdown affecting your business?
38% of respondents answered "yes." Issues noted include:
Customers are not spending as much
Slow foot traffic
People are in a wait-and-see mindset
“Come November 1st, our area will definitely be worried.”
“We live in an area that has many Navy and Air Force families”
The survey will remain up through the end of October. SIBA invites booksellers to add their experiences. The information will help to inform SIBA's strategy and programming for 2026.
SIBA wants to hear from its members. If you need help, resources, advocacy, or simply a friendly ear, please reach out to our membership coordinator, Candice Huber, candice@sibaweb.com or to our executive director, Linda-Marie Barrett, lindamarie@sibaweb.com. We’re here for you.
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading: I'm rereading The Art Thieves by Andrea L. Rogers for my book club. We timed this read for Native American Heritage Month, as the writer is Cherokee and the book is an example of Cherokee Futurism. It’s a YA near-future apocalyptic time-travel love story with a lot of heart, thrills, and wisdom. Love it.
Listening: It’s finally raining after weeks of drought in WNC. The sound of gentle rain is heavenly.
Watching: After seeing the mysterious and very dapper gentleman among the French police after the Louvre jewel heist, we decided to watch Poirot again. We’re mixing it up with Young Sheldon, which we haven’t finished yet.
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: Still struggling, but I'm setting my TBR and hoping I can read more in 2026! Listening: Almost finished The Stranger in Room Six. Less than an hour left!
Watching: I've watched 16 spooky/silly movies for the season! Most recently, I watched Death Becomes Her (1992), The Babysitter (2017), and The Monkey (2025), none of which I'd seen before. I had fun with all of them, but especially Death Becomes Her, as I'm excited to see the musical when the traveling show launches in 2026!
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard, by Jessica K. Whitehead. It was given to my mom by my uncle, but both Mom and I are enamored of Hubbard's own book, Shantyboat. This biography has its flaws, but Hubbard's paintings are beautifully reproduced, and remind me a lot of Charles Burchfield. For fiction, I have The Salvage by Anbara Salam, from Tin House. Marine archaeology, Victorian shipwrecks, the wild and rocky Scottish coastline. I can't tell you how often I wanted to just stop work early to read. Listening: She Speaks! by Harriet Walter. Yes, I have the book. But who in the world would deprive themselves of a Harriet Walter performance? Watching: The new Maigret. It's filmed like those scenes you look at through an old fashioned Viewmaster. Dreamy. A hint of sepia. Filled with light.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: I'm still reading The Club: Where American Women Artists Found Refuge in Belle Époque Paris and more convinced than ever that I'm living in the wrong time.
Listening: Still listening to Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America and finding it chillingly fascinating.
Watching: The recent death of Prunella Scales (probably best known as Sybil in Fawlty Towers) led me to rewatching her in her actual greatest role, Elizabeth Mapp in Mapp and Lucia. If you know, you know.
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: I took a quick break in my Halloween books to read Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre and it was an altogether different type of horror. It's heartbreaking to read but it was so important to her that she got her story out.
Listening: No updates on that front since last week.
Watching: We went to a silent movie at an outdoor amphitheater last night and it was so cool! We watched The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with a Latin band playing along. The 125-year-old movie was amazing (the sets!) and it was such a cool Halloween-y experience.
SIBA wants to hear from its member bookstores to help guide the organization's efforts and advocacy. Booksellers are asked to fill out a short, two-question survey on how tariffs and the government shut down are impacting their businesses. All information specific to individual stores will be kept confidential, though anonymous examples may be cited in reports of trends.
The Read This Next! Young Readers list for November and December has been taken over by cats and dragons! These six bookseller favorites are full of adventure, heart, and the importance of believing in yourself.
Read is why Southen indie booksellers love these books:
Broken by X. Fang Broken is a gentle story of a little girl with big feelings rendered in soft layered colored pencil. This story is simple, but soothing, and a reminder that what's broken can always be fixed (and to perhaps not trust cats, who are
always up to something). – Julie Jarema, Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Dragonborn by Struan Murray Absolutely loved this. What a great twist for readers who love dragons but are moving onto books with heavier themes and twists. A great read for friends who loved KPop demon hunters (I can't think of higher praise than that!). – Stacey
Sanford, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
Winging It by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Michelle Mee Nutter (illus.) Go on Luna's journey of self-growth as she navigates a life-changing move across the country with her father, surviving a new middle school while still mourning her long deceased mother. Beautiful illustrations, great story line and satisfying
feel good ending! Now I'm off to search for the ever elusive Luna Moth... – Barb Rascon, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
The Last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd With magical prose and a fun cast of quirky characters, middle-grade readers are sure to be swept away by this heartfelt adventure story. – Cindy Otis, The Stacks Bookstore in
Savannah, Georgia
Moon Cat by Casi Cole, Amanda Romanick (illus.) A unique bedtime story for the space explorer and the feline-lover. Join Moon Cat as it moves through the night and space sharing so much of the quiet glittering
world. The illustrations took my breath away. – Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Tea Is Love by Adib Khorram, Hanna Cha (illus.) Stunning. The cadence of only a few words combined with brilliant illustrations convey so much and evoke so many memories and feelings. – Jennifer Sauter-Price,
Read Early And Daily (R.E.A.D.) in Arlington, Virginia
Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review
The fall NVNR Owners Strategy Session began with booksellers sharing their 4th Quarter plans and strategies, before opening the discussion to a variety of issues that were "top of mind" for booksellers in the current uncertain economic climate.
4th Quarter Strategies takeaways:
1. Take Care
Self-care is important for owners and staff during the busy holiday season!
Build breaks and meal times for staff into the schedule.
Building in time for breaks reduces stress and increases productivity.
Plan post-season holiday or down time, and treat yourself to something special.
Delegate tasks when possible.
Create a manual of employee guidelines and important store functions.
2. Tariffs
Tariffs are affecting both costs and availability of books.
Be prepared for key titles to sell out and unable to be restocked in time for Christmas gift purchases.
Encourage customers to order early if they need a specific book.
Have frank and honest conversations with people about how tariffs are affecting the store.
3. Pop-Up Stores
A plan for running pop-up and offsite locations during the holiday can increase sales and reach new customers.
Look for town and community sponsored events like local festivals, open holiday markets, and smaller private events run by other community groups, churches, book clubs, etc.
Offsite and pop-up stores are time-consuming and demanding for the staff, so prioritize them based on your resources and goals.
Doing pop-ups increases your visibility in the community, and can reach people who otherwise would not see your storefront.
4. Social Media
It is important to showcase the exterior of the bookstore, not just individual books or interior photos. It help people recognize the store as part of their community.
Having a TikTok channel can increase store exposure and reach new audiences, and can be worth pushing past any reticence or embarrassment about posting.
5. Damages
Damages continue to be a problem, which booksellers find very frustrating when they occur with expensive "deluxe" editions of books with high price tags.
The risk of damage is reduced when books are ordered in carton quantities.
Report issues with damaged shipments to sales reps, who can intercede on the store's behalf.
Reporting damages via Batch makes it easier to receive credits from the publishers in a timely manner.
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading:Six Little Words by Sally Page. Gorgeously written novel set in Dorset, England, and infused with color and nature imagery. I look forward to settling in with it each evening.
Listening: As I tend to spend my waking hours avoiding listening to music coming at me electronically, I am more and more tuned into the sounds of the world just outside my office window. Wind, rain, birdsong, the crunch of leaves as creatures (including human creatures) shuffle by are my daily background.
Watching: I have finished all the cozy murder and romantic dramas currently in my queue and need recommendations.
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: All my new issues of crochet and cross stitch magazines! Working hard on holiday gifts!
Listening: The Stranger in Room Six by Jane Corry. It's not exactly what I thought, but the characters and audiobook reader have me hooked in enough that I'm interested to see what happens.
Watching: I watched my thirteenth spooky (ish) movie of the season, I Don't Understand You. It's about a gay couple who takes a vacation to Italy that does NOT go as planned when they start accidentally murdering people. It was mostly comedy, and I wasn't a fan of the ending, but it was entertaining enough!
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: Between SIBA's big transition to the "bright future" and adjusting to living with my folks and their schedules, I'm not getting much reading done. I have a couple of pocket guides to trees and birds I take with me when I walk the dog, but I'm looking forward to when SIBA launches its new website so that I can settle back with my BWR (Big Winter Read) - something dense and deep and at least 500 pages long. Listening: Two of my favorite podcasts have new episodes: Slightly Foxed is all about the Brontes, how fun is that? And Between the Covers features the poet Diana Arterian, whose new book gives voice to a Roman Empress known almost exclusively for being Nero's mother. These imaginitive dives into the minds of women sidelined by history are like honey to me. Watching: The birdfeeders have just been filled for the winter, so most of my "watching" is with binoculars, looking out the kitchen window that has the best view.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: Jennifer Dasal's The Club: Where American Women Found Refuge in Belle Époque Paris has been in my queue for a little while and it's finally underway. It's so much my kind of thing, I sort of think I made it up.
Listening: The audiobook of Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America. Given my predilection for all things scammy and culty, this well-researched history of multi-level marketing by the journalist Bridget Read is completely fascinating. Watching: October usually means old horror movies for me, from the ridiculous (Manos: Hands of Fate) to the sublime (Cat People) to the sublimely ridiculous (The Lair of the White Worm). And speaking of sublimely ridiculous monsters, I am also watching The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: Well, I forgot that I have book club tonight so I am cramming Liliana's Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza today, I guess.
Listening: Call me basic but I can't stop bopping to "Opalite" from the new Taylor Swift album. It's so dang catchy!
Watching: The changing leaves outside! Fall is hitting RVA and I love it. Now, let's get these mosquitoes gone.
SIBA is on schedule to transition to a new member database and redesigned website before the end of the year. Here is an update from the staff on what they are doing and what SIBA's transition means to them.
Linda-Marie Barrett
Executive Director
SIBA's transition to NOVI, our new association management system, is like moving to a new home. Or, actually, building a new home, because on the other side of this we'll have completely redesigned our website. The transition involves a very thoughtful process of discernment and attention to detail, with considerations around accuracy of data, accessibility, aesthetics, and discoverability of information. It's all very exciting, and also very brainy! Each of us on the SIBA team have different parts to play in the transition, and my latest projects involve a website branding review and all things QuickBooks. QuickBooks syncs with NOVI and I've been working in QuickBooks to clean up data, match it with our current association management system data, and get ready for the sync! As I've been doing this matching, I'm seeing members-stores, publisher reps, authors-who have been part of the SIBA community for decades, or are new to us, or no longer with us; it's been a fascinating review that makes me feel an even greater respect for and dedication to the community we've built over 50 years.
Candice Huber
Membership & Social Media Coordinator
What I'm working on: In short, refining, updating, and enhancing the bookstore member database. In long, a big part of our system transition is ensuring the membership database holds accurate data and that we're collecting all the data we need to best serve our members. This means going line by line through every member bookstore to ensure records are accurate and reviewing and creating all the fields of data we both currently collect and want to collect going forward. As Membership Coordinator, the project of reviewing every bookstore member record has been interesting and informative. I've really enjoyed learning so much about all of our member stores, and I feel like I'll be able to serve everyone better because of it. I'm really excited about the new system, because it will be much more user friendly, and our members will have an easier time navigating both their own profiles and information with SIBA and our website!
Nicki Leone
Communications/SysAdmin
I've been with SIBA for a long time now and have seen the organization through many website and database updates and upgrades. It's always an equally fun and fraught process, but our current transition feels especially significant because SIBA has changed and grown so significantly since 2020; with new leadership, a new expanded membership, and newly updated bylaws. My main job for this transition is oversight and managing the transfer of website content and the member database. I look at a lot of spreadsheet data! And a lot of website and email templates! But it is great because I feel like we're creating a place for SIBA's members that reflects who they are and what their priorities are. My most recent project has been to move SIBA's emailing system to the Constant Contact platform, where it will be easier for members to manage the kinds of email they want to receive from SIBA.
SP Rankin Website Administrator
What I'm Working On: Preparing website content for the launch of the new SIBA website. Our goals are to make the information that's most important to current and potential SIBA members easy to find and easy to use. We're also focusing on site accessibility, from everything to legibility to ensuring all images have alt text. As we move SIBA's email communications to a new platform, we've redesigned and refreshed our templates, again with a focus on accessibility, consistency, and prioritizing smooth delivery on mobile devices.
Posted By Shari Stauch, Main Street Reads,
Thursday, October 16, 2025
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.
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading: Six Little Words by Sally Page. Gorgeously written novel set in Dorset, England, and infused with color and nature imagery. Loving it! Listening: The neighborhood outside my office is particularly peaceful this time of year, so mostly hearing the sounds of birds, though occasionally my day is interrupted by a bear fumbling with the garbage bins next door, hoping to snag an extra meal.
Watching: Alternating between Australia (Return to Paradise) and England (The Marlow Murder Club).
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: Still on all the craftivism books I bought! There are like five, so it'll take me a minute to get through them.
Listening: Like the rest of the world, I've gotten into the soundtrack for K-Pop Demon Hunters. Golden is truly a great hype song!
Watching: All the (silly) spooky movies! Thus far, I've watched The Parenting, Ready or Not, and K-Pop Demon Hunters, all of which are new to me, and both Addams Family movies, Beetlejuice, The Haunted Mansion (2023), Hocus Pocus, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, all movies that I love to watch this time of year. I'd love to hear what you think I should watch next!
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: Fonesca by Jessica Francis Kane. Listening: Baldwin, A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs is still on tap, but I just heard Harriet Walter talking about her book She Speaks! on the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, wherein Walter creates speechs for all the Shakespeare women characters she's played, saying the things she thinks they would have said if they could, or that she wished they would have said given have a chance. Her take on Gertrude is something else. Watching: Movie night with SP was Dance, Girl Dance, which is gloriously feminist, relentlessly honest, and amazingly radical. I can't believe it ever got past the censors.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: I finished Mirage City, Lev AC Rosen's newest installment in his Evander Mills mystery series. Mostly set in 1950s (pre-Stonewall, pre-Harvey Milk) San Francisco, the newest book ventures to Los Angeles, and as in Rosen's other books seamlessly blends queer history into a moody, noir atmosphere. Listening: This week's song is the band Lucius's slightly spooky cover of Gerry Rafferty's 1970s classic "Right Down the Line," from their 2018 album, NUDES.
Watching: Nicki and I watched the 1940 classic Dance, Girl, Dance, directed by Dorothy Arzner and starring Maureen O'Hara as a naive but determined dancer and Lucille Ball as an equally determined sharpie with a heart of coal. Slyly subversive and bracingly feminist, and so ahead of its time it took critics decades to catch up. .
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: Mate by Ali Hazelwood! I needed a refresher on the end of Bride but so far it's great. Listening: Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith is my current audiobook - it's a horror book about a horror movie, which I love.
Watching: Every cheesy horror movie that I can get on the TV screen.
Unreliable narrators, unhinged characters, and anti-heroes -- Read This Next! November is a rambunctious collection of memorable and irrepressible voices.
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.
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading: Just finished Ali Smith’s brilliant Autumn and started Susan Coll’s The Literati. This humorous novel chronicles the main character’s challenges (demanding authors, MIA boss, clueless board of directors) as she tries to pull off a high-profile event hosted by the struggling literary non-profit she just joined two weeks earlier. Stress city! Listening: Tapping into the most soothing channels on my Pandora and Calm apps. Lovely. Watching: Return to Paradise, a spin-off of Death in Paradise, and just as fun. The Australian coast is gorgeous. Continuing with The Marlow Murder Club and the newest season of The Great British Baking Show.
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: Right now, I'm back and forth among Let's Move the Needle by Shannon Downey, Guerrilla Kindness & Other Acts of Creative Resistance by Sayraphim Lothian, and Craft Activism by Joan Tapper. Plus, my new edition of Crochet Nation arrived! Listening: Started Murder Most Haunted by Emma Mason. This spooky season, I've gotten really into books with older folks as the main characters solving murder mysteries. Watching: Only Murders in the Building, of course! I also watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time probably since attending midnight showings in the 90s where we yelled at the screen, and the music still definitely rocks hard. I can't believe that was Tim Curry's film debut, he is so perfect! And I still yelled at the screen.
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: Fonesca by Jessica Francis Kane. Back to The Green Equinox, which I did not finish in time for book club. Listening: Baldwin, A Love Story by Nicholas Boggs. I'll probably get the print edition. Watching: The clock tick down to the moment they announce the Nobel for Literature. Typically, I've never read anything by this year's recipient -- which seems a shame since László Krasznahorkai has written about a million books, and the way his work is described, "bleakly funny," is definitely my cup of tea.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: Lev AC Rosen's Mirage City arrived in my e-reader and I'm starting it tonight. Listening: To kick off spooky season, I listened to The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. It was funny, gross, creepy, terrifying, moving, and a satisfyingly merciless takedown of the patriarchy. Watching: Also to kick off spooky season and to celebrate a half-century of genre- and gender-bending weird wonderfulness, I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the millionth time. It wasn't quite as much fun as a midnight showing in 1979, but it's still a thrill when Tim Curry taps his foot as the elevator descends.
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: An adorable compilation of YA love stories inspired by Taylor Swift songs called 13 Little Love Stories. There are so many great contributors! I do wish it was a little more queer though. Listening: TS12 (The Life of a Showgirl), of course! I really like it despite some cringy lyrics because most of the music is just catchy as all get out. Watching: Love is Blind! It's a terrible season with mostly dislikeable people and I can't get enough.
RSS
Nominations are now open for the Nancy Olson Bookseller Award, named for the late founder of Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina and a pillar of the literary community. The deadline to nominate is November 26, 2025.
The Southern Book Prize ballot 
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Candice Huber / Membership:
Nicki Leone / Communications:
SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
The fall NVNR Owners Strategy Session began with booksellers sharing their 4th Quarter plans and strategies, before opening the discussion to a variety of issues that were "top of mind" for booksellers in the current uncertain economic climate. 
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. 
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