Monday Morning Coffee Recap

Good morning, friends.

Happy Monday! For those in the path of the winter storm that blew through this weekend, I hope that it was more a pretty event than one that caused hardship. Because of our recent experience with Hurricane Helene, in western North Carolina we double-checked our emergency supplies and reached out to friends in the community to make sure everyone was ready for the possibility of no power. Which brings me to one of the topics in last week’s newsletter…

• If you’re a store owner, please join us on Thursday (1/16 at 6:00 PM ET on Zoom)  for a New Voices New Rooms Owners Strategy Session. The topic is "Safety Strategies" for your store and your staff. Topics could range from an emergency response plan in case of natural disaster, fire, gas leak, etc, to social unrest and protest concerns, tips for handling unruly customers in-person and online, digital safety, etc. Share what you’re doing and learn from your colleagues about ways you could put more protocols in place. Register Here 

• SIBA's New Member Orientation is 1/29 at 1:00 PM on Zoom. SIBA hosts an orientation at the beginning of every year to introduce new members to the organization and to touch base with regular members. If you have any questions about SIBA programs or member benefits, this is a chance to ask them.

Check out last week’s newsletter for info on scholarships and financial assistance available to you, and learn about our upcoming store-led Southern Book Prize scavenger hunt! As always, please let us know if you have questions, want to offer suggestions, or just say hello. We’re here for you!

Sincerely,
Linda-Marie Barrett
Executive Director

The Nancy Olson Bookseller Award
Deadline is January 31.

The award, honoring the late founder of Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina, recognizes booksellers who go above and beyond in their calling. Two $2500 gifts will be awarded. Read more about eligibility and how to apply here: Nominate a Bookseller

The Sarah McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers
Deadline is March 21.

Two grants of $1,500 each will be awarded to be used toward craft development (writing classes, retreats, conferences, travel), work-related materials (notebooks, laptops, software, research, etc.), childcare, bills, or any other financial obstacle. Full eligibility criteria and grant application

Marketing Resource: The ABA has put out a really useful Q1 checklist.

Ingram Extra Discount: Ingram has an Advanced Ordering Program. If you backorder any new release at least 6 weeks (42 days) before the pub date, you get an extra 2% discount.

Job Opportunity: Simon & Schuster is looking for an Associate Director of Client Sales! Info here.

Indie Press Month Display Contest: March is Indie Press Month, and the Independent Publishers Caucus wants to see your displays. The first 5 stores to post to Instagram on March 5 will receive $50 in co-op. The winner of the display contest will receive a $500 prize. You must sign up by February 26th to participate. More information and sign up here.

FREE Audiobooks from Libro for Onyx Storm Release Parties: Libro is offering free copies of the Onyx Storm audiobook for your event attendees. More info here.

Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Tell It to Me Singing by Tita Ramírez, a Fiction finalist for SIBA's 2025 Southern Book Prize. This book is just what I needed to read right now, offering very moving insights into the Cuban immigrant experience in Miami, balanced with very funny scenes when characters watch a steamy telenovela and compare it to their lives.
Listening: To a neighbor child with the most delightful staccato laugh punctuate my day with his joy.
Watching: While waiting for the next season of All Creatures Great and Small, am touring around Australia with "Darby and Joan" as they uncover truths in their own and others' lives.

Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee. It's based on characters and teachings created by Bruce Lee, and the fight scenes are immaculate, which is to be expected from an author like Fonda Lee, who writes some of the best fight scenes I've ever read. If you're into martial arts media, you should definitely pick this up!
Listening: Halfway through The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri. Not much has happened thus far, but I'm holding out hope for the second half!
Watching: Doing a re-watch of Schitt's Creek because apparently my husband never watched it!

Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter. Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson. Helen in Egypt by H.D.
Listening: Still with Middlemarch narrated by Juliet Stevenson. I'm almost done. I'm very sad about it.
Watching: The Folger Library podcast sent me on hunt looking for productions where women play the main male leads in Shakespeare. There are many more of them than I thought. But by far the most memorable has been Harriet Walter playing Brutus in the all-female production of Julius Caesar, done in a woman's prison. I will never, ever forget it. And Harriet Walter is a goddess.

SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: New to the shelf--D.H. Lawrence's Sea and Sardinia published 1921, mainly for the beautiful color illustrations by the artist Jan Juta.
Listening: Last week, I watched a gorgeous performance of La Bohème staged at the Roman arena in Verona this past summer, and I've been playing a recording since. It makes an appropriately epic background to driving to the recycling center or Target.
Watching: The earth-shattering all-female production (2012) of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar set in a woman's prison, with Harriet Walter as Brutus. Nicki told me about it (of course) and I couldn't move for at least an hour after it was over.

Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid just destroyed me. I haven't cried like that at a book in a long time!
Listening: Doechii! Several friends have shared her videos lately and she's amazing.
Watching: With the recent bad weather in Richmond, I feel like all I have done lately is watch TV but can't think of anything memorable enough to talk about.

Application Deadline is January 31.

The late Nancy Olson was 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. An admirer of Nancy’s, in conjunction with SIBA, will be awarding two $2500 gifts in her memory on February 14, 2025.  All SIBA booksellers—but not owners—are eligible for the awards.  Writers, readers, and/or store owners may submit a name and any helpful information via email to SIBA at lindamarie@sibaweb.com.  Also, individual booksellers may nominate themselves.  While the emails 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 simply honor Nancy and recognize special booksellers.  The winners will be selected from these nominations by Sarah Goddin, formerly of Nancy’s Quail Ridge Books (and now at McIntyre’s Books), SIBA’s Linda-Marie Barrett, and Nancy’s husband Jim.

Nominate a Bookseller

2024 was a historic year for SIBA and SIBA's member bookstores. At the beginning of the year SIBA's members voted to revise the organization's bylaws and expand the definition of core member bookstores to include a broader range of business models, including pop-ups, bookmobiles, and online bookstores. Members also voted to expand the SIBA Board from five to seven to better represent the range -- in both geographic and business model -- of SIBA's membership. Thanks to the ongoing enthusiastic work of SIBA Membership Coordinator Candice Huber, SIBA's core membership is now at 228 bookstore members. That is a 30% increase in membership. Even better, the number of brand new stores joining SIBA for the first time continues to rise, an indication of the optimism and energy in the bookselling industry in the South. This increased membership has also translated into increased engagement in SIBA services and programs, such as the Summer and Winter Catalogs, and in attendance at SIBA events, such as March Madness and the New Voices New Rooms (NVNR) Annual Conference.

Events

SIBA hosted both virtual and in person events for its members in 2024. In the Spring there were the "Fireside Chats" on Discord, launched with Cheryl Lee of 44th and 3rd Booksellers, who discussed her experience attending the Frankfurt Bookfair as a recipient of a Books Across Borders Scholarship. Other virtual events included the quarterly NVNR Owners Retreats in partnership with NAIBA, and which centered around specific topics such as strategic closures and planned downtime, conference strategies and creative ideas to boost holiday sales. 15 SIBA booksellers also had a chance to pitch their bookstores to over 50 publicists and publisher representatives at the NVNR Publicity Speed Dating Event on Leap Day in February, showcasing the vitality of Southern bookstores.

SIBA reprised its successful in-person event programs, including March Madness, which saw 115 booksellers come together at eight different bookstores across SIBA territory to share their experience and ideas. And in May SIBA held its second Indie Press Social at Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky -- where booksellers got to spend a day talking to some of their favorite small publishers in a relaxed, casual setting. (Yes, there was bowling!).

The New Voices New Rooms Annual Conference returned to Arlington, VA for 2024, attended by over 100 booksellers from SIBA territory. Some of the highlights of the program included a tour of the Library of Congress and a Bookmobile Rally. The main focus of the event was on bookseller development and building professional relationships with booksellers and publishers.

Tools and Resources

The whole of SIBA was impacted when Hurricane Helene barreled through the middle of its territory and cause a wide swathe of destruction from which some areas are still recovering, even now. SIBA's main office and the home of Executive Director Linda-Marie Barrett in Asheville were cut off for a period of time and communication was challenging. Bookstores located in the paths of Helene and, a few weeks later, Milton experienced commincation interruptions and extended closures.

In the immediate aftermath, SIBA's staff started to reach out to all the bookstores in the storm's path. When it became clear that recovery would be a long process, SIBA created an information sharing hub to help bring together the bookstores and communities that needed help, and the many, many booksellers and book industry people who wanted to offer help.

That information hub was just the latest in a collection of tools and resources SIBA has been developing for its members. In the past year SIBA also expanded its Peer Bookseller Resource Library, a collection of tools created by, and used by, booksellers in their own store operations. During Banned Books Week, SIBA created a toolkit of tools in the Resource Library that was used by over 50 bookstores. And SIBA updated and streamlined its Financial Assistance and Scholarships hub, making it easier for booksellers to apply for financial assistance for SIBA programs, including travel grants to attend the NVNR fall conference. SIBA was able to award more than $12,000 in direct financial assistance to booksellers for education and professional development. SIBA offered 16 scholarships in 2024, a 60% increase over 2023. SIBA also became a sponsor of the Professional Booksellers School, and was able to offer discounts to members seeking education, as well as offering rebates on courses that receive certification.

Current Newsletter: Take your reading to the next level in 2025. Read these next!

Bookstores with reviews in this week's newsletter:

• Caylee Wilson, Midtown Reader in Tallahassee, Florida
• Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Baldwin & Co. in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
• Kelley Barnes, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
• Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
• Mary Jane Michels, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
• Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Tori Finklea, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee
• Sydney Bozeman, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee 
• Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia
• Melissa Taylor, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
• Holly Wunsch, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
• Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia
• Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
• Hilton Airall, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky
• Akil Guruparan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

Book Buzz Feature: The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
The mythology of the bog wife began with other stories about nonhuman women who marry into human families, like selkies. There is Welsh folklore of a woman made out of flowers who is brought to life. Thinking about those stories, what I find fun is that there is a certain amount of ambiguity as to how human this woman appears and how human she really is, and how much the husband in question is willfully deluding himself about having some kind of quasi-human marriage partner. I went back and forth about how much to physically describe the bog wife and how much to describe the logistics of this dirt and plant woman who had raised five children and lived in a house and seemed to exist like a human for a while. I ultimately decided, which is pretty habitual for me, that I don’t care very much about the logistics. I wanted her to be in a state of flux. She is more human for a period of time and then less.
― Kay Chronister, Interview, Electric Literature

Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature:
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar
Even before To All The Boys I Loved Before, I’m a sucker for a fake dating story – add in two young, queer brown women and I was hooked from the outset! ... I adored this book: its Irish charm, its Bengali cultural specificity without falling into a single character type, its tackling of toxic friendship and racial gaslighting, and a satisfying ending on several different fronts make this an easy rec for lovers of fluffy YA!
― Akil Guruparan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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NEW REVIEWS | SUBSCRIBE | SUBMIT A REVIEW | FOR PUBLISHERS

SOUTHERN INDIE BESTSELLER LIST
For the week ending 12/29/2024

Edelweiss Collections:
(sort by "Catalog Order" to see each list according to rating)

Hardcover Fiction | Hardcover Nonfiction | Trade Paperback Fiction | Trade Paperback Nonfiction | Mass Market | Children's Illustrated | Children's Interest | Children's Series

Why indie? This week's Southern Bookseller Review newsletter shared some of the comments from book lovers about their favorite indie bookstores when they placed their vote for the Southern Book Prize.

Those was just a drop in the bucket. Every time someone submits a Southern Book Prize ballot they also have a chance to say something nice about their local indie bookstore. With an average of 1500+ ballots submitted each year, that is a lot of love for indie bookstores. So here are more wonderful things readers are saying about your stores.

Because indie booksellers know exactly what books to suggest.

• Bookmiser is amazing! They always recommend books I would have never picked up and they are always spot on!
• Everyone at Battery Park Book Exchange is so friendly and will always recommend the perfect book.
• Eagle Eye Books' Doug and co. are attuned to something true about literature in the South. The store takes me back to a time before "prime" time.
• Fountain Bookstore is a lovely place to just walk around and find books!
• Main Street Books keeps me up to date on new releases and my TBR stack has never been longer.
• The staff at Flyleaf Books are amazing!!! Their reviews of new books are very helpful.
• Virginia Highland Books always has amazing staff recommendations and makes book shopping such a delight!
• The Little Bookshop is a community treasure! Mary Patterson, the owner, is an expert at finding the “just right” book for her customers.
• Octavia Books is bright, cheerful, and never doesn’t have the books I want.
• I love The Bookshop in East Nashville. I always struggle not to leave with a giant stack.
• Avid Bookshop is always well stocked and has great help when you can’t decide.
• I love McIntyre's Books -- they are always friendly and have introduced me to a lot of new authors and books.

Because indie booksellers are good people.

• Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews has the best staff and owners around!
• Page 158 Books, Sue and Dave Lucey, and all the rest who work there make you feel like family.
• Righton Books has the nicest, most helpful folks!
• Alabama Booksmith has the sweetest people.
• The ladies at Book Bound Bookstore go above and beyond to ensure a great reading experience
• WordsWorth Books has a fantastic selection of books and the friendliest booksellers!
• Lyn and Cody of Square Books for President!
  
• M. Judson, Booksellers! Such good people run this store.

Because indie bookstores are the heart of their community.

• Blinking Owl Bookstore is one of the few things keeping me sane in Florida. That place is a treasure!
• Hello Again Books has built an amazing community that I love being a part of!
• Cleary’s Books is such a wonderful pillar of the community. Alison is a true champion of books, readers, and authors, and our city is fortunate to have her here.
• Scuppernong Books is a one-stop shop for culture, engaging events and soul-nurturing literary finds.
• In a state banning more books than any other, Midtown Reader is a refuge.
• Tombolo Books is a gift to Florida - a queer-owned, inclusive, events-driven safe haven!
• Owners Olivia and her Mom Wendy at Litchfield Books in Pawley's Island , SC have created a friendly and perfectly cozy bookstore with selections for everyone and amazing author events!
• A Cappella Books is the center of literary life in Atlanta. It is indispensable.
• Brave + Kind Bookstore is always supportive of amazing authors!!!
• Highland Books is a beauty of an independent bookstore and a boon to our small mountain town!
• All Good Books in Columbia, SC has brought local reading back to town.
• I’m grateful for Books & Books. Their author talks are an illuminating. What they bring to our community fuels the fire for learning and appreciating different perspectives.
• Copperfish Books is a safe space for anyone and everyone and I love that they host 3 different book clubs each month!
• The Country Bookshop is a very important place to me and my family in our community. Especially in tough times.
• Writer's Block Boosktore is a beautiful store with a friendly staff and a wide variety of titles, and it has one of the best children's sections I've seen. I love what they add to their communities!

Because indie bookstores feel like home.

• Bear's Books in Macon, Georgia is such a warm and welcoming place. The owner has a heart of gold. It's my little relaxation spot.
• The Regulator Bookshop feels like home. It is a safe place to enter and linger and browse and discover.
• READ Books in Virginia Beach is more than a bookstore -- it's an island of sanity.
• Local is where it is at! The Snail in the Wall in my neighborhood is so tranquil and a lovely escape from the day to day!
• I love Back in the Day Books in Dunedin, FL! It is my sanctuary!
• Atlanta Vintage Books lets kids hang out and play games in the basement.
• Papercut Books is the perfect slice of literary magic!
• Jen never forgets her patrons. Her store, Book Exchange in Marietta Georgia, feels like home, like my childhood bedroom, like the dogwood tree I would climb to hide out and read.
• E. Shaver Bookseller lets me camp out for hours and read and work.
• Portkey Books is a warm hug for this reader's mind!
• Quail Ridge Books is my favorite place to visit when life gets me down.
• Blue Cypress Books is my bookstore home. My home away from home. I love being a part of this family.
• City Lights Books is an absolute gem of a bookstore. With a great selection, friendly staff and cozy vibe, it is a place you could hang out in for hours, but always discover something.

Nothing makes booksellers happier than hearing how much they have helped the people who come into their stores. Point your customers to vote for the Southern Book Prize and say something nice about your bookstore!

Current Newsletter: Why indie? Giving something back to your local indie bookstore.

Bookstores with reviews in this week's newsletter:

• Ginger Kautz, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina
• Julia Paganelli Marin, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
• Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
• Cheryl Lindstrom, Fonts Books in McLean, Virginia
• Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Stephanie Crowe, Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama
• Clara Boza, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina
• Barb Rascon, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
• Maggie Robe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Monie Henderson, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
• Kenzie Karoly, E. Shaver bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
• Hilton Airall, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

Book Buzz Feature: Time of the Child by Niall Williams
It seems to me that all novelists are explorers of unknown worlds. They map them as they go, the white pages showing the tracks of their discoveries, making actual the imagined or unknown. Sometime during the writing of the early pages of This is Happiness, I knew that I had found a world in the west Clare village of Faha. For some time, I had subscribed to the belief in the enormity of small places, the idea that wherever human beings are living the possibilities of story are not bound by the limits of space or number but are in fact endless.

With that novel, something occurred to me that hadn’t happened before. The longer I continued writing about Faha, the more I wanted to stay inside those pages.
― Niall Williams, Dubray Book Blog

Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 25th Anniversary Edition by Douglas Adams
The perfect compendium for a beloved sci-fi classic, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 25th Anniversary Edition holds five novels that follow the adventures of a British man (Arthur Dent) as he’s whisked away through the galaxy with a strange set of comrades to save the Earth, the Galaxy and themselves. Adams balances humor, wit, and some scientific insight in this series; be amazed to read about sentient dolphins who have their own language and singing abilities, a supercomputer who finally figures out the meaning of life, and many other zany characters.
― Hilton Airall, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

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NEW REVIEWS | SUBSCRIBE | SUBMIT A REVIEW | FOR PUBLISHERS