Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Generous Community and Giving Thanks
In my notes for SIBA’s annual meeting last week, I brought attention to an aspect of SIBA’s membership that is particularly strong and so important, now and always: our community. We have such a supportive community among our stores, our industry partners, and our author friends. Many of you have shared that this is what sustains you when you face challenges. Challenges like book bans and curation pushback that affect your business’s work on book fairs and author visits, and your staff’s morale and sense of personal safety. Challenges like cash flow concerns that feel overwhelming, recovery from a weather event that has impacted your store and community, or dealing with the emotional labor that comes with engaging customers around politics or other thorny issues. It’s so helpful to have folks to turn to who know what you’re going through, have often been there themselves, and can offer you solid tips or simply a hug and encouraging words.
In the American Independent Business Alliance’s recent newsletter, they mention the idea of “generous community.” This was in reference to their Shop Indie Local Holiday promotion, which encourages giving back to nonprofits, neighbors, and other initiatives that we care about. They go on to say, “While every act of generosity counts, when we give where we live the generosity multiplies.” I love that sentiment, “when we give where we live, the generosity multiplies.” The generosity of our community, expressed in the many ways we help each other by providing expertise, leading each other to resources, or celebrating accomplishments, is what saves us from despair and can help us do more than simply sustain our work and businesses. It can energize us to thrive and be our best selves. The staff and Board of SIBA want to be there for you when you need us and when you want us to share and amplify your victories. We also thank YOU for all you give to us throughout the year – words of support, feedback on how we’re doing, your kindly presence at our in-person and virtual events, and, yes, the hugs! So, please, keep in touch with us and let us know when you need help or want to brag a bit about something great that you helped make happen. Let’s continue to give where we live and raise each other up.
Linda-Marie Barrett
Executive Director
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 21, 2024
SIBA's Annual Meeting was held virtually on Zoom on November 14. Approximately fifty booksellers attended to hear reports from the SIBA staff and board and to ask questions or raise issues of concern. SIBA faced an eventful year, including adopting revised by-laws, which changed the eligibility requirements for bookstore members and expanded the board, and responding to a devastating hurricane season, which affected a wide swath of its members from Florida to North Carolina and Tennessee. SIBA's own main office and executive director, located in Asheville, were cut off for almost two weeks, requiring the implementation of its emergency plan to continue operations. Nevertheless, the tone of the meeting was generally upbeat and positive. Executive Director Linda-Marie Barrett spoke of SIBA's "generous community" and the willingness of its members to help each other in times of crisis. SIBA Board President Julia Davis spoke about the work done to make the organization more inclusive and how excited she is for the future.
Some highlights:
SIBA announced that the 2025 New Voices New Rooms annual conference will be held in Atlanta in 2025, date and venue to be announced. See coverage in Publishers Weekly and Shelf Awareness
Financially, SIBA continues to be in a strong position, with a 30% increase in assets since 2022. This has allowed SIBA to increase the amount of scholarships and financial assistance to booksellers for development.
The 2024 New Voices New Rooms Conference operated without a loss despite soaring hotel and food and beverage costs, The conference had increased bookseller attendance and extremely positive feedback.
Other SIBA programs, including March Madness bookstore-hosted events and the Indie Press Social event in Louisville, Kentucky, have received good participation and reviews from booksellers. Linda-Marie Barrett noted that there was a trend in the region away from virtual events and towards in-person gatherings.
SIBA membership is at 226 active members - a 20% increase from 2023. 46 new members joined in 2024. SIBA's Membership Coordinator Candice Huber is actively reaching out to lapsed members and thinks membership could reach 300 bookstores in 2025.
Membership engagement and participation has increased significantly, as evidenced by the recent SIBA board election, which drew the highest percentage of members voting in the past decade.
SIBA created a resources and information hub in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The organization will use the hub as a model to expand emergency preparedness resources for stores, both before and after a crisis.
SIBA actively addressed the concerns of store members facing book banning in their communities, including the creation of a successful Banned Books Week toolkit for stores. SIBA also launched "Decide For Yourself" on its reader targeted newsletter, The Southern Bookseller Review. Decide For Yourself features SIBA bookseller reviews of books that appear on the PEN America index of banned books.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Things to do / Things not to miss
1. Share pictures of your holiday catalog displays. SIBA wants to hear how bookstores are using their holiday catalogs. Email Candice Huber and describe how you plan to use the catalogs, show photos of your displays, and send in ideas. Participating stores are entered to win a $100 gift card! Five gift cards will be awarded. This contest is only available to current SIBA members. Catalog Marketing Assets
2. Send SIBA your bookstore profile. SIBA runs "Meet the bookseller" profiles in its newsletter and excerpts in the reader-targeted The Southern Bookseller Review. These profiles are a way to both raise the visibility of bookstores within the industry and their own communities and also to introduce booksellers to their colleagues and share some of the good ideas they are implementing to make their businesses successful. Brag about your store.
3. Refresh your Southern Book Prize displays. Southern Book Prize finalists include some of the most popular and beloved books of the year, some still frequently found on the Southern Indie Bestseller List. The Southern Book Prize ballot is open, and a fun way to engage customers on the all-important question of what books deserve to be called "the best Southern book of the year." Readers who vote can win a $100 gift card to their local SIBA bookstore. Bookstores get to hear what their customers love most about them.
4. Do Some Early Housekeeping. Check your SIBA cacount and update your emergency contact information. Please take a moment to log in and confirm that all the information is correct. This is especially important for 2024 because SIBA's membership has grown significantly this year.
Find your account | Add your emergency contact info | Why SIBA is asking for this information
5. SIBA's Office will be closed from 12/24-1/1. SIBA's staff will be out of the office the week after Christmas, so responses to queries will be slow. SIBA reopens with the start of the new year and is looking forward to a fantastic 2025.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 21, 2024
SIBA regularly posts industry opportunities for bookstores in the #Bulletin Board channel of the SIBA Discord community. For early notice, ask for an invitation (open to booksellers only).
This week on the bulletin board:
Attention North Carolina Stores Affected by Hurricane Helene LISC and Lowe’s will award $20,000 grants to 100 small businesses in Western North Carolina to help accelerate economic recovery after Hurricane Helene. This is a great opportunity with a short window, as applications are due THIS FRIDAY, 11/22/2024.Apply here
Filing Deadline: Your Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report is due by the end of this year. There will be a $500 per day fine beginning January 1st for businesses that do not file. For details and tips on filing, see NAIBA's blog post.
Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Book Buzz Feature: The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer I suppose that one important aspect of the economy of nature that has shaped my thinking is its circularity, in which materials flow in cycles and there is no such thing as waste. Everything gets regenerated so that life continues to flourish. Just about all the miraculous production by plants is redistributed in some way, passed among food webs, feeding other lives and eventually building the soil so it can all start again.
I continue to marvel every day at the reciprocity in something as basic as the two foundations of life on the planet–the inverse processes of photosynthesis and respiration. I mean, think of it…every breath we take is oxygen exhaled by plants, a so-called waste product. And no sooner does it enliven our bloodstream than we exhale carbon dioxide in return, which the plants take in in order to return the favor. It’s the ultimate biological poetry, my breath is your breath, and life is magnified by the exchange. Shouldn’t human economies emulate this?
Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature: Debating Darcy by Sayantani Dasgupta
I’m always a fan of a good Pride and Prejudice retelling, and this one does not disappoint. I love the setting of competing high school debate teams and the issues of racism and sexism that are addressed.
― Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher, a queer historical YA romance inspired by Robin Hood, and re-reading You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi for my book club.
Listening: To very little human-made sound, unless I must. Quiet is Bliss. Watching: The Fellowship of the Ring (extended version), The Great British Baking Show (whatever season is available), and Hot Frosty, because it looked like the good/bad treat it turned out to be.
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: Almost finished Mutual Aid by Dean Spade, and it's giving me lots of ideas!
Listening: Chappell Roan on repeat.
Watching: Still on 3%, the Brazilian dystopian show on Netflix. I also love Shrinking on AppleTV, which has come back, and I'm sad to be watching the final season of What We Do in the Shadows! But I'm excited that completely unrealistic, silly, holiday rom-com time is upon us!
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: I finished a Sylvia Townsend Warner story collection A Moral Ending and Other Stories (an early present) in about an hour. I'm now into Lies and Sorcery by Elsa Morante, but also Deer Book by Cecelia Vicuña, which is a hard to describe collection of art, poetry, myth, and sacred dancing. I've also got Loretta Barrett Oden's book Corn Dance open on the kitchen counter, also a gift. I feel humbly gratified that most of the ingredients it uses are already staples in my pantry. Listening: I put Robin Wall Kimmerer's The Serviceberry at the head of the queue mostly because I love to listen to the author reading.
Watching: SP came for a visit this past weekend, so we watched It Came from Outer Space one evening, and then went to see Anora in the theater the next day. The former was tons of fun. The latter is one of the best movies I've ever seen.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: Sylvia Townsend Warner's 1943 story collection A Garland of Straw, slowly, one perfect sentence at a time. A recent women-in-Hollywood book haul: Dorothy Parker's Hollywood (Gail Crowther), Miss May Does Not Exist (Carrie Courogen), and Inventing the It Girl (Hillary C. Hallett).
Listening: Old, old, old eponymous favorite albums: The Velvet Underground, The Roches, The Smiths.
Watching: The hilarious, gorgeous, heartwrenching Anora. Forty-eleven stars out of five. A master class on all the usual master class things, and probably one of the greatest endings in film history. See it in the theater so you can forget the rest of the world for a couple of hours.
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: It's Non-Fiction November for me so I am into Enough is Enuf, a history of the English language and why it is so weird, It's fascinating!
Listening: According to my Spotify Daylist, I'm into "Bitter Bed Rot Morning" lately. Watching: Hot Frosty, which is exactly what you think it would be. Bring on the holiday cheese, please!.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Updated: Thursday, November 14, 2024
New Voices New Rooms (NVNR) will host its 2025 annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, with dates and venue to be announced.
NVNR is the programming partnership between the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and has been hosting conferences and events for booksellers since 2020. It has hosted an annual in-person booksellers conference since 2023.
In selecting Atlanta, NVNR signals a change from previous years when the conference was regularly held in Arlington, Virginia. Going forward, the location of the conference will travel within the combined NAIBA and SIBA territories to make it more accessible and to better showcase different bookselling communities. After Atlanta in 2025, NVNR will be in Baltimore in 2026 and return to Virginia in 2027.
Recognizing that the area served by NVNR is extensive, both regional associations have committed to increased financial assistance for booksellers to help them attend the conference.
Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director of SIBA, says there is strong support among the NAIBA and SIBA boards for an Atlanta conference. “The Atlanta area bookstores are excited to share their spaces and missions," she added. "We're thrilled to bring NVNR to Atlanta next year. Atlanta is a vibrant city with a strong and diverse bookselling culture.”
“NAIBA booksellers will now have the opportunity to visit an amazing city for bookselling,” said Eileen Dengler, NAIBA Executive Director. “We’ll incorporate bookstore visits and visits to America’s Mart to make this a unique opportunity for booksellers. Our team at NVNR continues to create an experience of unparalleled education, networking, and joy.”
NVNR hopes to confirm the 2025 conference venue and dates by the end of the year. Exhibitor registration will open in January, and bookseller registration will open in April.
Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Book Buzz Feature: Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez I grew up reading Agatha Christie. Her mysteries are classic and even amidst the dead bodies, oddly nostalgic and comforting for me. I have always wanted to write a mystery with lots of plot twists but do it in a way that feels true to me and my interests. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an Egyptologist, and so when I grew up and writing became my career, I knew I’d one day write a story set in Egypt. The Secrets of the Nile duology has all of my favorite things: a main character who isn’t a warrior but a dreamer, wanting to belong somewhere and yearning to make sense of the world around her. She’s bright and curious and impulsive, a teenager of her time and perhaps with an eye to the future, too. The love interest is morally gray and constantly questioning people and their motives and intentions. He’s cynical and sensitive and probably a little sad all the time. Together, I think they learn to heal and grow up, making mistakes along the way because no one gets it right the first time, or even the second. ― Isabel Ibañez, Interview, She Reads
Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature: Molly’s Tuxedo by Vicki Johnsons
It’s picture day at school, and Molly doesn’t want to wear the dress her Mom picked out; it doesn’t even have pockets! I loved this picture book that celebrates personal expression and the importance of being your true self. Bright, playful art with a wonderful message, Molly’s Tuxedo is a picture book winner!.
― Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Just finished a re-read of Shark Heart, which is beautiful, wise, and incredibly imaginative. Finished Funny Story by Emily Henry, a fun and thoughtful romance that's also a love letter to Michigan's Great Lakes' setting and culture, and started Susan Coll's Bookish People. Listening: Back in the mountains after a week away at the beach, I'm enjoying reacquainting my ears with our bird and animal neighbors' sounds.
Watching: Re-watching the Great British Baking Show earlier seasons as I wait each Friday for the new episode. Just started Alan Cumming's Paradise Homes, which is both hilarious (Cumming's flamboyant wit) and ridiculous (these folks have more money than God to spend on their homes. Am I jealous? Of course not!) .
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: In light of the times, I started reading Mutual Aid by Dean Spade. I've only just started, but I'm excited to get ideas for some additional organizing tools and for taking care of my community.
Listening: To the white noise of my space heater as the weather turns colder.
Watching: I've started watching 3% on Netflix, and I seriously can't stop! It's a Brazilian dystopian show that is just so intriguing. The concept is that in a distant future, most of the population lives in poverty in "the Inland," but there's an elite group chosen via a brutal "Process" to live in "the Offshore," which is supposed to be a paradise. Every year, 20-year-olds get a chance to go through the Process to be one of the 3% that makes it to the Offshore. And, of course, there is a rebellion against this system. The plot has sucked me in!
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: Sitt Marie Rose by Etel Adnan, which should not be as hard to find as it was. I just ordered something that I hope will be my winter doorstop novel: Lies and Sorcery by Elsa Morante Listening: Shakespeare Unlimited podcast -- Yes, still.
Watching: The Third Man, again. I actually spent a whole evening with it, just starting and stopping to take it all in.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: The new edition of the Finnish author Tove Jansson's Notes from an Island, a chronicle of building a cabin on a treeless island in the Gulf of Finland with her partner, the designer and artist Tuulikki Pietilä (whose paintings illustrate the text). "It is astonishing the number of people who go around dreaming of an island."
Listening: The resident flock of wild turkeys, gobbling away in the woods every morning at sunrise. My favorite Van Morrison album, Saint Dominic's Preview, since it's November and I'm a creature of habit.
Watching: Long-time and new favorite movies: Gaslight, The Third Man, Wild Nights with Emily, Private Benjamin. The third and final season of Somebody, Somewhere which is so good I can hardly talk about it.
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore - I needed something light and fun after the last few weeks and this Gilmore Girls-y fanfic is hitting the spot.
Listening: As previously mentioned, I am going for distraction and Handsome podcast remains my favorite way to laugh in hard times.
Watching: What We Do in the Shadows is in its final season and I will miss it so much. I am enjoying every minute of the remaining episodes.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Professional Booksellers School (SIBA Sponsored)
Event Management Registration Opens 11/11
Inventory Management Opens 11/18
Use SIBA discount code SIBAem to get $35 off registration for Event Management and SIBAim to get $35 off registration for Inventory Management!
Candice Huber, Dean of Bookstore Finances (and your Membership and Social Media Coordinator!), will be leading a Budgeting for Buying Seminar on November 18. Invest in your future and enroll in a Professional Booksellers School course! Email Candice Huber for more information.
Macmillan Event Grid Q&A Webinar: Register to join the Macmillan Author Events team (Melissa, Dominique, and Nora) for a short webinar on Wednesday, November 20th, at 1:00 PM ET where they will talk about what they look for in requests, highlight some key authors, and answer any questions you have.
Macmillan offers extra 5% discount and extended dating: From now through the end of the year, retailers that purchase direct on a returnable basis will receive an additional 5% discount and 120 days dating on orders of 16+ units (per invoice)! This applies to all books (with the exception of College Board, Entangled and Guinness World Records) with a pub date prior to October 1, 2024. Use CODE (Retailers): A136RE
Penguin Random House has begun 2-day transit! This will last through January 25, 2025, and there are no order minimums! You should have received info from your PRH rep.
Hachette has announced a guaranteed 2-day shipping window for the holidays! If you order by 3pm during the week, your order will ship the next business day. They've also reduced the minimum to just $75!
American Express is once again offering swag for Small Business Saturday! Get yours here
Book Lists & Marketing Assets: Native American Heritage Month Lists
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
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.
"Fair warning," says Andrea Richardson about one of the December Read This Next! titles, "This is not a romance!" Great stories are full of the unexpected, the hidden, the things happening under the surface. All the books in the December list explore and celebrate complexities and extraordinariness of ordinary lives.
Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet by Samantha Allen
Hollywood It Man Roland Rogers is ready to tell his big secret with no time to spare. He isn't quite dead yet - but it's not looking good. He hires struggling writer Adam to bring new meaning to the term "ghostwriter" and get his memoir out before he is gone completely. Fair warning - THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE.
– Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
Rental House by Weike Wang Rental House is the story of a marriage and all its complicated layers, told through two family vacations. What I love most about Weike Wang is how directly she tells a story, while also leaving the reader time to think and meditate on the story and this relationship. Another brilliant, poignant story perfect for book clubs!
– Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Cabin by Patrick Hutchison
This is the kind of book you want to read by a campfire. Cabin is a funny, reflective story about a young man who unwittingly finds himself becoming a capable handyman as the owner of a small cabin in the woods.
– Daniel Jordan, Pearl's Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Booked for Murder by P. J. Nelson
Given how full the cozy mystery world is, new series need extra sparks to stand out. This one has puzzles plenty and instead of silly quirky characters, there's added maturity and emotional depth. This may be a small town story with a bookstore at its center but it offers a new and enjoyable touch.
– Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
Woo Woo by Ella Baxter
The daily struggle and balancing act of being a productive artist is examined here as conceptual artist Sabine preps for a huge solo exhibition. She is trying desperately to be seen while also hiding from a stalker. Woo Woo gives us insights into a woman trying to come into her own while forces want to make her smaller.
– Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review.
The McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers Now Accepting Applications for 2025
Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers. The grant is offered by SIBA in partnership with New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, (Mustique Island) for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers.
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.
"It is a great honor to have been chosen...I am truly grateful for this grant and have been inspired to work more diligently as a creative," said 2024 grant recipient Maya Martin from Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi.
"I’ve been holding my writing close for the past year, not quite ready to share it with the world and wondering if there would ever be a right time," said 2024 grant recipient Ally Kirkpatrick, owner of Old Town Books in Alexandria, Virginia. "Winning this award gives me the confidence boost to continue finding my voice and sharing my story about maternal mental health."
Author Sarah McCoy created the grant because of her own experience as a struggling young writer. "I’ve dreamt of being able to do an initiative like this since I was in graduate school teaching young writing students during the day to pay for my own MFA creative writing courses at night. While my weekends went to grading papers, studying, and writing, I also took on a weekend job with flexible hours to navigate the bills that seem to never stop piling up. I swore then that when I could, I would do my best to help other writers in similar financial straits."
Applications are currently open and will close on March 21, 2025. Recipients will be announced in July, 2025. To be eligible, the applicant must be an unpublished southern woman or nonbinary bookseller living in one of the states in SIBA territory: Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Mississippi, and must have a novel, memoir, essay collection or poetry collection in progress.
"If you’re a hoper, a dreamer, a story stoker opening your laptop and a 99¢ can of tuna fish on the coffee table for dinner while you do the work that really lights your fire… then you’re a kindred spirit," says McCoy. "That was me, too. Still is on many nights. You are not alone. $1,500 won’t magically transform everything, but it’s enough to buy a loaf of bread to go with that tuna. I’m grateful to partner with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), an organization dedicated to literacy, diversity, and creating a world where all stories are given equal voice and respect. Thank you for being our bookseller champions!"
November 14 at 4:00 PM Eastern / 3:00 PM Central on Zoom.
It has been an eventful and significant year for SIBA. The membership voted to change the organization's bylaws and therefore open membership to a wider range of bookstore business models. Membership numbers have climbed to the highest levels in a decade. SIBA's board was expanded to better represent SIBA's rising number of diverse bookstores and booksellers.
It has also been a year of unprecedented challenges for SIBA's member stores, which have faced a rising swell of book banning attempts across all of SIBA's territory and a devastating hurricane season from which their communities are still rebuilding.
SIBA's Annual Meeting is always an important event, but this year it is especially so. This is a time for members to hear directly from their board and the SIBA staff, and to ask questions and raise the issues that are affecting their businesses.
Several hundred readers have already submitted their picks for The 2025 Southern Book Prize, and more votes are pouring in every day. Voting continues until February 1st, so it's far too early to make any predictions about which of the eighteen finalists books will be selected as "the best Southern book of the year." One thing that can be reported, however, is how much readers love their local indie bookstore. The last question on the Southern Book Prize Ballot is a simple prompt: "Say something nice about your favorite local bookstore."
Here are some of the wonderful things readers have to say about SIBA stores:
"Page 158 Books, Sue and Dave Lucey, and all the rest who work there make you feel like family." (Page 158 Books, Wake Forest, NC)
"Conundrum Books is adorable—it looks like the set of a Hallmark movie!" (The Conundrum, St. Francisville, LA)
"Tombolo Books is a second home for so many writers and readers" (Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, FL)
"They made me excited about reading again." (Blinking Owl Books, Fort Myers, FL)
"Doug and co. are attuned to something true about literature in the South. The store takes me back to a time before "prime" time." (Eagle Eye Books, Decatur, GA)
"Jen never forgets her patrons. Her store feels like home, like my childhood bedroom, like the dogwood tree I would climb to hide out and read." (Bookmiser, Marietta, GA)
The Southern Book Prize toolkit includes code stores can use to embed the Southern Book Prize ballot on their own websites, so they can encourage their customers to vote (and say nice things about them!), The toolkit also has signage, shelf talkers, logos and ISBN lists for building a list on your store's website or Bookshop page.
Sarah Blackwell, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
Book Buzz Feature: What the Chicken Knows by Sy Montgomery I kind of think it's a waste of a perfectly good friendship to cook and eat them. But chickens are the one bird that even if you can't recognize a crow, even if you can't recognize a robin, people can identify a chicken. But even though we recognize them, and everyone thinks they know a chicken, people underestimate them all the time. Chickens have a lot of wonderful things about them, but to me, the most wonderful of all is their company, and being able to travel in the chicken universe, and be able to see that even in this, you know, commonest of creatures that everyone can recognize, there is still like mystery and excitement. There's still a soul there. Each animal is highly individual, and we have so much to learn from them. ― Sy Montgomery, Interview, Living on Earth
Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature: Sync by Ellen Hopkins
Loved this book. It had a really engaging plot and it is my favorite realistic fiction book I have ever read. This book is great for older teens and young adults. This book did a really good job of keeping the reader engaged and entertained. Whether you like cliffhangers or not, you'll love this book! I can not wait for the sequel to come out, and I definitely recommend this book to all young adult readers.
― Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Funny Story by Emily Henry, a reliably good romance offering relationship wisdom between the quips. Also love that one of the main characters is a children’s librarian. Re-reading Shark Heart for my book club, and can’t wait to hear how they feel about it. Listening: I am spending the week by the ocean and enjoying all the seaside sounds, the tide against the sands, the wind moving through the tall grasses and palmetto leaves, and birdcalls. Watching: While waiting for the newest Great British Baking Show episode on Friday, watched Merry Scottish Christmas, one of those “so bad it’s good” Hallmark movies.
Candice Huber / Membership: Reading: Still on Long Live Evil, and it's really fun so far! Listening: My partner and I both work from home, and he's been re-watching all the Lord of the Rings movies, so that's been my background noise for the past week. Watching: I had never seen any Fast & Furious film, so I've been watching through those (had to give my West Wing binge a long-term pause). The tribute they gave to Paul Walker at the end of Furious 7 legit made me cry.
Nicki Leone / Communications: Reading: I am finding it hard to concentrate, to be honest. Comfort reads and escapist books slide past me without making an impression, but when I try something deeper, I find myself staring at the same page for long periods of time. Time to pull out my Andrea Dworkin books! Listening: Shakespeare Unlimited podcast -- I'm back into the Covid-era archives now, hearing about all the lock down projects of actors and directors.
Watching: Well, if you don't count Tuesday night, on the advice of SP, The Third Man. Which, WOW.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator: Reading: A couple of books I don't think I will be able to wait until the holidays to give away. Willpower is overrated. Listening: The same Martha Wainwright song I listened to on November 9, 2016. I can't share the title or the refrain here, but I encourage anyone reading this to look for it. You'll know it when you see it. Watching: The 1979 BBC adaption of John Le Carré's masterwork Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Dark, labyrinthine, ambiguous, bleak, and a strangely effective respite during these loud and angry times.
Andrea Richardson / Sales: Reading: All the spooky things! I'm about halfway into The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 (edited by the amazing S.A. Cosby) and it's a fabulous collection - so many of my favorites are featured.
Listening: Since it's spooky season I'm back into my true crime podcast and Generation Why is currently in my ears.
Watching: My coworker recommended Chimp Crazy and OMG it is a wild ride. Think Tiger King with chimps.
SIBA regularly posts industry opportunities for bookstores in the #Bulletin Board channel of the SIBA Discord community. For early notice, ask for an invitation (open to booksellers only).
Professional Booksellers School 2025 Schedule
SIBA is a sponsor of the Professional Booksellers School, and SIBA booksellers can receive discounts and reimbursements for courses.
Event Management Course begins: Monday, January 13
Registration opens: Monday, November 11
Inventory Management Course begins: Wednesday, January 15
Registration opens: Monday, November 18
Basic Bookselling Course begins: Tuesday, March 4
Registration opens: Monday, January 6
Store & Operations Management
Course begins: Thursday, March 6, 2025
Registration opens: Monday, January 13, 2025
Candice Huber, Dean of Bookstore Finances (and your Membership and Social Media Coordinator!), will be leading a Budgeting for Buying Seminar on November 18. Invest in your future and enroll in a Professional Booksellers School course! Email Candice Huber for more information.
Indie Bookstore Day order form is now open. Ssign up and order exclusives here: Deadline to order exclusives is November 15.
The ABA is accepting nominations for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee through October 25. They are specifically looking for location independent stores (pop-ups, bookmobiles, etc.) and Latinx booksellers. You can nominate yourself or someone else here.
It is once again time for James Patterson Holiday Bonus nominations! Submissions are due November 8, and you can self nominate:
Other Industry
Binc is currently accepting applications for BincTank. This incubator program specifically supports BIPOC-owned bookselling businesses and is open to location independent stores and novel models. Get more info and apply here.
Penguin Random House has begun 2-day transit! This will last through January 25, 2025, and there are no order minimums! You should have received info from your PRH rep.
Hachette has announced a guaranteed 2-day shipping window for the holidays! If you order by 3pm during the week, your order will ship the next business day. They've also reduced the minimum to just $75!
American Express is once again offering swag for Small Business Saturday! Get yours here
RSS
In my notes for SIBA’s annual meeting last week, I brought attention to an aspect of SIBA’s membership that is particularly strong and so important, now and always: our community. We have such a supportive community among our stores, our industry partners, and our author friends. Many of you have shared that this is what sustains you when you face challenges. Challenges like book bans and curation pushback that affect your business’s work on book fairs and author visits, and your staff’s morale and sense of personal safety. Challenges like cash flow concerns that feel overwhelming, recovery from a weather event that has impacted your store and community, or dealing with the emotional labor that comes with engaging customers around politics or other thorny issues. It’s so helpful to have folks to turn to who know what you’re going through, have often been there themselves, and can offer you solid tips or simply a hug and encouraging words.
Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Candice Huber / Membership:
Nicki Leone / Communications:
SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
New Voices New Rooms (NVNR) will host its 2025 annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, with dates and venue to be announced. 
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. 
Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers. The grant is offered by SIBA in partnership with New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, (Mustique Island) for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers.
It has been an eventful and significant year for SIBA. The membership 
Several hundred readers have already submitted their picks for The 2025 Southern Book Prize, and more votes are pouring in every day. Voting continues until February 1st, so it's far too early to make any predictions about which of the eighteen finalists books will be selected as "the best Southern book of the year." One thing that can be reported, however, is how much readers love their local indie bookstore. The last question on the Southern Book Prize Ballot is a simple prompt: "Say something nice about your favorite local bookstore."
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