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Posted By Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director,
Thursday, September 18, 2025
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October 28, 12:00 noon-3:00 p.m. Eastern on Zoom
Register As part of SIBA’s commitment to anti-racism, the SIBA staff and Board undertake diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training. The SIBA Board is inviting up to 40 interested SIBA member booksellers to join them in an upcoming DEI training session on October 28, 12-3PM ET on Zoom. The session will be facilitated by Ilsa Govan of Cultures Connecting and the focus is “Foundations of Cultural Competence.” It is very participatory training with breakout sessions and large group engagement. This training is free to current member booksellers.
Register here.
This session provides a foundation for on-going conversations, as participants will leave with the tools to continue to engage one another and the diverse communities they serve.
Participants will:
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Learn a shared framework and language for understanding what it means to apply an equity lens to all of their work.
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Identify what gets in your way when attempting to have authentic conversations about race in the workplace.
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Learn tools to help in listening for understanding and asking difficult questions to confront and manage conflicts.
Leave with new strategies to create an inclusive culture for employees and customers.
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Posted By Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director,
Thursday, September 18, 2025
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 It’s
always uplifting to hear about the ways SIBA booksellers are bringing hope, joy, and access to reading into their communities. Whether they are fighting the good fight around book bans and social justice, creating innovative programming to reach new readers
and build community around books, or hosting a special event in their customers’ lives (bookstore proposals!), SIBA would like to share that news with our readers. We have a semi-regular feature in our newsletter called SIBA Spark, where we highlight
what booksellers do to inspire, empower, and serve their communities.
Please share YOUR story, or the story of a bookstore you love and want us to highlight, on this form. Let’s celebrate each other!
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 18, 2025
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 Sometimes you just want to sink into a really good book. Booksellers, no strangers themselves to that impulse, love to to feed it in others. Read This Next! is, at its heart, five new books that a reader can really sink into, no matter what kind of reader they are.
RTNX Bookseller Resources:
Edelweiss Collection | Flyer | Flyer Graphic
What SIBA Booksellers have to say:
Overdue: A Novel by Stephanie Perkins
Overdue is such a delight to read. Even with Ingrid's crazy "we're on a break" plan, I thought the characters were fun, fleshed out, and people I would want to be friends with. Slow burn and lots of good fun.
–Christina Tabereaux, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama
Red City by Marie Lu
The balance Lu crafted between Sam and Ari is pure perfection, you could even say it's alchemical. I should have prepared myself for how entranced by this world that I would be, but I was taken off guard in the best way. A fresh addition to fantasy that I can't and won't stop thinking about.
– Sarah Hudson, M. Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
The Wayfinder: A Novel by Adam Johnson
Blending myth, storytelling and historical fact, and touching on themes of over-consumption, power, family, and individual autonomy, The Wayfinder is brilliantly realized, and impeccably researched. It is a mark of Johnson’s skill that he makes a story so remote in time and geography feel wholly alive, and relevant to today’s world.
– Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
Girl Warrior: On Coming of Age by Joy Harjo
This is a book you keep close. Read these words when you need a friendly reminder that you can move forward, that you can take step after step into the future you desire. Give this book to those you love and treasure.
– Lera Shawver, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
In a Distant Valley by Shannon Bowring
I inhaled this book! Shannon has a way in her writing that makes you feel like you are a part of the story. She makes the place in Maine seem like a it's own character.
– Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina
Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review.
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Posted By Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director,
Thursday, September 11, 2025
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 This week is a special one for me as my book Creating a Salon: The Magic of Conversations That Matter officially released on Tuesday (9/9). Though they’ve been around for centuries, salons are experiencing renewed popularity across the planet, including in bookstores. At NVNR, I was part of a “Beyond Book Clubs” panel and learned that several of my panel mates are hosting a salon series at their stores and having a lot of fun with them. Salon-style author and authorless events are springing up everywhere, in restaurants, bars and pubs, and in bookstores with cozy meeting spaces.
The journey from idea to book took years, beginning during the Covid era. I quickly realized the irony of shopping my book proposal for in-person gatherings during a time of enforced isolation, and waited until 2022 to try again. In 2023, I signed a contract with Agate Publishing, and two years later my book is now making its way into bookstores. I’m honored to have come full circle from a former author event coordinator at an indie bookstore to earning a spot in a bookstore’s event calendar.
 One of the absolutely wonderful aspects of our industry is the way we cheer each other on as we follow our dreams. I’ve experienced this grace as I’ve witnessed a collective effort to support my book’s launch into the world. I’m grateful to the SIBA Board for supporting my appearance on the NVNR education panel, and to Ingram/PGW for sponsoring my first official signing for this book during NVNR’s Indie Press Reception. I’m so very appreciative of my regional partners at RAMP: GLIBA, NAIBA, and CALIBA and director Suzanne Shoger for amplifying visibility of my book in their holiday catalogs, and to industry partners Shelf Awareness and Publishers Weekly for spreading the word about Creating a Salon in ways that were a delightful surprise! Beyond the in-house cheerleading from SIBA staff, I’ve also been blessed with many bookseller and author friends in SIBAland who blurbed my book, placed it on their staff picks' shelves in their stores, and shared the news on social media. During a time of cultural turmoil when feelings of disconnection and even loneliness can weigh on many of us, such meaningful support means everything. Thank you all for being part of my author journey, and part of our very special SIBA community.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 11, 2025
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Things to do / Things not to miss
 1. Request a Banned Books Toolkit
Banned Books Week is October 5-11. The 2025 edition of SIBA's Banned Books Toolkit will be available for bookstores on September 15. Watch your emails for an invite!
2. Take a tour of your SIBA member benefits
October 2, 1:00 p.m. Eastern on Zoom (register)
SIBA has a wide range of tools, resources, and programs for its bookstore members. Odds are there will be something in the list you didn't know about.
3. Prep Winter Catalog displays and promotions
Winter catalogs land in stores the first week of October, but the online digital catalogs go live on Friday, 9/12. (more info)
4. Nominate your favorite books for the Southern Book Prize
The Southern Book Prize season starts in October, with finalists announced at the end of the month, and the ballot to choose the winners opening the first week of November. There is still time to nominate your favorite Southern hand sell books of 2025.
5. Attend the Fall NVNR Owners Strategy Session
October 16, 6:00 p.m. Eastern, on Zoom
(register)
Bring your top-of-mind issues to your bookselling colleagues, and discuss 4th quarter strategies for making the most of the gift-buying season.
6. Tune in to the SIBA Annual Meeting
October 30, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, on Zoom (register)
Meet the SIBA Board and hear about the work they do and what members can look forward to from SIBA in the future. There will also be time for questions from attendees.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 11, 2025
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 Registration opens October 20 (more info)
The cost for the first year is $500, or $550 if paid in installments. After the first year, the cost will be $1000. SIBA Member stores can use the code SIBAlive to receive a 12% discount on any live PBS course.
Registration will be rolling and there are no space limitations. In 2025, stores that have been open less than 3 years will be welcome; in 2026, only new stores will be eligible.
The goal of the program is to help new store owners through the first year after they officially open. It is designed for brick-and-mortar, store/cafe, pop-up, and mobile stores, but not for online-only stores. Participants will have access to many short
videos on the topic of the month to watch on their own time, and access to a Discord server to ask questions. Each month there will be live Q&A with instructors for owners to reflect on what they've been learning, ask questions, and get feedback from
peers and teachers.
SIBA is a sponsor of the Professional Booksellers School, and offers rebates to members who complete a certification course.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 11, 2025
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 Fall and Winter is Southern Book Prize Season! Nominations for the 2026 Southern Book Prize close on October 1st. Nominate here.
Nominations must come from a SIBA member bookseller. Nominated books must have been published within the 2025 calendar year and be Southern in nature; either by a Southern author or about the South, preferably both. See the 2025 Southern Book Prize winners at The Southern Bookseller Review
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 11, 2025
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October 16 at 6:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. CT on Zoom
 What issues are most on your mind right now? Come to talk to other owners about anything!
Bookstore owners will have a chance to discuss them with their colleagues at the October Owners Strategy Session hosted by New Voices New Rooms.
Meet with your fellow booksellers from SIBA and NAIBA, and share your experiences and expertise. Registration is for store owners only, and space is limited to 25.
The meeting will be moderated by Courtney Ulrich Smith of Underbrush Books in Rogers, AR.
Sign up here (requires log in)
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
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Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading: Royal Liars by Lindsey Duga. I’m near the end and still lost, having not read the previous book, but sticking with it. Looking forward to reading Susan Coll’s The Literati next.
Listening: I am really (as usual) enjoying quiet. The background noise of the occasional car driving slowly past, the chatter of children, or someone calling out, “Watch out for that huge mama bear and her cubs!” add interesting distraction.
Watching: Now that new episodes of The Great British Baking Show are on every Friday, I can count on once-a-week thrilling television viewing. I’m also heading almost nightly to Nova Scotia to catch the very soapy but heart-filled Sullivan’s Crossing.
 Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: I started Craft Activism by Joan Tapper for research on how I can use my crafting for good. The book is full of great ideas!
Listening: I'm almost finished Supper for Six, and the audiobook is fantastic! If you like mysteries, this one is great.
Watching: Started the second season 2 of Wednesday and absolutely loving it. Wednesday is such a mood.
 Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: A Green Equinox by Elizabeth Mavor for book club. And the new issue of Slightly Foxed Quarterly arrived this week, always a pleasure. It is a journal devoted to people writing about the books than made an impact on them. If I ever wrote anything for them, it would take up a whole issue, because books make an impact on me all the time.
Listening: Arundhati Roy's Mother Mary Comes to Me, plus I'm also catching up on my Between the Covers podcast, an island of sanity in an insane world.
Watching: SP and I did The Parallax View (1974) for movie night. It was highly unsettling -- one of those movies that makes you doubt everything and everyone. I was also weirded out that I found all the silent psychopath guys more interesting characters than Warren Beatty.
 SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: I am starting Elizabeth Mavor's A Green Equinox for book club tonight, and very much looking forward to it.
Listening: This week's song is "What I Like About You" by the Romantics, in honor of whatever song made nineteen-year-old you dance 'til your head fell off.
Watching: So many British murder shows. The grittier, the gloomier, the colder the rain, and the warmer the beer, the happier I am.
 Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: The Body by Bethany C. Morrow. It's definitely scratching my current horror itch.
Listening: Murder on Sex Island by Jo Firestone. Funny, mystery, and reality TV - all of my favorite things
Watching: The temperatures dropping on a really lovely autumnal day in Richmond!
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 4, 2025
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 The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance is pleased to welcome Dave Lucey of Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina to the SIBA Board. Lucey will start his three-year term on January 1, 2026. He replaces outgoing board member Jamie Anderson of Downtown Books in Manteo, North Carolina. Anderson currently holds the office of Secretary-Treasurer. The Board will elect new officers for 2026.
Lucey's term begins at a time when SIBA plans a major transition to a new membership platform and website, with new branding, and an in-depth review of the organization's governance policies. He has more than two decades of experience in the tech industry, and brings a modern, data-driven approach to bookstore operations, blending innovation with a deep love of literature.
In his statement to booksellers on why he was interested in serving on the board, Lucey said, "When we first opened 10 years ago, the SIBA conference just so happened to be in Raleigh that fall, which meant we could attend. Meeting other booksellers, publisher reps, and vendors at that early stage started relationships that continue to this day and contributed mightily to whatever success we've had as a store. I would love to pay that back in whatever way I can to support the Indie community in the South, including education around the use of technology in the industry and what we can do to make bookselling sustainable."
SIBA booksellers can meet with their current board members at the SIBA Annual Meeting to be held on Zoom at the end of next month, on October 30, at 1:00 PM. Register here to attend.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 4, 2025
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Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading: Royal Liars by Lindsey Duga. I’m a bit lost, having not read the first book in this series, but I’m carrying on with hope. Just finished re-reading Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell, which I loved, and about to start Autumn by Ali Smith, both for my book club.
Listening: To beautiful instrumental music and the quiet hum of my aromatherapy diffuser.
Watching: We’re moving between Nova Scotia (Sullivan’s Crossing, what a soap!), Texas (Young Sheldon, so good!), and England (Great British Bake Off, the best show ever!).We visited England again with The Thursday Murder Club movie, which had some wonderful poignant moments about growing older.
Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: Got my first edition of Crochet Nation, a newspaper dedicated to crochet, and it's so great! They offer patterns, of course, but also history articles, crosswords and activities, book recommendations, and more. Highly recommend subscribing if you crochet!
Listening: To my new young cats chasing each other around the house and generally being super cute.
Watching: Started the new season of Wednesday since Part 2 comes out today. The first episode was great, as always. I love when Wednesday starts a fire to make a point!
Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: My first shipment of books just arrived at my new home! AND, I finished unpacking the two boxes of books I had labelled "currently reading" because they had been stacked all around my couch and beside my bed. Despite diligently reading ebooks, I feel much more like myself with books on my bookshelves. Currently reading A Green Equinox by Elizabeth Mavor for book club. Mom has been reading The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides and talking about it constantly over dinner, so I also feel like I have been reading that.
Listening: I have Arundhati Roy's Mother Mary Comes to Me on audio for listening to during housework.
Watching: The Yankees games never end. Last week I did watch Damn Yankees with SP, which was wonderful for Gwen Verdon and the choreography. Also oddly intense for a musical. And the folks, when they are not watching baseball, are somewhat addicted to British crime television shows, so we are in the middle of season six of Unforgotten, the cold case crime series. It originally starred Nicola Walker (who will always be "Ruth" from MI-5 to me) but the new season features Sinéad Keenan, who was one of my favorite actors in Being Human.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: Not much reading this week, as I (literally) picked an unfinished craft project back up. Obviously, that hasn't stopped me from adding more books to my wishlist, like Christiane Ritter's A Woman in the Polar Night, a reprint of her 1934 book and Anna Schectman's The Riddles of the Sphinx: Inheriting the Feminist History of the Crossword Puzzle, which had me at "A surprising and ambitious investigation of language and the varied ways women resist the paradoxes of patriarchy both on and off the page."
Listening: I cannot resist a good scammer podcast, and Unicorn Girl is most definitely a good scammer podcast. I can't narrow down a song of the week, but the album of the week is Euro-Country, from the Irish (but don't expect any tin whistles, pipes, or jigs) singer CMAT, aka Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. If I had to choose one song, it would probably be "The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station."
Watching: Recent watches/rewatches have included Damn Yankees (Team Gwen Verdon for life), The Pajama Game (ditto for Team Carol Haney), Nashville, Grosse Pointe Blank, Velvet Goldmine, and Desert Hearts.
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: I am currently eyeballing my TBR trying to decide what's next! I am really ready for spooky season reading though.
Listening: When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. It's a perennial favorite of mine and it suited the vibes for my road trip last weekend.
Watching: Bring on the scary movies, it's Fall!
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Posted By Candice Huber, SIBA Membership Coordinator,
Thursday, September 4, 2025
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Melissa Saavedra founded Steamy Lit in 2021 with
The Steam Box, a romance book subscription box that gained popularity for its commitment to inclusivity and sexual empowerment. In 2024, she opened Steamy Lit Romance Bookstore in Deerfield Beach, Florida and has since opened a second location in
Tampa. The Steamy Lit literary collective also includes the Steamy Lit Foundation, a nonprofit organization, SAAV, an apparel brand, and the annual Steamy Lit Con in California.
The bookstore specializes in amplifying the voices of women romance authors of color and features a well-curated selection of romance novels and book boxes that celebrate self-love, creating an inviting space that celebrates sexuality and empowers readers.
Events Coordinator Alyssa Rojas said that bringing author events to the stores is a passion, and that promoting diverse and marginalized romance authors is an important part of the store’s mission. They started an audiobook walking club to help integrate
health and wellness with the love of reading, through which they also host dog walking events. Rojas also said that a priority for the upcoming year is making sure they’re able to give back even more to the community.
Rojas said the best part of being a bookseller is getting to tell people about new BIPOC books they have in the store, and favorite handsells include Up Close and Personal by Ana Holguin and A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Caña.
You can follow Steamy Lit at @steamylit and at @steamylitbookstore and visit their website at www.steamylit.com.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, September 4, 2025
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SIBA's new logo on display at NVNR 2025. Photo credit SP Rankin
With the launch of SIBA's new logo and branding at this year's New Voices New Rooms conference in Atlanta last month SIBA has completed the first phase of its 50th Anniversary "A Bright Future" campaign.
As we move into September, SIBA enters phase two: upgrading and refining SIBA's member database to better serve all its member bookstores, including those that operate beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar model.
Updating the member database will not affect the status any current members of SIBA, nor any dues or invoice payment schedules. However, members may see some small changes to address and email fields as SIBA prepares its member database for its upgrade
to a new platform.
All SIBA members, including all booksellers, publishers, and authors, are encouraged to log in to their account before the end of September to confirm the information SIBA has is accurate.
If you need help logging in, or have questions about what SIBA's database upgrade means for you, contact Nicki Leone at nicki@sibaweb.com.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, August 28, 2025
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Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading: Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. I’m re-reading this for our September book club meeting and loving it. Like the show I’m watching, Young Sheldon, the story centers people who grew up poor. There is no glamorizing poverty and or its lasting effects on children as they become adults. However, the effort of the characters in Slow Dance to be loving and supportive is all the more poignant knowing what they must overcome to provide that for each other.
Listening: I am really enjoying listening to the wind move through the trees, birds calling out to each other, and neighbors greeting me as they pass by on the porch. Sweet moments that slow things down in soothing ways.
Watching: I’m either in Texas (Young Sheldon), Nova Scotia (Sullivan’s Crossing), or England (The Great British Baking Show), depending on the prevailing household mood.
Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: Still on Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz, which I'm really loving!
Listening: Supper for Six by Fiona Sherlock. This murder mystery is told in the form of a podcast, so it's absolutely perfect for an audiobook. It has a full cast and is really immersive. Perfect for crafting!
Watching: Big Brother, of course! Also the new season of Platonic, which is hysterical, and I'm going through a re-watch of Glee, which holds up surprisingly well!
Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: I ended up listening to Xeobe Purvis's The Hounding on my drive to New York. Now, I have the book because I have to read it.
Listening: Aside from the road trip audiobooks, the various snarky comments from the GPS system in the car telling me I needed to get into the other lane to get to the upcoming exist. I swear once it suggested I stop for some rest and a cup of coffee. I blame AI.
Watching: Mom and dad are Yankees fans and suscribe to the all-Yankees cable channel. I'm not watching the games, exactly, but they are part of the ambiance.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: After finishing The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis, I spent some time poking around in some other books on my shelves to learn more about the photographer Germaine Krull, who was a contemporary of and should be as well-regarded as Man Ray and Robert Capa. You know, that old story. I added A Green Equinox by Elizabeth Mavor and Disoriental by Négar Djavadi to my TBR stack after a book club meeting and am looking forward to both.
Listening: The song of the week is two versions of the song "Little Girl Blue," a Rodgers and Hart standard from the 1930s, performed by two of the bluest girls around. The first is Nina Simone's from 1959, which is spare, elegant, and wryly emotional, and accompanied by her virtuosic piano playing. The second is Janis Joplin's version on her solo album from 1969, which sets her raw, pure energy in front of a full Nelson Riddle-esque string section.
Watching: I took myself to an actual movie theater to see Honey, Don't, the follow-up to 2024's Drive-Away Dolls, from the same writing and directing team of Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke and starring Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza. I don't think the parts quite added up to a whole, but there are a LOT of very fun parts.
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: I really loved The Ending Writes Itself by "Evelyn Clarke" which is the pseudonym for two known authors, who will be revealed sometime soon. Mysteries upon mysteries!
Listening: I just finished The Compound by Aisling Rawle and loved it. It's got all my faves - dystopia, reality TV, and dating chaos.
Watching: I can't think of anything that I've been watching lately worth talking about! I guess it's the end of summer TV slump.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, August 28, 2025
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October 30, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, on Zoom (register)
The SIBA Board of Directors invites all members to attend the 2025 SIBA Annual Meeting and Town Hall. The meeting will include a report on the State of SIBA and the Board will report on the work being done on behalf of the membership. There will also be time for questions from attendees. The event will be recorded.
What to look forward to:
- Update on SIBA's transition to a new website and upgraded member database and how it will affect members
- Responses to NVNR 2025 Conference
- Upcoming Spring 2026 programming
- Update on the Southern Book Prize
See the State of SIBA as reported at the SIBA Town Hall Meeting at NVNR 2025 in August
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, August 28, 2025
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 March Madness is SIBA’s signature spring program, taking place at bookstores across our territory, and providing education and author opportunities. Events are scheduled within a three-week period to allow booksellers to travel to different locations. Hosting brings publisher and bookseller attention to the store and is a great networking opportunity. It’s a time to show off and share what your store does well to colleagues in the book industry. The deadline to submit your store is October 15.
Submit your store here
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, August 28, 2025
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October 2, 1:00 PM Eastern on Zoom (register)
This October the SIBA Staff will take booksellers on a fun tour of their member benefits and and the SIBA website. Learn what benefits SIBA offers members, and how to use the site to get the information, including marketing and education materials, to improve their business bottom line.
Areas covered on the tour:
- Education opportunities, financial assistance, and scholarships
- Networking opportunities with bookstore, publisher, and book industry colleagues
- Consumer outreach and marketing programs to increase sales
- Online DIY resources for bookstores
- Upcoming events
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, August 28, 2025
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The September/October Read This Next! list for younger readers has a definite "once upon a time" undercurrent. Fairytales and folktales retold and reimagined are at the heart of many of these stories, proving that some stories will always stay with us.
RTNext! Kids Bookseller Resources
Edelweiss Collection | Flyer | Flyer Graphic (image)
Read is why Southen indie booksellers love these books:
Fox and the Mystery Letter by Alex G Griffiths
I love the illustrations in this story and getting to follow Fox as he tries to solve a puzzle with clues along the way was so fun! At its heart this story is one about forgiveness.
– Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
A completely precious re-telling of “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” that is sure to leave you feeling warm and cozy.
– Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
A Snow Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, Erin E. Stead (Illus.)
Amos McGee is back in this winter picture book! Amos is so excited about the first snow, so he knits all of his animal friends various accessories to prepare for the cold. A delightful and heartwarming read that I can't wait to read to
my kids for winters to come!
– Claire McWhorter, River & Hill Books in Rome, Georgia
Make Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron
Growing up in a family of morticians, Meka isn’t exactly squeamish about death, but when her world is turned upside down by tragedy, life after death takes on a very different
meaning. A Frankenstein reimagining with bittersweet romance and a menacing cult, this is well worth a read.
– Matilda McNeely, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia
War Games by Alan Gratz
Loved this one. A heist, a girl, international characters and some insight into what was going on before the war. And I learned about Black Sunday!
– Wilson Robbins, Novel.
in Memphis, Tennessee
Witchkiller by Ashlee Latimer
Ashlee Latimer's WITCHKILLER takes the story of Hansel & Gretel and completely flips it on its head with siblings who are increasingly at odds, witches who aren't what they
seem, and romance that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
– Tori Finklea, Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee
Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, August 21, 2025
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Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive
Director:
Reading: Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia. Hariri-Kia was at NVNR’s fabulous Sip & Sizzle reception. I fell in love with dual storylines that blend into each other and center strong women and, well, hunky mermen. Re-reading Rainbow Rowell’s Slow Dance for my book club.
Listening: In my post-con reset of my nervous system, I’m enjoying as much silence as I can get, with the occasional gentle music or guided meditation.
Watching: Young Sheldon, which I LOVE, the newest season of Madame Blanc, and the last fireflies of the season sparkling across our front yard after dark.
Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: Started Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz. Robots running a noodle shop sounds like just the right type of cozy I want right now.
Listening: Less than 2 hours left in the dramatized version of Onyx Storm!
Watching: Started watching Glee while I craft because it's a great background show, and I forgot how hard it goes pretty much immediately. It's wild the amount of plot that happens in just the first four episodes!
Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: I ended up listening to Xenobe Purvis's The Hounding on my drive to New York. Now, I have the book because I have to read it.
Listening: Aside from the road trip audiobooks, the various snarky comments from the GPS system in the car telling me I needed to get into the other lane to get to the upcoming exist. I swear once it suggested I stop for some rest and a cup of coffee. I blame AI.
Watching: Mom and dad are Yankees fans and suscribe to the all-Yankees cable channel. I'm not watching the games, exactly, but they are part of the ambiance.
SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: The Hounding, by Xenobe Purvis, about a family of five unusual sisters in an 18th century English village. Utterly original and beautifully written, it makes me think of everything from Robert Darnton's The Great Cat Massacre to Sylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly Willowes to Midsomer Murders.
Listening: I know my internal order has been restored when my days and evenings are full of music again (also when I've finally finished all my laundry from NVNR, but that lacks poetry). This week's song is Shelby Lynne's "Dreamsome" from her 2000 album I Am Shelby Lynne. It's one of those songs that is one of those songs, if you know what I mean.
Watching: Drive-Away Dolls (2024), a picaresque lesbian roadtrip movie set in 1999, just before ubiquitous cellphones made picaresque lesbian roadtrip movies obsolete, and directed by just the one Coen brother. I laughed, which is my favorite thing to do. And "Won't someone save Curlie?" has now become what I say when I'm feeling sorry for myself.
Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: I am about to get into my panel prep for NVNR! I am lucky enough to be moderating the horror panel - Kalynn Bayron, Ryan La Sala, D Elizabeth, and Adam Godfrey - so that's what I'll be reading for a while.
Listening: I finished The Long Walk by Stephen King most recently. I's my favorite of his stories and there's about to be a movie so I wanted to refresh my memory of it.
Watching: A fin little show called Upper Middle Bogan on Netflix. I love an Aussie accent.
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Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, August 21, 2025
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Read This Next! September is a collection of books about amibition, gore, romance, and grief. There are stories of of women behaving beautifully badly, and stories of finding beauty when things go bad. Prepare to be shocked, surprised, and deeply moved.
RTNX Bookseller Resources:
Edelweiss Collection | Flyer | Flyer Graphic
What SIBA Booksellers have to say:
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Another poignant work from Lily King, who has tremendous talent for authentically capturing the emotional reality of her protagonists over decades. In Heart the Lover, King shows us how our hearts vividly remember the way long-ago things felt, even when our minds have mixed up or forgotten the factual particulars.
–Janet Geddis Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
Awad, in this perfect follow-up to a masterful, weird-girl, gory cult favorite, has once again crafted the perfect campy, bloody celebration of striking prose, gorgeous characters, and sardonic horror.
– Joshua Lambie, The Underground Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia
To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage
It’s hard to believe that this multifaceted novel is a debut...Steph, a Queer Cherokee Nation citizen, decides at the age of six to become an astronaut and is single-minded in her ambition. It’s also about Native American history, identity and culture, about how the past - and the stories we tell ourselves about it - shapes our futures, and ultimately about family and the need for connection with others.
– Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey
I loved seeing Robbie go from an unlikable guy to one who was so gone on Skylar, he realized he needed to be better, not for her, but for himself. This may be the slowest burn of all of Tessa's books, but it's so worth it getting to that point.
– Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur, Georgia
All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert
All the Way to the River is a love letter to those struggling and trying to be better...the story of the highs and lows of falling in love with another addict, Rayya, and how her death was an awakening to finding peace in her life. Addiction isn't beautiful, but there is always beauty to be found in those that love you, even in their worst moments.?
– Gabriela Warner, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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.
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