RSVP to Wanda Jewell wanda@sibaweb.com to sign up for Reader Meet Writer
One of the earliest effects of COVID-19 on the book industry was the cancellation of almost all scheduled author tours and book events – with devastating impact on both the authors and bookstores.
SIBA has created the Reader Meet Writer Author Series as an alternative for bookstores that--now that most of the country in under some version of a shelter in place order—are seeking to create ways to engage with their customers online. Participating stores will be able to invite their customers to exclusive video events with authors which are only available to SIBA stores. Events will be hosted by SIBA and can be attended by up to 1000 people. Bookstores handle all ticket and book sales from their customers.
The schedule of events for the next three months is already in place, beginning with many of the writers whose books are Spring Okra Picks, including Grady Hendrix's highly anticipated “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires,” a SIBA bookseller favorite.
Here is the confirmed schedule so far:
Reader Meet Writer, Okra Pick April 7 Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires / Grady Hendrix
April 16 The Coyotes of Carthage / Steven Wright April 21 Blue Marlin / Lee Smith
April 28 Feels Like Falling / Kristy Woodson Harvey
May 5 Before She Was Helen / Caroline B. Cooney May 20 The Prettiest Star / Carter Sickels May 21 A Taste of Sage / Yaffa Santos
Reader Meet Writer, Southern Edition
May 6 Native / Kaitlin Curtice
May 12 Hello Summer / Mary Kay Andrews
More events will be added as authors are confirmed. To participate, email wanda@sibaweb.com. IMPORTANT! You must contact SIBA by Saturday, April 4th to be included in the first event with Grady Hendrix
“We sold out of copies of Taylor’s book and have re-ordered to meet demand. We were really pleased to be able to offer this to our customers and it came at just the right time. It gave folks something else to think about and our community really loves hearing from authors. We’re so grateful that SIBA is doing the heavy lifting. That really helps us out right now with the 75 thousand things we are doing.” -Serena Wycoff, Copperfish Books
What participating stores do:
Promoting the event to their customer base.
Handling ticket and book sales, and providing SIBA with the number of RSVPs.
Providing their customers with the specially created link and passcode to attend the online event.
Reporting book sales and feedback to SIBA after the event is over
What SIBA does:
Scheduling all Reader Meet Writer events
Preparing presenters with what they need for the event
Preparing all the materials participating bookstores will need to promote the event
Hosting the event itself, including handling all technical issues and managing all event logistics
“We had 35 people RSVP and sold 20 books. I call that a success.” – Tom Lowenburg, Octavia Books
A pilot event was held on March 31 with eight bookstores and Taylor Brown, an Okra Pick author whose book tour for his new novel, Pride of Eden, had been scheduled for over a dozen of southern bookstores before being cancelled. The test event attracted almost 100 attendees, which stores were able to leverage into book sales.
“What I loved about this is that all the work was done for me.... I have a ready-made virtual event that I just need to share. It is a part of my store it is a part of my store community and it is something I can offer with No Work on my part. I create a special email address for RSVPs. I create an event page (with the verbiage already templated by SIBA) and push it. I wait for the link from Wanda and send that to my RSVPS. I am offering something to my customers that some of them really need- the ability to connect with people and authors around books. I can keep them engaged with our platform and our store... and I can focus on the time-consuming drain that is all the other work.” – Kimberly Daniels, The Country Bookshop
Please fill out our COVID-19 Bookstore Impact & Best Practices survey, to let us know how COVID-19 has affected you and your bookstore. We want to stay connected to member stores, and find out what’s going on in your communities. We're also looking to share with other member stores those best practices that you have implemented in your store. This information will be shared with the ABA to advocate for financial relief funding for independent bookstores and small businesses.
As this is a rapidly evolving situation, we encourage you to return to this form at any time to submit a new response.
The ABA's resource page is the absolute best source of information for booksellers and is constantly updated. Pay special attention to CEO Allison Hill's updates, now archived here. If you aren't an ABA member, we highly encourage you join (ask about their dues relief plan during the crisis). Below are links to specific areas of interest. Do check back for further updates!
Here's a gathering of ideas and links from across the internet that I believe could prove useful for booksellers:
Use an expense line item called COVID-19 in your operation and dump all extraordinary expenses in there--not just supplies, but also time (safety meetings). You may need it for relief programs from the government and it will help you and your financial support staff understand these unexpected costs down the road.
Continue to message your customers with COVID-19 sensitive promotions on all your newsletters and platforms. Keep them informed and act as a consoling and thoughtful community leader who understand the importance of safety, but wants to supply books during the quarantine, directing them to online sales platforms.
If you'd like to pursue essential business designation for your store within your community and state, we ask you to read this advice from the ABA and pursue grassroots efforts with your fellow booksellers to lobby for this designation if you choose. More info below:
Who do I reach out to regarding permission to carry on business?
Consistently stores reaching out on the state level have been turned down
Focus your efforts locally
We have seen access granted to bookstores by local government including city council, mayors, city attorneys, and local assemblymen
Contacting local government also encourages them to promote and support business in this time
What to do when making your request:
Avoid requesting to be considered essential on social media.
Emphasize public safety. Businesses remain closed to the public, only handling online orders with minimal staff maintaining safe distances
Keep in mind:
There is some question as to whether staying open in these ways might hurt your chances for loans or grants later. We have no information on this but it is possible showing a complete loss of income may give you a better chance at loans and grants. Something to consider though most likely your store, like others, will have evident losses to document regardless.
Looks at the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which creates the Family Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act that goes into effect April 2. Business Resource Hub (Facebook) Note from Franklin Fixtures
Stay up to date on tools, resources, and supports made necessary during this time. #WhileAtHome is a clearinghouse for credible information and action steps.
Fill out this form: Join other retailers to tell your senators a "No" vote that needlessly delays passage of small business relief legislation is not okay.
Spread the word: Share the above-mentioned letters to the Senate with your customers and network. Ask for their help lobbying on behalf of your bookstore, small businesses, and the best interest of the local and national economy. Some sample social media captions:
Your monthly operating expenses from March through September of last year.
Note:Some loans and grants may make you ineligible for others. For example, a disaster loan may make you ineligible for the proposed forgivable loans that are in the proposed senate relief legislation. Ask questions and check ABA's Coronavirus Resources for Booksellers page for updates as we attempt to find out more.
Posted By SIBA Staff,
Friday, March 27, 2020
Updated: Wednesday, March 25, 2020
What a strange time for booksellers: as customers have never been more eager to read, it's increasingly challenging to get books into their socially-distanced hands. Authors 'Round the South (ARTS) wants to help. ARTS has a wealth of engaging, reader-focused, bookseller-friendly content and we are working hard on ways to make it more accessible, useful, and shareable for your store. And oh yeah, it's all free.
We're most excited about our treasure-trove of SIBA member bookseller reviews and recommendations. Have you wondered exactly what happens to the reviews and recommendations your store submits via Edelweiss? In addition to being regularly featured in the SIBA newsletter and blog, SIBA's reader-focused site Authors 'Round the South (ARTS) also runs store reviews on or near the publication date of the book.
But wait...there's more!
The newest reviews appear on the ARTS home page and on the main Read This! page, but even better, every single review is tagged and sorted into the ARTS bookseller review database, making each review accessible not just at publication but for the future. At present, there are hundreds and hundreds of books (actually 985, and counting--by the time you read this we will be closing in on 1000!) in the review database. Each review links directly to the reviewer's store's online retail (if available) and regardless of whether a store has ecommerce, the review links to the reviewer store's website.
SIBA wants to make ARTS even more of a resource for our members and their customers. Your store is welcome and encouraged to make use of any and all existing and future ARTS content (you don't need to ask permission) in any way you think might be helpful. To that end:
We have expanded the number of reviews featured on the home page, and are updating it much more frequently. Our goal is to feature as many as we possibly can. Individual reviews can be linked to and shared.
The Read This! database is now featured directly on the home page as well as on the main Read This page. Every category can be linked to and/or shared directly via social media or email.
We make an effort to feature as many SIBA stores as possible, and as mentioned above, ARTS does not limit the featured reviews to stores with ecommerce.
In addition to bookseller recommendations on ARTS, SIBA also features the weekly Southern indie bestseller list (usually updated on Wednesday afternoons subject to when the ABA releases the information), and creates a list of titles special to Southern indies, with the current list also displayed on the home page. Each week, ARTS features a different member store with ecommerce on its "Special to Southern" list. We also create a "white-label" list with no SIBA or ARTS branding list available on sibaweb.com, and provide the code (automatically updated weekly at this same link) for stores to use on their own sites and link titles to their own ecommerce platform.
In the works:
The existing Read This! page on ARTS will be converted to a weekly update of recent reviews, plus a featured database category that can be easily shared via social media.
We're converting the PDF Southern bestseller lists flyers into a "white label" HTML format, similar to the "special to Southern" bestseller list for stores to share to their email lists and link to on their sites, and making that code available for stores to add their own ecommerce links if desired.
We're brainstorming ways to make all ARTS content even more useful, adaptable, and accessible to SIBA member stores. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know!
Like most retail during this difficult period, we've been pushed to our limits trying to find creative and undiscovered methods of reaching our customers and doing business. Unprecedented and unimaginably challenging times have brought new levels of anxiety. One small byproduct of this for us has been innovation.
Our goal is to support our customers at home while maintaining their sense of connection with being in our store...the ambiance, warmth, staff friendliness, and overall positive experience. We are seeing the "live local" mentality continue to gain momentum. People are concerned for their communities, scared for the loss of jobs, and more determined to keep their communities alive and thriving as much as they can.
We remind people of this point in nearly every post, every receipt, every bill they get, ads we produce, and television spots we run. We even have a hold message on our phone system that grabs attention with interesting science and history trivia, then relays facts about shopping locally.
We are amplifying the "support your community" message with banners along with curbside pick-up services and regular posts on Facebook and Instagram. Personal thank you notes are dropped into each curbside bag we hand to our customers. We will be doing virtual story time, along with book chats covering various genres, and videos with staff's favorite reads. Our book discussions and book clubs, led by Angie, are suspended for now, but we will resume when all this settles. Angie has been a strong force behind these book discussions and hopefully will continue them virtually.
Our social media people have been doggedly creative. Zander has done film and make-up professionally and he loves working with humor, visual techniques, and editing practices to give our posts an extra touch. Because much of our product is non-book, it gives us a little more license to work with levity. We got in some ride-on toys and we promptly made a post with me racing on this unicorn against another employee with derby music in the background. It was a big hit and brought laughter and smiles. We'll be doing more with juggling, kendamas, outdoor toys, posting our staff playing the new games.
We're now doing posts on our school supplies, to let parents know we are here to help lessen boredom and increase structure at home with workbooks. We also believe parents can enhance family connection and fun with games and puzzles. Our puzzle sales are triple what they've been in the past. We're contacting principals and schools to see what their needs are for families wanting structure and learning for their children. We've sent out images to them of workbooks and curriculum aids, and available discounts.
Our approach through all of this is to connect with the community and customer frequently and with a lightness which people need after a lot of dismal news. We are getting more likes and shares than we ever have with many of these posts. But, we're also promoting the message of staying safe, practicing physical distancing, all while pushing hard our curbside pick up service and web ordering.
We're looking forward to maximizing great tools that publishers are offering. This ordeal will also help us explore broader community posts where even more businesses unify together in spreading this crucial message of how small local businesses are what truly bring strength, diversity, personality, and vitality to our communities.
Surviving this will be a challenge and ultimately, we are hoping to come out with new business models , a larger customer base for our website, regular curbside pick up, newer fresher ways of doing social media, a community that more than before feels the importance of supporting their local businesses, realigned values, more cherished family time and hopefully...new leadership.
On Thursday, March 19th, SIBA hosted an hour-long online town hall meeting with the American Booksellers Association via Zoom. The main topic was, naturally, the impact of COVID-19 on bookstores and what the ABA was doing to respond to the crisis.
Since that meeting, only a week ago, the landscape has already changed drastically as the United States has documented an exponential rise in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. Measures that were discussed as “coming” – forced closures, shelter in place orders – have now arrived. SIBA stores are struggling to adapt to a new environment where their greatest strength, their physical presence in their community, has been restricted by quarantine measures.
“It is a question of when, not if, these measures will be implemented in our communities,” commented SIBA Executive Director Wanda Jewell at the beginning of the town hall meeting. The “when” arrived for many stores within days.
On hand from the ABA to answer questions were Allison Hill, CEO, Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, COO, Ryan Quinn, Member Liaison for SIBA Territory, and Dan Cullen, Senior Strategy Officer.
Bookstores should also note these essential tools:
Email info@bookweb.org to sign up for the ABA’s Daily Alert on COVID-19
Email dan@bookweb.org to request information on negotiating with landlords for rent deferment
Take a coffee break with the ABA on Zoom: Tuesdays and Thursdays here (meeting ID 749 778 583)
“Our number one priority is how to support bookstores so that they are all still here when the crisis is over.” – Allison Hill
The ABA’s primary focus is has been on advocating for measures that will relieve bookstores of the immediate cash flow issues they face from forced closures. One of the first steps was to donate $100,000 to Binc, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. Binc’s priority is to provide emergency aid to booksellers who face unexpected expenses.
At the same time, since stores find themselves having to switch to online sales to maintain any kind of cash flow, the ABA is waiving membership dues through June and has expedited payments on Indiecommerce and Indielite sales and implemented a donation module that stores can activate on their IC sites.
Another step was to create a continuously updated page of resources for booksellers. The ABA has called on SIBA and the other regional associations to help them research local, regional, and national resources for stores with a focus on “what’s real, what’s now, and what’s the most actionable for booksellers.”
In advocating for bookstores, the ABA is lobbying with the national and local governments for grants rather than loans, moratoriums on evictions, and extensions of tax deadlines. Their priority is that any money made available by economic stimulus measures is easily accessible to bookstores and small businesses.
They are also interceding with publishers on behalf of stores for delay of payment options. Hill noted that publishers are willing to offer grace periods to stores on a case by case basis, and strongly encouraged booksellers to talk to their reps. When questioned how the crisis was affecting publishing houses, Hill noted that the greatest concern is how long the crisis will last, whether or not publication schedules need to be delayed, how to promote books in the current situation, and what the industry will look like in the summer and fall as trade conferences are postponed or canceled, and book events and tours are no longer feasible.
Hill noted that keeping supply chains open has been a priority in all coronavirus responses. Ingram has been declared an “essential” service, as have USPS, UPS, and FedEx for shipping to residential (though not commercial) addresses.
And because the situation for stores can change very rapidly, the ABA is very concerned with helping stores anticipate “the next stage” of change in their community, whatever it is. There is usually only a 24-48 hour window to comply with shelter-in-place order. For that reason, they have added resources and technology to their Indiecommerce team. They have also created a team to research options for hosting virtual author tours, working with publishers for more open licensing agreements that would allow bookstores to host virtual readings, storytimes, and book clubs.
They are also collecting data – store hour changes and closings, and other operations changes, as well as tips and “best practices” for stores that find themselves unable to get to their building. (“Bring your gift cards home with you!” said Pete from Green Apple Books).
Despite the gravity of the situation, Hill closed on a positive note, reporting that the ABA’s own financial managers feel that although the next two quarters will be volatile, consumerism will come back strongly once the COVID-19 crisis has passed.
Questions and Answers from the ABA Meeting:
How do we support our employees if we are shut down: Is it better to furlough or layoff employees?
The ABA is researching options for stores and will post information on their COVID-19 page. Furloughed workers can claim unemployment, but it varies by state how much. They should not perform any work. Layoffs are also state-regulated, with some states offering work-share programs. COVID-19 and Labor Law
What is the difference between Bookshop and IndieLite. Do we need both?
Stores should explore all options. Everything helps. IndieLite sales earn more per transaction than Bookshop sales, but signing up to be a Bookshop affiliate puts you in the general pool. Bookshop is also returning the full 30% of sales to their store affiliates for the next eight weeks, in effect returning their entire profit to the stores. Stores should also look at partnering with Libro.fm. They have already raised $20K for stores. Bookshop | IndieLite | Libro.fm
Will publishers stop taking returns?
Publishers are committed to staying operational as long as possible, but they may be required to close their warehouses.
What will happen to ABACUS?
ABACUS has been canceled for the year, on the basis that any data collected now will not be relevant in the new financial landscape.
(Adapted by Robert Martin, Executive Director of the Independent Booksellers Consortium, with permission from Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, CA)
Part of the anxiety booksellers must face during this outbreak is whether having employees come into the store to process web orders and do curbside pick up is risking exposure for them. To that end, we created a set of rules for the employees. Maybe this will help others.
Managers will never schedule more than 10 people in the store at the same time.
Please wash your hands with soap and water when you first arrive before doing anything else.
The store should try to keep a 6 ft. distance between employees and set up work stations to be at least 6 feet apart.
Do not use public transportation to get to work--let your manager know if that is your only method so they can try to find an alternative for you.
Employees coming into work need to be self isolating at home otherwise so as to not spread germs here. If you are not self isolating during your non-work hours, please let your manager know so they can find appropriate tasks for you to safely complete.
The household situation of employees is also important to communicate--if you live with anyone who takes public transit, interacts with others for work, or is otherwise at risk.
The bathrooms should cleaned and de-sanitized every morning by a professional crew, and staff are only using your bathrooms (not the building's bathrooms).
Every work station and phone should be sanitized before you start working in the morning and then sanitized again every two hours.
Once a manager assigns you to a particular station, only use that station, except when you need to use a shared register (which should be the minimum amount possible).
Sanitize a pen and then carry that one pen with you for the rest of the day instead of sharing pens.
Any shared documents (phone log, etc.) should no longer be required.
Most importantly: do not come into work sick, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water consistently, do not touch your face, and cough/sneeze into your sleeve.
Bookseller Chill with Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. is a six-week series beginning March 26 at 2 PM EST and continuing each Thursday, same time, same zoom link, till April 30. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes and include concepts from Bryan's book: #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn On Your Life (HarperCollins, 2019), followed by what Bryan calls simple, short "MicroChiller" meditations that will help us relax and restore during this time of great uncertainty. You can read Bryan's recent post at Forbes.com: The Psychology of Uncertainty: How to Cope with COVID-19 Anxiety.
Today's events are creating anxiety that challenges our resilience and ability to act, make good decisions, even sleep. This series provides tools to cope, and a window of time to share with your colleagues as you experience guided meditations and counsel. Come to as few or as many sessions as you like, and please bring your staff. RSVP lindamarie@sibaweb.com to attend. These sessions will be recorded for later viewing.
Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist who has built his career on the themes of resilience, work/life balance, and well-being. He's a contributor to Forbes Magazine, Psychology Today, and writes a weekly column for Thrive Global, Arianna Huffington's new company. He's very excited about this series and hopes as many of you can participate as possible.
Cavalier House Books co-owner and SIBA Board member John Cavalier will present "Tips for Managing an Unexpected Crisis," focusing on business strategies during COVID-19. During a time of crisis, it's vital to put a plan in place, as a thoughtful response can mean the difference between persevering and closing up shop. John will talk generally and specifically about how you can work with your staff and community to craft a plan that will help you achieve your goals. He'll also provide a list of concrete steps you can take to build resiliency for your store's future and daily operations.
John and Michelle Cavalier experienced their worst year in business after a string of natural disasters culminated in the Great Louisiana Flood of 2016. During that crisis they saw widespread school closures in their area as well as a complete halt to the local economy for non-essential goods and services. They emerged even stronger as a business. Join us for this special webinar to hear how the Cavaliers are approaching the current crisis, and what steps you can take to shore up and even improve your business during this uniquely challenging time.
Bring your questions and concerns for a Q & A after the presentation.
Every time I hear the term "flatten the curve," I sing it to myself in the voice of Waylon Jennings to the tune of the Dukes of Hazzard theme. And then I add ... Some day the mountain might get us but the virus never will. That's one of my dumb little coping mechanisms in this time of heightened anxiety.
It's bizarre. One of our staffers here at our store likened this pandemic to the slowest moving hurricane possible. I agree. The uncertainty is intense and the news of so many of my friends shuttering their doors for a yet to be determined period of time makes me feel nauseous.
For us, it's school book fairs. Louisiana has closed all schools for a month and with their closure around $60,000 in anticipated revenue has dried up literally overnight. Will we have time to reschedule? Can we pursue alternate sales strategies? How will we move all of this inventory? How much can we return? When will we have to close our store as well? When will we reopen? Will we have the cash to get through the pandemic? The slower summer?
The anxiety can be crippling.
My wife and I were discussing all of these things and we asked ourselves, "What are we going to do?" For us, the answer is the same thing we did in 2016. That year was our worst year in business owing to a string of natural disasters in our area that culminated in the Great Louisiana Flood of 2016. During that crisis we saw widespread school closures in our area as well as a complete halt to our local economy for non-essential goods and services. Those consequences were dumped on us then much like the consequence of the coronavirus is being heaped on all of us now.
It's tough to distill an experience like that into actionable steps to take in response and it's tough to try to cherry pick lessons that can be shared with others, but there are a few fundamentals that I know to be true and I'd like to remind everyone of them at this time.
Focus on solutions and not problems. There are of course economic realities and uncertainties yet to be revealed, but don't lose sight of your goals, hopes, and dreams. Figure out how you want to emerge from this pandemic and then take the necessary steps to get there. For us, we're looking at being cash poor and time rich for several months so I aim to come out of the other side of this leaner, more efficient, and more organized than ever before. I'm also looking at business and personal debt restructuring as well as strategies to be more responsive to opportunities so that as they present themselves I can be ready to pounce.
People are people. Everyone is experiencing this and everyone is going to have a rough go for a bit. Honesty and communication are essential. Express your concerns to your landlord, your credit reps, your sales reps, your banks as soon as possible. Don't wait to be late on a payment. You have infinitely more credibility and wiggle room if you are upfront and present a plan of action rather than sweeping problems under the rug. Go to your bank or your landlord or whomever right now and make sure they know your story and that they are on your team. Lead them to a solution, rather than presenting your problems.
The future is what we make it. Certainly the randomness and unexpectedness of this pandemic would make it seem otherwise, but we have to remember that most of our anxieties and frustrations come not from the virus itself but from our collective response to it. This is the hard way wisdom is earned. We are a community. We are parts of other communities. We are our own leadership as well as our own source of authority. We have to take comfort in knowing that the experience of today can lead us to a stronger tomorrow.
Community is everything. Whenever you feel like everything is at its worst, someone will surprise you. Whenever you feel like you are all alone, someone will surprise you.
Deep breaths and baby steps. Remember your goals and your assets. Share your talents. Think about others. Be honest and open. Create and share solutions. Take comfort and find strength in the various communities you are a part of. Lean on other people - metaphorically of course (#socialdistancing). Don't just react, plan.
Hoping for the best and planning for the future,
John Cavalier
Co-owner of Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA, and SIBA Board Member john@cavalierhousebooks.com
The Binc Foundation can potentially offer booksellers support during a public health emergency. Assistance may be available for the medical expenses of booksellers. Binc may also be able to help booksellers in specific cases where store closure and/or loss of scheduled pay creates a financial hardship for the individual/family.
Binc may be able to help with medical expenses or personal household expenses under the following circumstances:
If a bookstore employee contracts an illness and cannot go to work.
If a member of a bookseller’s household contracts an illness and the employee is forced to quarantine themselves to prevent further spread of the virus.
For the events listed below, an official state, county or city Public Health Emergency restricting public interaction must be declared and documented.
If a bookseller loses more than 50% of their scheduled work hours because residents are told not to go to work.
If a bookseller loses more than 50% of their scheduled work hours due to a mandatory quarantine.
If a bookstore loses a significant amount of business due to forced store closure or restrictions on residents’ movement and the store is unable to pay store rent and/or utility expenses, Binc may be able to help.
Join us on Wednesday, March 25 at 2PM EST for our B3! Webinar: Libro.fm Programming to Support Your Online Store. Stephanie Ballien and Mark Pearson of Libro.fm will provide helpful information about driving audiobook sales and growing your online presence with the aid of authors, influencers, Bookstore Link, and more. Q & A will follow their presentation. Please RSVP lindamarie@sibaweb.com to attend.
Mark Pearson is the CEO and co-founder of Libro.fm, the digital audiobook platform for more than 900 independent bookstores. He lives in Seattle where he enjoys running in the rain, playing tennis when the sun makes an appearance, over and undercooking food, and reading The New York Times on paper.
Stephanie Ballien is the Director of Marketing at Libro.fm.
RSS
Bookseller Chill with Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. is a six-week series beginning March 26 at 2 PM EST and continuing each Thursday, same time, same zoom link, till April 30. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes and include concepts from Bryan's book: #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn On Your Life (HarperCollins, 2019), followed by what Bryan calls simple, short "MicroChiller" meditations that will help us relax and restore during this time of great uncertainty. You can read Bryan's recent post at Forbes.com: 
Every time I hear the term "flatten the curve," I sing it to myself in the voice of Waylon Jennings to the tune of the Dukes of Hazzard theme. And then I add ... Some day the mountain might get us but the virus never will. That's one of my dumb little coping mechanisms in this time of heightened anxiety.
Join us on Wednesday, March 25 at 2PM EST for our B3! Webinar: Libro.fm Programming to Support Your Online Store. 
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