Profile by Candice Huber, SIBA Membership Coordinator

Books turn muggles into wizards!

Portkey Books in Safety Harbor, FL was recently named Safety Harbor Retail Business of the Year by their local Chamber of Commerce! Portkey is run by Crystel Calderon, and it is a micro store of only 180 square feet with a huge heart. Portkey began as a pop-up bookstore, and after a year of operating in that way, they opened a tiny storefront on Main Street. A fun fact about Crystel that's listed on Portkey's website: under her picture in her 8th grade yearbook, it says "Bookworm."

Before beginning her pop-up shop, Crystel worked for 6 years in the book industry for big box stores, small indie stores, and a public library. Owning a bookstore is her true passion, and she's excited to finally be living her dream (many of us can probably relate!). Portkey does community work with their local Kiwanis chapter, PFLAG, and the library foundation, and they have donated books to local children in foster care with Feeding the Fosters. They also organized a Pride Resource Fair in the middle of town to combat the hurtful things going on in Florida with a visible positive and welcoming community event. For a one-person shop, Crystel is able to do a lot!

About SIBA, Crystel said, "I really enjoyed my first time at March Madness this year! It was fun connecting with other local stores to connect, brainstorm, and just enjoy each other's company."

Congratulations to Portkey Books for being Safety Harbor's Retail Business of the Year! You can follow Portkey Books on Instagram @portkeybookstore or on Facebook. Visit their website at the link in our bio!

FOR RELEASE on Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Celebrating 25 Years of Great Taste in Southern Literature:
Announcing the 2024 Southern Book Prize Finalists

The Southern Book Prize celebrates its 25th anniversary with the announcement of the 2024 Southern Book Prize finalists, selected by Southern independent booksellers and representing bookseller favorites from 2023 that are Southern in nature—either about the South or by a Southern writer. Since its inception in 1999, the Southern Book Prize (formerly the SIBA Book Award) has stood as a testament to the love of indie booksellers for great storytelling.

All books nominated for the Southern Book Prize have been submitted by bookseller members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and have received enthusiastic reviews from Southern booksellers. The 18 finalists, six in each category, received the highest number of nominations and rave reviews, making these books a collection of the most beloved “handsells” of the year in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s/young adult literature.

The finalists make up the 2024 Southern Book Prize ballot. Voting is open now and will run through February 1, 2024. All readers who love Southern literature and Southern independent bookstores can vote for their favorites:

VOTE HERE: The 2024 Southern Book Prize Ballot
See the 2024 Southern Book Prize finalists

SIBA launched the Southern Book Prize public ballot in 2019 to encourage stores to engage their customers in the important question of what books deserve to be called “the best Southern book of the year.”  Participating bookstores promote the ballot to their customers, and submitted ballots are entered into a raffle to win a set of the finalist titles. Winners in each category will be chosen by popular vote. Southern Book Prize winners will be announced on February 14, Valentine’s Day.

The Finalists:

Fiction

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby [Flatiron Books]
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix [Berkley]
Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward [Scribner]
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow [Tor Books]
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett [Harper]
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff [Riverhead Books]

Nonfiction

Above Ground by Clint Smith [Little, Brown and Company]
The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl [Spiegel & Grau]
Happily by Sabrina Orah Mark [Random House]
Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge by Helen Ellis [Doubleday]
This Isn't Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace [Algonquin Books]
We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard [Henry Holt adn Co.]

Children's & YA

Begin Again by Emma Lord [Wednesday Books]
Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker [Tor Teen]
Chaos Theory by Nic Stone [Crown Books for Young Readers]
Okra Stew by Natalie Daise [Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)]
When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn [Bloomsbury Children's Books]
Where are the Aliens by Stacy McAnulty, Nicole Miles (Illus.) [Little Brown Books for Young Readers]

For more information, visit the home of the Southern Book Prize at The Southern Bookseller Review or contact Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director, Southern Booksellers Alliance at lindamarie@sibaweb.com.

In this monthly segment, members can ask Candice anything, and they will provide an answer if they know! 

This month’s question is: What is Discord, and how do I join SIBA’s online community?

SIBA launched our Discord server last week. If you aren’t familiar with Discord, it is an online community similar to Slack where users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media, and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers.” Servers can be private or public and are made up of “channels” that members use for communication. SIBA’s server is private, as only bookseller members of SIBA are eligible to join. We are really hoping that creating this online community allows our members to be in touch all year round.

To join SIBA’s server, you will need an invite. SIBA member stores and their booksellers can request an invite by emailing me at candice@sibaweb.com. Once you click the invite link, Discord will ask you to create an account or to log in. After your account is created, Discord will take you to our “SIBAland” server.

Once you’re in the SIBAland server, you can click on the “Server Guide” at the top left, then click “Discord Basics” for a guide to using Discord. Or, you can watch the “Introduction to Discord” video (~20 minutes) that I recorded. Of course, if you have any questions or want help, you can always email me at candice@sibaweb.com.

SIBA really hopes to build a thriving online community with Discord. Together, I think we can expand the SIBA community past our in person and virtual events and really create something special! I hope to see you on the server.

For Immediate Release

NAIBA & SIBA Announce Dates for 2024 Joint NVNR Conference

New Voices New Rooms (NVNR), the combined annual conference for the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) and Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) will be hosted on Thursday, August 8 through Sunday, August 11, 2024. 

NVNR returns to the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA with a reduced room rate for conference attendees. The four star hotel offers free shuttle service from Ronald Reagan airport, is directly connected to the metro system, and only two miles from Washington, DC. 

The move to weekend dates is intended to help seasonal stores send a staffer since weekends are generally fully staffed in the bookstore. NAIBA and SIBA plan to increase the number of travel grants awarded to bookstores to offset the expense of attendance, as well as bring back day-pass opportunities.

 “Bookselling can feel reclusive and then you come to these events, you find your community, and you find you’re all dealing with the same things.” --Sarah Rifield, Park Books & Literacy Lab in Severna Park, MD

What’s New in NVNR 2024:

• Expanded exhibit floor.
• Early Bird Pricing.
• More author events.
• More convenient scheduling.
• Region-specific programming.
• Expanded focus on genre picks.
• More travel grants for booksellers.
• More live transcription services at events.

“By pooling resources and talent, and the voices of two vibrant and engaged bookseller communities, we’re creating a special and unique experience. We’ll also take advantage of the timing and setting during a big election year for important bookseller activism on issues affecting our industry,” said Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director of SIBA. 

"The fantastic managers retreat [was] a brain trust of people in a room sharing ideas.” --Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC

SIBA and NAIBA invite booksellers, publishers, and partners to help build NVNR 2024. Suggestions for education, author panels, and other unique experiences are welcome here. 

“The NVNR experience is invaluable,” says Eileen Dengler, Executive Director of NAIBA, “because it is designed not only for, but by those who attend. NVNR is tailored to the specific needs and requests of our booksellers, publishers and partners. We invite and encourage all of you to join us and invest in yourself, your business and your future.”

Important Dates:

1/16/2024: Applications open for bookseller scholarships.
1/16/2024: Exhibit space reservations and Call for Authors open.
4/2/2024: Bookseller registration opens.

For more information, visit newvoicesnewrooms.org or contact Eileen Dengler (eileen@naiba.com) or Linda-Marie Barrett (lindamarie@sibaweb.com).

Murder bots and motherhood, chess competitions and duels, the books on the November Read This Next! list are full of all the unexpected stories readers have come to expect from Read This Next! books.

Every month Read This Next! highlights new books that are receiving exceptional, and exceptionally enthusiastic, buzz from Southern indie booksellers. Each of the selected books has several enthusiastic cheerleaders among Southern indie booksellers. SIBA always makes a point of putting the store excitement and buzz around these books in front of their publishers, raising store visibility with the industry.

RTNext! Bookseller Resources:
Edelweiss Collection | Flyer | Flyer Front (image)

What SIBA Booksellers have to say:

System Collapse by Martha Wells
If you already love Murderbot, you'll continue to love it. This newest installation still has the wonderful mix of snark, action, and Murderbot struggling with being a construct of free will.
– Kelly McLeod from The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, AL

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
This YA debut by Ali was not only riveting, it was exceptionally written. This novel almost feels like chess when you're reading it and watching how intricately Ali has weaved these characters together.
– Charlotte Beck from Main Street Reads in Summerville, SC

Class : A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land
Land calls out the emotional and physical cost of being a single parent and student...An education in inequality and perseverance, you will never think of resilience in the same way again.
– Jan Blodgett from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC

So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan
Claire Keegan is such a powerful writer...Dealing with misogyny, love and lust, and betrayal this collection is insightful at times, enraging at others.
– Kelley Barnes from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC

Duel by Jessixa Bagley, Aaron Bagley (Illus.)
I loved the creativity in the book. I really like how they included other kinds of people in the story. It shows that you have to have courage to do something even if you don't win.
– Mandy Harris from Angel Wings Bookstore in Stem, NC

Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review

SOUTHERN INDIE BESTSELLER LIST
For the week ending 10/15/2023

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

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

Community, engagement, and book banning were the major themes at SIBA's Annual Meeting this week. SIBA Board and Staff talked to booksellers about the past year and future goals.

Jamie Southern, SIBA Board President, reported on the board's work to update SIBA's bylaws, including expanding the definition of SIBA's core membership to include other business models beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar bookshop. The board is also investigating increasing the size of the board from 5 to 7 people, to allow for better representation of SIBA's large territory. The proposed changes to the bylaws are currently under review by a legal team, and once they sign off on, the bylaws will go to the SIBA membership for a vote, hopefully before the end of 2023.

SIBA's executive director, Linda-Marie Barrett spoke passionately about book banning and censorship issues facing Southern bookstores, and reiterated that SIBA's priority is to support its member store sand give them the resources and tools booksellers need to face these censorship attempts and advocate for the books and authors in their own communities.

She also reported on SIBA's Annual Conference at New Voices New Rooms, held in partnership with NAIBA in Arlington, VA in August. The conference was the first large-scale event SIBA has held since 2019 and considered a success, with robust attendance by booksellers from both SIBA and NAIBA regions, and a sold out exhibit hall. NVNR 2023 took steps to make the event affordable, including offering single-day passes and making all meals included in the registration price. SIBA also also gave out 10 scholarships to booksellers to attend the event. The event was also returned a net profit and was a financial success for SIBA, a marked change from trade shows in previous years which tended to operate at a loss. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Barrett confirmed that SIBA and NAIBA would partner again for the 2024 conference, dates and details to be announced within the next couple weeks.

SIBA's other programming also saw high engagement from booksellers, including the "March Madness" series held at bookstores around the region, and the inaugural "Indie Press Social" event held in Atlanta in September.

In reporting on SIBA's financial status, Barrett said the organization was in "excellent financial health" and anticipated ending the year with a 22% increase in assets over the same period the previous year.

Nicki Leone, SIBA's Communications Coordinator, spoke about SIBA's Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, including member outreach, programming, DEI training, and advocacy. She noted that SIBA's DEI policies grew out of SIBA's Statement Against Racism issued in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd's murder, and has evolved into a comprehensive Diversity and Inclusion policy for the organization.

She reported a significant increase in the number of Black-owned, BIPOC-owned, and LGBTQ+-owned bookstores in SIBA's membership database since 2020 when SIBA first started keeping records (from about 20 stores to nearly 50), and also noted that the number of those stores who were actively engaged with SIBA had also risen. Leone estimates that at any given time, approximately 15% of SIBA's bookstore membership comes from diverse or under-represented groups. SIBA held a "census" of its bookstore in 2022 to collect data about its member stores and plans a second census in 2024.

Other DEI programming initiatives for the year included SIBA's 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge, held in February, SIBA's first Bilingual issue of The Southern Bookseller Review in September, and a widely-praised virtual event on supporting Trans Staff and Community in May, which received national attention. SIBA also continues to publish a regular column in its newsletter focused on DEI work for small businesses.

Leone also spoke about the dangers of book banning in the region, pointing out that the demands to censor books -- overwhelming by black, brown, and LGBTQ+ authors -- were damaging the relationships bookstores have built with libraries and schools in their own communities. SIBA will be holding a special event in November in cooperation with PEN America specifically to address the issue of safety and dealing with online and real world harassment. SIBA has also started a program of sharing bookseller reviews of banned books under the heading "Decide for Yourself," and has created a resource database for booksellers dealing with book bans in their communities.

Candice Huber, SIBA's membership coordinator and social media coordinator, reported that this year SIBA's focus has been on community-building within the SIBA membership. SIBA currently has 186 bookstore members, representing a 22% increase over the previous year, and 23% of its members are new bookstores. They also noted they were reaching out to lapsed members and that member outreach has been the main priority for the year.

Huber reported that member engagement is at an all-time high, with more stores participating in SIBA programming across the board than in the previous year. For example, 2023 was notable for a record-breaking percentage of booksellers voting in the Board elections. Participation in the summer and holiday catalogs were up by at least 26%, and not only was attendance up in events such as March Madness, but the number of bookstores represented by attendees has increased as well. Engagement has also increased across SIBA's Social Media channels, especially since Huber has started to add more video posts and store spotlights. Banned Book reviews are also among the most engaged posts.

As part of its community-building, Huber also announced that SIBA is creating a community space on Discord for SIBA booksellers. The Discord "server" is currently being tested, and all SIBA booksellers will receive an invitation to join once it opens within the next couple weeks.

SIBA Annual Meeting Agenda | 2022 Annual Meeting Minutes | SIBA Banned Books Resource List

by Candice Huber, SIBA Membership Coordinator

Third House Books, located in Gainesville, FL, describes itself as a small bookstore that specializes in titles from small independent presses and marginalized voices. Their small inventory (no more than 400 titles) is intended to allow customers to browse nearly every title in a relatively short amount of time without becoming overwhelmed.

Founded by Kiren Valjee, Third House Books was built upon an important lacking in the community: a safe space to read, gather, learn, and recharge. It opened on October 28, 2016 - a turbulent time - but has endured. The current owner is Heather Halak, who, like many of our member stores, is a one-person show. She worked in the music industry before accidentally owning a bookstore and being into punk is inextricable from what she does at the shop, selling zines, music books, and having events for both.

Heather's favorite handsell of the year is Matrix by Lauren Groff, who is a local author for Third House Books. Heather says, "Matrix is queer, weird, and a little creepy in all the right ways. I also went to Catholic school for 10 years and I admittedly have a fascination with nuns. Marie is written in a way that is both inspiring but makes me afraid of some of my own power hungry proclivities. Groff's research was rich, obsessive, and tenacious and it's obvious in her writing."

As far as Heather’s personal favorite books, she named Jane Eyre and Frankenstein as her favorite classics, and she said that she read House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros in high school, and it was the first book to make her proud to be Latina.

You can follow Third House Books on Instagram @thirdhousebooks or on Facebook. Visit their website at the link in our bio!

Bookstores contact Candice Huber to be featured in SIBA's newsletter!

Trade Sales Representative – Southern Region

Compensation: $55,000 - $60,000 + Benefits and Bonus Potential

Como Sales Co. seeks a Sales Representative to sell its client publisher titles to independent bookstores and other trade accounts in the and a handful of small wholesalers in the Southeastern US. The territory includes Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. The ideal candidate will be based in one of these states, as travel within the region will be frequent.

Responsibilities include:

• Meeting with bookstore owners/ buyers (known hereafter as accounts) both in-person and virtually to present and sell-insell in a large list of frontlist titles from our a growing stable of publisher clients multiple times a year., either two or three times per year depending on the publisher schedule.

• Managing the relationship with and providing quality customer service to existing accounts, as well as actively pursuing relationships with new accounts.

• Communicating regularly with accounts about publisher titles, both frontlist and backlist, special promotions, publicity hits, samples, and any changes or developments from our publishers and their books.

• Serving as the liaison between publishers and accounts, which means advocating for both parties as needed and providing the link with Customer Service, Credit, Marketing and Publicity departments. 

• Attending regional trade shows and publisher sales conferences, both in-person and virtually, and managing the execution of your region’s trade show.

• Maintaining the relationship with SIBA (the Southern Independent Bookseller’s Association) and keeping up with their promotional opportunities for our publishers.

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s Degree required; 3+ years of experience in publishing or bookselling preferred.

• Fastidious attention to detail, organizational skills, and interest in numbers and reporting.

• Comfort and experience communicating with all types of people, both in-person and by phone.

• A self-starter who will feel empowered to identify opportunities and resolve potential issues without regular management.

• Love of books and interest in reading widely across genres are crucial! 

• Must have a valid driver’s license a vehicle, and the ability to travel up to 3040% of the year in their own vehicle. .

• Physically must be able to lift boxes of books.

Interested candidates, please email a resume in PDF format only to info@comosales.com

Over 40 booksellers attended SIBA's first Indie Press Social at Little Shop of Stories in Atlanta on September 12th. They heard from representatives of Beacon Press, Europa Editions, New Press, Other Press, and Verso, and had a chance to talk to both the reps and their bookseller colleagues about their businesses and their perspective on the book industry. Booksellers and presenters then went to a local restaurant for dinner. The reps also took the time to visit a number of Atlanta-area bookstores.

Feedback has been enthusiastic:

"Much gratitude to all! An incredible opportunity for small indies and small publishers to share struggles and triumphs. Always invigorating to reconnect with fellow store owners". -Annell Garcia Gerson, Bookmiser

"Thank you for putting on this most helpful meeting of booksellers and the editors from indie presses."-Doug Robinson, Eagle Eye

"What an incredible experience! All the booksellers that attended were so generous with their time and energy. I had so many fantastic conversations. The bookstore tour really showed how Decatur has a vibrant and diverse bookselling community. I look forward to the next one." --Steven Tran | Sales & Rights Manager, Soho Press

SIBA plans to bring the Indie Press Social model to other areas of SIBA's territory in the future. Bookstores interesting in hosting future Indie Press Socials should contact Linda-Marie at lindamarie@sibaweb.com