Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 17, 2022
The final recap of the finalists on the 2023 Southern Book Prize Ballot, as reviewed by booksellers on The Southern Bookseller Review. Here is what they have to say about the Nonfiction finalists:
This Boy We Made by Taylor Harris
This is heart-wrenching. As a mother I was absolutely enveloped in the author’s journey through this incredibly difficult time in her life. At every turn I was in awe of her grace in dealing with what life continued to throw at her.
–Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, LA
Beyond Innocence by Phoebe Zerwick
Once upon a time, a man was unjustly imprisoned. DNA and dogged work freed him after 19 years. He lived happily ever after. Sorry, that last part didn’t happen. Zerwick details Hunt’s journey from teen to convicted killer, innocent freed man, and activist with many twists.
–Rosemary Pugliese, Malaprop’s in Asheville, NC
Spine Poems by Annette Dauphin Simon
I love that the concept of this book seems so simple, but author and creator Annette Dauphin Simon turned it into something complex and spectacular.
–Johanna Albrecht, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, NC
The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón
Poems of movement, of worry, of a recognized grief and the subsequent small joys that can bloom out of dirt like small flower heads...Limón never, ever disappoints.
–Aimee Keeble, Main Street Books in Davidson, NC
Child: A Memoir by Judy Goldman
In her lovely memoir, Judy Goldman reflects on what it was like to be a young Jewish girl raised by a Black nanny in the 1940s and 50s. Mattie Culp became a part of the Kurtz family. Now in her 80s, Goldman reflects on what Mattie had to give up—including her own child—in order to make the Kurtz family’s life easier.
–Linda Hodges, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC
Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
Thank you, MLP, for making all of us worriers feel seen, and for helping us put into words the emotions (so very many emotions) that go along with being not just a parent but a person.
–Lady Smith, Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, AL
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 17, 2022
The winners of the 2022 VIndies were announced at the fun and often touching virtual ceremony held Wednesday evening. The VIndies, created by SIBA and NAIBA to celebrate "the best in bookstore video," honors the spirit and voice of indie bookstores, and highlights exactly why indie booksellers are the heart and soul of their communities.
About fifty people attended the event, genially hosted by Penguin Random House rep Michael Triebwasser, to cheer for their favorite stores. With the exception of the "Animated" category which only received one nomination, two winners were selected for each VIndie category -- one each from SIBA and NAIBA territories.
2022 VIndies Winners:
ANIMATED
"Book Club Bar" -- from Book Club Bar in New York, NY (NAIBA)
AROUND THE STORE
"We Have Named the Whale!" - White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh, PA (NAIBA)
"Welcome In!" - Ernest & Hadley Booksellers in Tuscaloosa, AL (SIBA)
COMEDY/MUSICAL
"Well-Read Bronx Woman" -- Bronx Bound Books in Bronx, NY (NAIBA)
"The Book" -- Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, NC (SIBA)
COMMUNITY WORK
"Books Recs for Other Small Businesses on Capitol Hill" -- East City Bookshop in Washington, DC (NAIBA)
"The words are felt always in the walls here" - Rohi's Readery, West Palm Beach, FL (SIBA)
DRAMA
"Audio IS Reading" -- City Books in Pittsburgh, PA (NAIBA)
"Shire, the Magic of Reading" -- Underground Books in Carrollton, GA (SIBA)
STAFF PICKS & BOOK RECS
"Hidden Treats" -- BookTowne in Manasquan, NJ (NAIBA)
"Rediscovering Slept-on Authors" -- RVA Book Bar in Richmond, VA (SIBA)
TRENDING SOUNDS
"You'll Be Back" -- Park Books and LitColLab in Severna Park, MD (NAIBA)
"All I Wanna Do Is Read a Book Today" -- Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC (SIBA)
Of the 120+ videos nominated for this year's VIndies, 36 were chosen as finalists, and the winners selected by a panel of members of the book industry. As each category was awarded, booksellers from the winning stores came up to the virtual stage to talk about the inspiration for their videos, and why they felt video was an important tool for their stores. In fact, "Inspiration" became the theme of the event, as fellow booksellers in the audience shared ideas and takeaways for their own stores.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 17, 2022
SIBA is thrilled to welcome Candice Huber as our Membership Relations Coordinator. They are the owner of Tubby & Coo’s in New Orleans, LA, and formerly a member of the SIBA Board. They are an instructor for the Professional Bookseller School, on the ABA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and Programming Committee for Margins Bookselling Month. They are actively engaged in the regional and national bookselling scene, and bring a unique perspective on bookselling, with special insight into marginalized booksellers and bookstore owners.
"I’m so excited to join the SIBA team," says Candice "and I look forward to getting to know all of you better! One of my biggest goals as a board member was to communicate better with membership and find out the best ways SIBA can offer support, and this position will allow me to do that much more directly. I can’t wait to connect with you all, and of course please reach out if there’s anything I can do to help."
Candice will help SIBA better serve our member stores, grow our membership, and be a resource for SIBA members who need assistance, including facilitating communication with other members, the board, or industry contacts. In the coming weeks, you’ll be hearing from Candice as they introduce themselves and check in on your needs. In the meantime, you can reach Candice at candice@sibaweb.com.
What's in your TBR stack? The Pen Report, Part III:
Challenging Stereotypes in Publishing and Bookselling
At the root of the charge that the publishing industry is inequitable is the simple, statistically valid observation that it just does not publish books by writers of color in numbers that in any way reflect the number of people of color in the country:
And yet, the recent census estimates 42% of the country are people of color. The first step to fixing this discrepancy is to increase the number of diverse staff among the "gatekeepers" -- the people who decide what books to publish, the acquisitions scouts, the editors, the imprint publishers, and so on. But it is already well-documented that hiring diverse employees does not magically erase the racist bias in a company's culture. For that to truly change, the people who created it and benefit from it have to change. That means letting go of some assumptions. For example:
1. Writers of color have a smaller, limited audience. This is basically saying that white people won't buy or read books by writers of color because those books aren't about them.
2. On the flip side, the "ideal reader" is always white, even for an author of color. The book won't be a success if it doesn't appeal to white readers.
3. Including one book by an author of color is enough to dispel the perception of bias, while not being much of a commercial risk. Also implied in the "one is enough" rule is the assumption that writers of color only have one kind of story to tell:
"Speaking to The New York Times in December 2020, former Simon & Schuster editor Michael Strother recalled a 2016 meeting at which he tried to authorize a large bid for Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give, which went on to achieve massive commercial success and a Hollywood adaptation. He said he was asked, “Do we need Angie Thomas if we have Jason Reynolds?”
4. White readers only want to hear one kind of story from writers of color -- a story they have already heard and has already been a commercial success. The people interviewed by the Pen Report used the phrase "identity trap". The Pen Report quoted bookseller Marva Allen of Hueman Books, who said that Black authors who want contracts “have to write about slavery or Black Lives Matter or racism.” Worse, writers of color are expected to write about their trauma and pain because those stories are the easiest for publishers to capitalize on. They understand those stories, and they know how to market those kinds of stories.
"Writers of color often have to struggle with that idea—that something traumatic can then be monetized and that it’s a good thing that something bad happened because it gives you material. There’s a hunger for those stories from writers of color, and that hunger comes from a complicated, politicized place. It gets very difficult for a writer to approach that story and to be able to tell it from a place of your own desire to tell it." --Ingrid Rojas Contreras
When publishers reduce writers to stereotypes of race or ethnicity or identity, they miss or outright erase the complexity of the stories those writers are telling -- complexity which is there because of the simple fact that the writers are human beings, and all human beings are complicated.
The problems caused by the biases of gatekeepers in publishing are also present in the gatekeepers in bookselling; the store owners and book buyers, who decide what books to stock, and store staff, who decide what books to hand to customers. Every bookseller should cast a critical eye over their TBR stack and ask how much the books we read reinforce our own biases, and what books we could be reading that would break those biases down.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Updated: Friday, November 11, 2022
The Southern Book Prize, Week 1
The Southern Book Prize ballot had a strong out-of-the-box launch this week, approaching just shy of 1000 submitted ballots in its first seven days.
Votes have been cast in all eleven states in SIBA's territory, with North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee currently leading in number of ballots cast.
What is clear from the early results is that there is a close relationship between many of the authors of SBP finalist books, and their local bookstores. When readers cast their ballots they have to include the name of their favorite local bookstore. So far, the stores with the highest number of ballots cast are:
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Carmichael's Bookstore, and A Reader's Corner Bookstore -- all in Kentucky, the home state of Silas House, author of Lark Ascending
Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee, and incidentally the hometown bookstore of Mary Laura Philpott, author of Bomb Shelter
Park Road Books in Charlotte, North Carolina, who claims Judy Goldman, author of Child, as one of their local authors.
It is early days yet, the SBP Ballot will stay open until February 1st, 2023, giving SIBA bookstores the whole winter to engage their customers about some of their favorite books.
SIBA has created a "Toolkit" of useful materials to help stores promote the ballot and encourage their customers to vote for their favorites:
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Updated: Friday, November 11, 2022
All of the finalists on the 2023 Southern Book Prize Ballot have been reviewed by booksellers on The Southern Bookseller Review.
Here is what they have to say about the Children's & YA finalists:
Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke, Khoa Le (Illus.) What a beautiful unfolding of sisterly love! It is what makes us uniquely different, that also makes us uniquely lovable. This book
is sitting on my Grandma shelf–ready to share with my own darlings. –Annell Gerson, Bookmiser, Inc. in Marietta, GA
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston On the cusp of graduation, being named valedictorian, and escaping her small town, Chloe Green is counting down the days. That is, until her academic rival Shara
Wheeler kisses her and then disappears, leaving only pink envelopes in her wake. Full of wit, charm, and heart! –Chelsea Stringfield, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN
Nigel and the Moon by Antwan Eady, Gracey Zhang (Illus.) Nigel and the Moon will make your heart swell in the best way! Sure to be a beloved book, Nigel’s story resonates deeply with those who are scared to share their
dreams. –Lauren Kean, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC
This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede I thoroughly enjoyed how Alessa came into her own. What it means to be selfish and selfless. Is a hero the selfish Ghiotte, or the selfless Finestra, and is the balance
necessary to be able to give your best? –Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, AL
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White A book that sinks its teeth into you from the first page. Andrew Joseph White crafts a horrifying apocalyptic world that feels at once utterly fresh yet familiar as the narrative
grapples with climate change, illness, religious extremism, and LGBTQ issues. It’s a furious novel– but not without hope. –Charlie Williams, Square Books in Oxford, MS
The Problem with Prophecies by Scott Reintgen While this story raises questions about fate, free will, and magic, it is at its core a sweet story about family, friendship, and first crushes. Reintgen writes
insightfully about the liminal space between childhood and adolescence. –Heather Jeziorowski, Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, GA
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Updated: Friday, November 11, 2022
The late Nancy Olson was a legendary bookseller, a first-class wit, a remarkably gentle soul, and a tireless supporter of writers, especially new writers looking for a chance in the publishing world. Simply put, she was one of the best folks to ever work in the book business, and her Quail Ridge Books was—and is—a literary institution. An admirer of Nancy’s, in conjunction with SIBA, awards two $2000 gifts in her memory each December.
All SIBA booksellers—but not owners—are eligible for the awards. Writers, readers, and/or storeowners may submit a name and any helpful information via email to SIBA at lindamarie@sibaweb.com . Also, individual booksellers may nominate themselves. While the emails should explain why a particular nominee deserves to be selected, there are no hard and fast rules or requirements or guidelines for the submissions—the hope is to simply honor Nancy and recognize special booksellers. The winners will be selected from these nominations by Sarah Goddin, formerly from Nancy’s Quail Ridge Books, SIBA’s Linda-Marie Barrett, Nancy’s husband Jim, and the donor of the gifts.
Deadline to nominate is end of day December 1, 2022
Winners will be announced on December 15, 2022
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
The Overlooked Role of Marketing, Publicity, and Sales, or What does your media list look like?
In the first deep dive into the Pen America Report on Race, Equity, and Book Publishing, we skip to the end, where Pen America takes a hard look at the role of marketing and booksellers in the overall lack of real diversity in the industry.
One of the first things Pen America Report notes is that there is actually very little market research on book buyers and readers of color. So when publishers and bookstores have trouble reaching this market, it translates into the perception that "they don't read" and aren't worth targeting. And yet, it is of interest to note -- especially to independent bookstores -- that at least one study suggests that people of color buy far less from Amazon, and are far more deliberate in their purchases.
But the report notes that diverse titles are not well served by publisher and bookseller marketing efforts because they are put through a standard "boilerplate" process that never reaches a diverse audience. In publishing, slipping sales or disappointing returns of an anticipated book by a white author is often seen as a problem in the way the book has been marketed, whereas for an author of color, it is regarded as a problem with the book itself.
The bookstore version of this scenario is similar. It is not unusual for a bookstore to say that a BIPOC book "doesn't sell" or that people don't attend events with BIPOC writers. Even when stores alter their practices by, say, giving diverse books longer time on the shelves before slating them for returns, or placing them in high-visibility, high-profile areas of the shop, sales lag because the store has not developed a diverse readership or customer base. There is a significant difference between selling BIPOC titles to white readers, and creating the kind of store and selection that attracts diverse readers, but it is the latter that grows the demand for diverse books:
"Marketing and selling to a non-white audience takes specific expertise and connections built over time—and that editors and marketers of color are expected to develop and utilize these channels alongside staying on top of more standard forms of publicity and outreach." --Rockelle Henderson, President of Rock Inked
Step one is to do your research. Bookstores have regular promotional strategies for getting the word out about new books or store events. But since those strategies are not attracting a diverse audience, they are insufficient to the purpose.
Within their own communities, rather than relying on traditional promotional avenues, stores should search out the places diverse readers go to find out about new books: It might not be the local newspaper or public radio station, so they should look at the alternative papers and magazines in the area, as well as other Black media like radio stations, podcasts, and YouTube channels. Booksellers should make a point of reading beyond traditional book media like the New York Times Book Review or NPR to see what books are getting new buzz. They should also be reading BIPOC publications and watching Black television programs.
Stores should also make a note of venues that host BIPOC events and how they publicize them, be familiar with active Black churches and social hot-spots, clubs, cafes, and bars. If there is a college or university in the area, bookstores get to know the Black Studies departments. And it goes without saying that if there is an HBCU (historically black college or university) institution close by, the store should be familiar with its programs and departments.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
We are in search of booksellers who’d like to join SIBA’s Influencer Team in 2023. We meet twice monthly to gather bookseller feedback on emerging ideas and ongoing projects. SIBA’s goal is to bring you resources to improve different aspects of your bookstore practices, and your participation as an influencer as we create and evolve our programming is invaluable.Influencers must be current core members of SIBA. Only one bookseller per store. Please email lindamarie@sibaweb.com to let us know your interest and to find out more information.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
All of the finalists on the 2023 Southern Book Prize Ballot have been reviewed by booksellers on The Southern Bookseller Review. Here is what they have to say about the Fiction finalists:
The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
There are so many captivating things about this novel. It's a beautiful story about a boy who loved his grandmother and who persevered to become a classical violinist and prove to everyone that he could do it. --Mary Patterson from The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, Virginia
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
It’s a “we think we’re enemies” but are actually idiots-to-lovers who perfectly fit each other kind of story. Henry is the unquestioned queen of banter, but this is probably her wittiest, most laugh-out-loud funny book to date. --Cristina Russell from Books & Books in Coral Gables,
A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
I was enthralled with the impeccable voice of Zinnia in the follow-up to A Spindle Splintered. Harrow's incredible knowledge of fairy tales really shines through. --Amber Brown from Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
An American immigration story full of hope, heartbreak, promises broken, and most importantly the constant struggle. Told in interconnected stories, If I Survive You addresses class, race, and economic disparity but is also funny. Mark my words, Escoffery is a rising literary star. --Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
Lark Ascending by Silas House
Set in a near future that seems to be closer and closer to becoming a reality, Lark Ascending follows Lark as he survives ordeal after ordeal. As harrowing as Lark’s story is, Silas House manages to imbue it with humanity and hope. This is a story that will stick with you for a long time. ―Chelsea Bauer from Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennesse
Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
Now is Not The Time to Panic covers that wry space between childhood and adulthood – how we want to be seen and how others see us...The writing is amazing. Sentences that stop you in your tracks. --Susan Williams, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
The last two weeks have been at times troubling, infuriating, and heartbreaking. The School Board in Beaufort County South Carolina has pulled 97 books from their library shelves on the complaint of a concerned parent. While any book being pulled from a school library is troubling, what makes this situation distressingly problematic is that the district did not follow its policy for removing books. At the time the books were pulled from shelves, the Board had not received the paperwork describing why each book was being challenged. There is some discrepancy on whether the correct paperwork was filed. The complainant asserts that an email was sent containing the forms, however the district officials were "consulting IT" to see if the email was received. The board did amend the review policy to allow books to be pulled for review based on exigent circumstances.
The school board is now forming 15 committees to review the books. These committees will be composed of administrators, teachers, media specialists, a parent from the school community who is not the complainant, a member of the school improvement council, and members of the community.
The complainant claimed ratings of the books were pulled from BookLooks.org A cursory search of the organization reveals that it is affiliated with members of Moms for Liberty.
More troubling is that the complainant has posted on Facebook, recruiting others to challenge the books in their school districts across the entire state of South Carolina.
It is my belief that all children have the right to find themselves and their challenges reflected on the pages of a book. I find this list extremely disturbing as many of the books have protagonists that are black, brown, or LGBT+, and are dealing with issues of racism and gender bias that reflect the reality of many of our neighbors and friends. We as a society read to know we are not alone. I fear that if children are not able to access books where they feel seen, understood and comforted, that their sense of isolation and marginalization may ultimately lead to self or community harm.
I feel it is my responsibility to defend the rights of students to access diverse books. Booksellers hold the trust of their communities to champion literature. I have applied to serve on a review committee to be part of the process. I am communicating, sharing information, supporting teachers, and encouraging the community to voice their opinion. This is easily the greatest challenge of my bookselling career.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Updated: Thursday, November 3, 2022
The Best Southern Books of the Year!
Announcing the 2023 Southern Book Prize Finalists
(Asheville, NC) Southern independent booksellers have selected the finalists for the 2023 Southern Book Prize (SBP), representing bookseller favorites from 2022 that are Southern in nature—either about the South or by a Southern writer.
SBP nominations are submitted by bookseller members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and culled from books that have received enthusiastic reviews from Southern booksellers. These 18 finalists, six in each category, received the highest number of nominations, making them a collection of the most beloved “hand sells” in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature of the year.
The finalists make up the 2023 Southern Book Prize ballot at www.southernbookprize.com. Voting opens November 3 and will run through February 1, 2023 and is open to booksellers and readers who love Southern literature and Southern independent bookstores. 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.
SIBA launched the public ballot to encourage bookstores to engage their customers in the important question of what books deserve to be called “the best Southern book of the year.”
The Finalists: Fiction
Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson [Ecco] If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery [MCD] The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb [Anchor] Book Lovers by Emily Henry [Berkley] A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow [Tordotcom] Lark Ascending by Silas House [Algonquin Books]
Nonfiction
Beyond Innocence by Phoebe Zerwick [Atlantic Monthly Press] The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón [Milkweed Editions] Child: A Memoir by Judy Goldman [University of South Carolina Press] This Boy We Made by Taylor Harris [Catapult] Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott [Atria Books] Spine Poems: An Eclectic Collection of Found Verse for Book Lovers by Annette Dauphin Simon [Harper Design]
Children's
Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke, Khoa Le (Illus.) [Algonquin Young Readers] This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede [Wednesday Books] Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White [Peachtree Teen] The Problem with Prophecies by Scott Teintgen [Aladdin] I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston [Wednesday Books] Nigel and the Moon by Antwan Eady, Gracey Zhang (Illus.) [Katherine Tegan Books]
The report lays out both the continuing lack of diversity in publishing, as well as looking at the efforts made to overcome its systemic inequities, how successful (or not) they have been, and what obstacles persist in implementing real and lasting change:
"Systemic change requires more than goodwill. It necessitates specific, far-reaching, and sustained policy revisions and company-wide commitments that outlast any single political moment and persist despite inevitable hurdles and setbacks."
Because the report is so long, the next several "Anti-Racist Bookseller" columns will focus on specific parts of the report, with respect to booksellers.
"Diversity in the books sector isn’t just a question of who is on editorial staffs and which authors receive book contracts," notes the report's authors in the introduction, "Our research and interviews revealed a host of historically underexplored financial and institutional factors that feed into underrepresentation across the industry, and compound the marginalization of publishing professionals, authors, and booksellers of color. These factors include policies and strategies for entry-level pay, author advances, employee retention, professional mobility, mentorship, book sales, audience development, and marketing—all of which shape a book’s chance of publication and commercial success as well as an author, bookseller, or publishing professional’s capacity to remain and flourish in the industry."
SIBA Board member Candice Huber of Tubby & Coo's Mid-City Bookshop in New Orleans was one of three panelists at last week's online event focusing on non-traditional bookstore business models: "How Novel Models are Reimagining Bookselling."
Huber was joined by Kathy Burnett of Brain Lair Books, and BrocheAroe Fabian or River Dog Book Co. to discuss novel model bookstores & why they are reinvigorating the industry. The session focused on the potential for alternative business models to be both profitable and meet the needs of the community, in an industry where profits are traditionally low and overhead is high. The talk covered some of the strengths of "Novel Model" stores, such as:
their ability to reach communities others don't
they are a creative way to exist as physical "brick and mortar" store when owning a building is not an option
their business model uses lean operations, where access to capital is not a requirement
they are very adaptable and able to pivot to embrace new opportunities
they excel at community building and as a presence in community spaces.
Most importantly, by finding creative ways to circumvent the pitfalls of the tradition bookstore model, "novel model" stores can also provide greater opportunities for historically excluded groups, directly addressing the lack of diversity in the book industry.
Also available is the event slide deck which includes useful information for booksellers about controllable overhead costs and steps bookstores can take to make their operations more lean and more adaptable.
How Novel Models are Reimagining Bookselling was sponsored by About The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2016 to support literary creatives identifying from marginalized communities across race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and emotional and physical disabilities. Find them at https://www.thewordfordiversity.org/
SIBA is partnering with New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, (Mustique Island) to launch The McCoy Grant for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers.
Two grants of $1,500 each will be awarded to be used toward craft development (writing classes, retreats, conferences, travel), work-related materials (notebooks, laptops, software, research, etc.), childcare, bills, or any other financial obstacle.
McCoy created the grant because of her own experience as a struggling young writer. "I’ve dreamt of being able to do an initiative like this since I was in graduate school," she says, "teaching young writing students during the day to pay for my own MFA creative writing courses at night. While my weekends went to grading papers, studying, and writing, I also took on a weekend job with flexible hours to navigate the bills that seem to never stop piling up. I swore then that when I could, I would do my best to help other writers in similar financial straits."
Applications are currently open and will close on March 23, 2023. Recipients will be awarded at the 2023 New Voices New Rooms in-person conference in August. To be eligible, the applicant must be an unpublished southern woman or nonbinary bookseller living in one of the states in SIBA territory: Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Mississippi, and must have a novel, memoir, essay collection or poetry collection in progress.
"If you’re a hoper, a dreamer, a story stoker opening your laptop and a 99¢ can of tuna fish on the coffee table for dinner while you do the work that really lights your fire… then you’re a kindred spirit," says McCoy, "That was me, too. Still is on many nights. You are not alone. $1,500 won’t magically transform everything, but it’s enough to buy a loaf of bread to go with that tuna. I’m grateful to partner with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), an organization dedicated to literacy, diversity, and creating a world where all stories are given equal voice and respect. Thank you for being our bookseller champions!"
New Voices New Rooms (NVNR), the virtual event platform created by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) is going live in 2023 for a joint, in-person conference.
The event promises to break the mold. The two associations have moved the conference from the Fall schedule to early August to coincide with holiday-season buying for bookstores. “The shift to early August supports our bookstores by moving it away from peak hurricane, football, school, and community festival season,” said Linda-Marie Barrett, executive director of SIBA. It will be hosted in northern Virginia and take advantage of venues outside the hotel for meetings and events. Buying from publishers and vendors will be more focused and purposeful and will not be structured as a typical exhibit hall. Education will take place on days one and three, with day two devoted to book and merchandise preview and buying.
“We want to create an event that will be memorable as well as productive for all our booksellers,” said Eileen Dengler, executive director of NAIBA, “we want to add whimsy to the work to be done at the conference.”
Linda-Marie Barrett added, “Making this event meaningful to our booksellers is our number one priority. We’d love them to leave thinking, ‘Wow! That was an amazing experience.’ Our teams are working together to create a truly innovative gathering that will help stores improve their businesses in big and small ways.”
New Voices New Rooms was created by the two associations in response to Covid restrictions in 2020. It has hosted four conferences and over two dozen bookseller events and retreats since its inception. The online platform will be used to support the in-person event. Many of the familiar and now-beloved elements of the virtual conferences, including Bookstore Row, Readers of the Last ARC galley room, publisher studios, and communication between attendees, will complement the in-person event.
New Voices New Rooms will continue to provide virtual programming for booksellers. Upcoming events include; The VIndies: A Celebration of Indie Bookstore Videos (November 2022); Virtual Owners Retreat (January 2023); Virtual Publicity Speed Dating (April 2023). NAIBA will also host an in-person publicity speed dating in March in New York City.
For more information about NVNR programming, visit newvoicesnewrooms.org, or contact the NVNR organizers
We have a big announcement for you this week: SIBA and NAIBA will partner in 2023 for an in-person show, under the New Voices New Rooms brand. For over two and a half years, SIBA & NAIBA staff have worked together to create virtual conferences that brought unprecedented levels of participation by our stores, and fantastic support from our publisher partners. We have collaborated on new programming, like the VIndies, celebrating the best of bookstore video in social media, and new networking opportunities, like Publicity Speed Dating. At our virtual retreats and education, booksellers from both regions cross pollinated and crowd-sourced ideas and best practices. We are excited to bring more innovation your way as we move to an in-person conference next summer.
We know this is a big change for SIBA, as our pre-Covid conferences were the highlight of our year. We always had a party, even during the toughest times, and came away renewed and inspired. We plan on bringing the party to our New Voices New Rooms conference, and SIBA-exclusive programming and opportunities will be part of the schedule, not just at the conference, but year-round. SIBA will continue to host smaller in-person spring and fall gatherings around the territory to reach booksellers where they are, to increase accessibility and opportunities for stores and booksellers who prefer, for a variety of reasons, not to travel far, or be away from their stores for very long, for professional gatherings.
We hope you’ll reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns about the new joint conference, programming you’d like to see, logistics you’d like us to consider to make the event better for you. This is your show and we want you to love it. For more information on our plans, check out the press release below.
The Anti-Racist Bookshelf: Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness by Baynard Woods
"The logic of whiteness is that we are supposed to be protected by the law without being bound by the law, and the people of color are supposed to be bound by the law and not protected by the law." (—Baynard Woods, "Wilhoit's Law")
In planning the columns that appear in "The Anti-Racist Bookseller" SIBA does a lot of trolling through information on small business operations, human resource management initiatives, workplace culture discussions, and DEI strategies for creating ethical and equitable workplaces. Mostly, the focus is on the things businesses can do to better understand and therefore meet the needs of their under-served and under-represented employees and, by extension, communities.
That is step one. There is a step two.
Changing things for others is one thing. But unless it comes with a willingness to examine and change ourselves it is not enough. We have to understand—intimately—how being a part of the dominant group—being white, being straight, being male, being able-bodied—is not just "the way things are" but makes us part of an active force to keep things the way they are. We usually call it "privilege" but Baynard Woods calls it "inheritance." Or, sometimes, "infection."
In a recent interview on the Code Switch podcast about his new book, Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness, Woods admitted, "You know, I find discussions of structural racism very useful. But I also found that they could let me off the hook because it's easy to say, oh, everything is racist." Woods, a Baltimore journalist originally from South Carolina and from a family with a Confederate history, felt pushed to put himself back on that hook. "...having to situate it within the details of my own life, within the memoiristic details of my life and that of the people that I love, to see how white supremacy intersected all through the—my family connections. I felt that was the only way to—for me to tell this story."
"To see how white supremacy intersects" throughout our lives is not easy to do if you are white because you have been raised to ignore it, not to see it. But re-evaluating our lives is just what we have to do. Woods' memoir is his attempt to follow how "whiteness" worked, and worked against, his life. He notes that there is no such thing as a white identity that is not tied to white supremacy. Full stop. A white person who values social justice and equity has to interrogate their own life for how much of their self-conception is built on being white and therefore built upon power and privilege. "Whiteness" notes Woods, "is not only a lie that is told to us, it's a lie that we tell to ourselves about the world. And it keeps us from seeing the world, but it actually shapes the way we live in the world."
Southern indie booksellers have selected five books–their hand-sell favorites for the upcoming month–as November
2022 Read This Next! titles. The chosen books all release in November and have the enthusiastic support of Southern booksellers, Read Different! Read These Next!
We Are the Light by Matthew Quick We Are The Light is a book to read slowly, with big inhales, taking in every feeling of every character no matter how painful. It is a book everyone everywhere should be reading – because as we have been reminded all year, what happens in
Quick’s book, can happen anywhere. –Jamie Anderson, Downtown Books in Manteo, NC
Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson Witty, weird, and wonderful. Now Is Not The Time to Panic covers that wry space between childhood and adulthood–how we want to be seen and how others see us. All against
an early 90s world that may as well be a thousand years ago. – Susan Williams, M Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, SC
Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse Rebecca Roanhorse is a fantastic world builder and her skills are razor sharp in her newest fantasy set in an Old West mining town where angels had once battled demons in an ancient war.
A gritty but good read! –Mary Patterson, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, VA
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade Super passionate slow burn romance with plenty of heart and humor! These two have AMAZING chemistry as well as great friendship and a deep understanding of one another. –Julia Lewis, Fountain
Bookstore in Richmond, VA
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds Poignant, moving, and utterly captivating from the first page to the last, We Deserve Monuments is a beautifully rendered love story both to the family we’re born into and the
family we choose. –Mary Louise Callaghan, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC
Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review
RSS
The final recap of the finalists on the 2023 Southern Book Prize Ballot, as reviewed by booksellers on The Southern Bookseller Review. Here is what they have to say about the Nonfiction finalists:
The winners of the 2022 VIndies were announced at the fun and often touching virtual ceremony held Wednesday evening. The VIndies, created by SIBA and NAIBA to celebrate "the best in bookstore video," honors the spirit and voice of indie bookstores, and highlights exactly why indie booksellers are the heart and soul of their communities. 
SIBA is thrilled to welcome Candice Huber as our Membership Relations Coordinator. They are the owner of Tubby & Coo’s in New Orleans, LA, and formerly a member of the SIBA Board. They are an instructor for the Professional Bookseller School, on the ABA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and Programming Committee for Margins Bookselling Month. They are actively engaged in the regional and national bookselling scene, and bring a unique perspective on bookselling, with special insight into marginalized booksellers and bookstore owners.
What's in your TBR stack? The Pen Report, Part III:
Challenging Stereotypes in Publishing and Bookselling
It is early days yet, the SBP Ballot will stay open until February 1st, 2023, giving SIBA bookstores the whole winter to engage their customers about some of their favorite books.
The late Nancy Olson was a legendary bookseller, a first-class wit, a remarkably gentle soul, and a tireless supporter of writers, especially new writers looking for a chance in the publishing world. Simply put, she was one of the best folks to ever work in the book business, and her Quail Ridge Books was—and is—a literary institution. An admirer of Nancy’s, in conjunction with SIBA, awards two $2000 gifts in her memory each December. 
The last two weeks have been at times troubling, infuriating, and heartbreaking. The School Board in Beaufort County South Carolina has pulled 97 books from their library shelves on the complaint of a concerned parent. While any book being pulled from a school library is troubling, what makes this situation distressingly problematic is that the district did not follow its policy for removing books. At the time the books were pulled from shelves, the Board had not received the paperwork describing why each book was being challenged. There is some discrepancy on whether the correct paperwork was filed. The complainant asserts that an email was sent containing the forms, however the district officials were "consulting IT" to see if the email was received. The board did amend the review policy to allow books to be pulled for review based on exigent circumstances.
SIBA Board member Candice Huber of Tubby & Coo's Mid-City Bookshop in New Orleans was one of three panelists at last week's online event focusing on non-traditional bookstore business models: "
SIBA is partnering with New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, (Mustique Island) to launch The McCoy Grant for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers. 
We have a big announcement for you this week: SIBA and NAIBA will partner in 2023 for an in-person show, under the New Voices New Rooms brand. For over two and a half years, SIBA & NAIBA staff have worked together to create virtual conferences that brought unprecedented levels of participation by our stores, and fantastic support from our publisher partners. We have collaborated on new programming, like the VIndies, celebrating the best of bookstore video in social media, and new networking opportunities, like Publicity Speed Dating. At our virtual retreats and education, booksellers from both regions cross pollinated and crowd-sourced ideas and best practices. We are excited to bring more innovation your way as we move to an in-person conference next summer. 
Southern indie booksellers have selected five books–their hand-sell favorites for the upcoming month–as November
2022 Read This Next! titles. The chosen books all release in November and have the enthusiastic support of Southern booksellers, Read Different! Read These Next!
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