Liked what you read? Let everyone know!

• Okra Pick Nomination | Southern Book Prize Nomination | IndieNext Nomination | Edelweiss Review

N.B. Any review copies offered are not for resale

Eat. Sleep. Read. Southern.

The Way Out
by Armond Boudreaux

Publisher:  Uproar Books
Pub date: Sept. 29, 2020
Price: $16.95
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9781949671087
Available from Ingram

Enjoy sci-fi thrillers with a political edge? Get a free copy of THE WAY OUT by Armond Boudreaux in paperback or ebook today!

Fast-paced and thought-provoking, THE WAY OUT is set in Atlanta, Georgia, and the mountains of North Carolina fifty years in the future.

Called a medical miracle, the artificial womb ensures the perfect health and flawless development of every unborn child. Natural pregnancy is now unnecessary risk—and quickly criminalized as a danger to both mother and fetus.

As a reporter, Jessica Brantley makes new enemies on a daily basis covering both sides of the controversial new law. Her search for the truth behind this world-changing technology leads to an unimaginable discovery—the existence of children with terrifying telepathic powers.

This truth is no secret to former U.S. Marine Valerie Hara. Her illegally born eleven-year-old son can’t help but hear the thoughts of everyone around him. Soon, these two fearless women will be branded as terrorists, hunted by the military, demonized by the media—and drawn into a desperate fight for the freedom of the human race.

Author Armond Boudreaux of Statesboro, Ga., is now scheduling in-person and virtual events at bookstores throughout the Southeastern U.S.—please contact us to be part of his tour!

For a free review copy, email Rick Lewis at rick@uproarbooks.com. Please specify paperback or ebook.

The Hub City Writers Project is hiring for the position of Bookstore Manager of its award-winning Hub City Bookshop. This is a great opportunity to play a central role in the operations of this downtown community nonprofit bookstore, which has twice been named one of the “South’s Best Bookstores” by Southern Living magazine and was named Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance “Bookstore of the Year” in 2019.

The Hub City Writers Project is a dynamic literary arts organization whose mission is to “Cultivate readers and nurture writers.” In addition to the bookshop, the organization boasts an awarding-winning independent press, and conducts educational programming for writers and community outreach to readers to drive its mission.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Bookstore Manager manages the operation of the Hub City Bookshop; and supervises, trains, and evaluates bookstore staff and volunteers. The Bookstore Manager performs assigned duties under the administrative direction of the Executive Director of Hub City Writers Project.

Central duties may include:

• Handling customer service issues both in the store and online. Set “plan of day” and organize the floor and back room staff priorities. Oversee merchandising and cleanliness of the bookshop inside and see that equipment is in good repair. Conduct routine inventory assessment and resolve any discrepancies
• Personnel management. Interview and hire new staff along with senior staff and board liaison. Handle disciplinary issues and time off requests along with senior staff and board liaison
• Create the weekly work schedules and coordinate time off requests. Find coverage for staff and volunteers who call in sick or work when last-minute shortage cannot be filled
• Review and revise procedures and policies alongside senior staff and board liaison
• Plan and manage the maintenance of bookstore accounting records and processes and familiarity for POS systems, preferably Booklog, and Quickbooks
• Work with bookshop events coordinator/social media director to host and plan events
• Assist in planning organization-specific events including Independent Bookstore Day, Donor Appreciation Party, Delicious Reads, and other occasional special events
• Work with Hub City Press staff to promote its titles through bookstore channels
• Participate in weekly staff meeting; bring issues to the attention of the ED on a timely basis
• Perform related duties as required or assigned

Desired skills and qualifications:

A high level of organization, especially when managing calendars, high volumes of email, and time sensitive tasks. A high level of written and verbal communication skills, as well as ability to prioritize and manage your time. Ability to collaborate with others and problemsolve, all while maintaining a positive communications style

• Ability to empathize and have difficult conversations
• Ability to maintain a levelheaded response to stress
• Fluency in Microsoft Office. Familiarity with basic accounting principles preferred
• Availability and willingness to work a mix of days, nights, and weekends
• 13 years of retail management experience, 3 years or more of independent bookstore experience, or equivalent, relevant experience in the overall world of publishing
• Knowledge of Local First issues and ability to talk about and advocate for independent bookstores is preferred
• Access to a car is necessary

Salary is comparable to other nonprofit organizations of similar size and commensurate with experience. This is a fulltime position.

How to apply:

Interested candidates must apply by sending a complete packet of cover letter and resume with current contacts for three references to anne@hubcity.org with the words “Bookstore Manager” in the subject line.  Cover letters, which must be no longer than two pages, should detail your qualifications for the position. Concise cover letters and resumes are encouraged. Be sure to send your materials to us as clearly labeled file attachments in Word or Adobe (.pdf) formats. No telephone inquiries. All questions and complete applications with current contact information for yourself should be addressed to anne@hubcity.org. We will not consider incomplete submissions.

Timing:

The Hub City Writers Project will continue to accept applications until July 27,2020. We anticipate hiring for this position by August 3, 2020.

The Children's Editors from Simon & Schuster will present their fall lists to SIBA booksellers on Wed, July 29 at 3 PM EDT. This is such a great opportunity for your buyers and event coordinators to see which titles S & S want indie booksellers to know about; it's also a perfect time to begin or deepen your relationships with the editors behind the books! Other benefits that come with attending our event.

• increased visibility of your store with Simon & Schuster
• insider track to the titles getting the most promotion this fall
• insider info to up your handselling game with customers
• insight into the passion these editors have for the books they've helped birth
• witnessing editors handsell their titles and improving your own techniques

Please RSVP lindamarie@sibaweb.com to attend.

The Editors

Caitlyn Dlouhy, VP & Editorial Director, Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Caitlyn Dlouhy likes to say she grew up in a tree…because it was in the massive willow in her parents' backyard where she did most of her reading, hiking up the limbs with books tied to a rope to haul up once she reached just the right branch. From that perch in a teeny tiny coastal town, she could see the whole world… through the lens of books. Her publishing choices have always reflected that – from middle grade and teen fiction to picture books, as well as a smattering of graphic novels, nonfiction, and poetry. Caitlyn's drawn most toward voices unusual and unexpected. Her books have topped New York Times bestseller lists (as well as lists of the most banned books in America) and have received great acclaim: a Newbery Medal and Honors, a National Book Award and Finalists, Printz honors, Coretta Scott King Awards and honors, a Pura Bel Pre Award, and more. She has the great pleasure of working with such incredible, award-winning authors and illustrators as Laurie Halse Anderson, Ashley Bryan, Doreen Cronin, Sharon Draper, William Joyce, Cynthia Kadohata, Betsy Lewin, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, and Jason Reynolds, just to name a few.

Reka Simonsen, Editorial Director, Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Reka Simonsen loves to work on books all across the age range, though she has a real soft spot for middle grade novels, especially those that can turn kids into lifelong readers. She looks for believable, engaging characters whose voices she can't forget, and stories with that special blend of humor and heart. She has been lucky enough to work with amazing authors and illustrators, including Margarita Engle, Carole Boston Weatherford, Evan Turk, Brian Pinkney, Frank Morrison, Jamie Sumner, Melanie Crowder, Sean Qualls, and Lloyd Alexander, among others. Books she has edited have received a Newbery Honor, a Geisel Honor, a Sibert Honor, a Coretta Scott King Honor, Pura Belpré Awards and Honors, and more. Before joining Atheneum, she worked at assorted publishers and bookstores including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and Books of Wonder.

Denene Millner, VP & Editorial Director, Denene Millner Books

Denene Millner is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and director of the Denene Millner Books imprint. She has written thirty books for adults, teens, and children, among themAround the Way Girl, a memoir with actress Taraji P. Henson, and Early Sunday Morning, a children's picture book. She is also the founder of MyBrownBaby.com, a critically acclaimed blog that examines the intersection of parenting and race, and the host of Speakeasy with Denene, a podcast produced by Georgia Public Broadcasting. She's always loved children's books—the illustrations, the color, the whimsy, the beauty of the stories—and is particularly drawn to books that celebrate the everyday beauty and experience of African American children. Her imprint, Denene Millner Books, is a love letter to children of color who deserve to see their beauty and humanity in the most remarkable form of entertainment on the planet: books. Denene lives in Atlanta with her two daughters and their adorable Goldendoodle, Teddy.

Sarah McCabe, Editor, Margaret K. McElderry Books

Editor Sarah McCabe joined Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in October 2014. Before that, she worked at Springer International Publishing and did freelance projects with Open Road Integrated Media and Full Fathom Five. She received her bachelor's degrees in English and journalism at the University of Kansas and her Master of Science in Publishing at New York University. Sarah is drawn to lush, inventive fantasies; accessible, character-driven science fiction (especially if it's set in space!); emotionally complex heroes and sympathetic villains; detailed worldbuilding; reimagined classics and fairytales; stories exploring the nature of humanity and morality; as well as anything with a time travel, alternate history, or parallel universe hook. Her editorial projects include Lisa Maxwell's New York Times bestselling The Last Magician trilogy, Emily Suvada's This Mortal Coil trilogy, and the upcoming Fall 2020 Indies Introduce selection, Legendborn by Tracy Deonn.

Paula Wiseman, VP & Publisher, Paula Wiseman Books

Before joining Simon & Schuster in 2002, Paula Wiseman began her publishing career at Dial Books for Young Readers, now a division of Viking Penguin. She later became Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Philomel Books, a division of GP Putnam, as well as Vice President and Editorial Director of Silver Whistle Books, a division of Harcourt Inc. In 2003, she launched her own imprint for Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, with the publication of Clorinda by Robert Kinerk and illustrated by Steven Kellogg. Paula Wiseman Books has since gone on to publish over seventy award-winning and bestselling titles across formats—from picture books, to novelty books, to novels. Her imprint focuses on stories and art that are childlike, timeless, innovative, and centered in emotion. Paula has worked with some of the most beloved talents working in children's books today, including Matthew Van Fleet, Patricia Polacco, Kadir Nelson, Raúl Colón, and Rosemary Wells.

Allyn Johnston, VP & Publisher, Beach Lane Books

Allyn Johnston has been working in children's publishing in her native California for twenty-four years. Founded in 2008, Allyn's Beach Lane Books imprint publishes books for all ages and across all genres with a primary focus on lyrical, emotionally engaging, highly visual picture books for young children. She has worked with some of the industry's most celebrated authors and illustrators, including Mem Fox, Lois Ehlert, Marla Frazee, Cynthia Rylant, Jeanette Winter, Arthur Howard, Jan Thomas, Mark Teague, Angela DiTerlizzi, Elana K. Arnold, and more. Among her editorial projects are such award-winning,New York Timesbestselling favorites as Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury; and A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee and All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee, both of which received a Caldecott Honor.

Siobhan Ciminera, Editorial Director, Simon Spotlight

Siobhan Ciminera is the Editorial Director of Simon Spotlight, an imprint devoted to media tie-in's, licensed properties, and brands. She has worked on projects featuring such popular characters as Daniel Tiger, PJ Masks, and the Peanuts gang, adapting their stories to an array of innovative formats—from board books and storybooks, to unique novelty and pop-up books. She's also worked extensively on Simon & Schuster's Ready-to-Read program, a line specifically dedicated to emerging readers, overseeing the introduction of new series and genres within the Ready-to-Read line—from bestselling nonfiction series likeReady to Read: You Should Meet…; to conversions of celebrated backlist classics like Cynthia Rylant's Henry & Mudge, Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin's Click, Clack, and works by Eric Carle; to original stories from beloved, award-winning authors like Jane Yolen and Marilyn Singer.

Jeffrey Salane, Editorial Director, Little Simon

Jeffrey Salane is the Editorial Director of Little Simon, an imprint devoted to the youngest readers with a focus on board books, novelty books, picture books, and chapter books. His projects have included some of Simon & Shuster's most beloved, bestselling chapter book series—from Heidi Heckelbeck,Sophie Mouse, and The Critter Club, to Captain Awesome, Galaxy Zack, and Desmond Cole, Ghost Patrol. He's also overseen the introduction of the imprint's fresh, fun, and innovative board book series, including the Twinkle, Twinkle series, the New Books for Newborns board books, and the stunning Once Upon a World and Celebrate the World series. Jeffrey has worked with a number of celebrated, bestselling authors, including Rod Campbell, Karen Katz, Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert, and Sandra Boynton.

The SIBA Holiday Catalog Preliminary Title List

SIBA has its preliminary list of titles that will be featured in the 2020 Winter Catalog. Books are still being added, so this list will grow over the next couple weeks:

Spreadsheet Edelweiss CATALOG ORDERS  Brochure

If you haven't placed your catalog orders, don't delay. The deadline is August 7, and as is usual no extra catalogs will be printed so if you don't order now, you won't be able to later.

• Catalogs and shipping are free for the first 12,500 catalogs.
  
• The minimum order to receive imprinting is 2000.
  
• Imprinting costs $150, but SIBA is paying $40 of that fee, so your imprinting cost is only $110.

New this year: Direct Mail Options

In the past SIBA has always shipped catalogs to your store, but left it up to you to get them out to your customers. This year, you can have RAMP handle mailing for you via either Direct Mail, or Saturation Mail, or a combination of both. Postage rates are competitive and the reduced back and forth shipping means less waste and a more environmentally-friendly process.

Direct Mail: Upload your mailing list and let RAMP handle all the mailing.

Saturation Mail: Send catalogues to all the mailing addresses within a zipcode range.

SIBA recognizes that the future is very uncertain, and stores are asking themselves how they can reinvent their business to meet the challenges they face. But one thing that has not changes is the importance of the relationship of a small business with its local community. Active websites and busy social media accounts are great for keeping your customers informed and up to date, but the odds are there are people right in your immediate area that you aren't reaching.

Saturation mail can help with that. Your store catalog in the mailing box of every resident in a nearby neighborhood, or along every postal route, could bring your store to the attention hundreds of new customers.

RAMP is offering a webinar on the ins and outs and benefits of Saturation Mail on Thursday, July 23 at 2pm. It is well worth attending just to learn more about how Saturation Mail works and can be a tool for your business.

Meeting Link

Ordering is now open for the SIBA Holiday Catalog!

This year SIBA has joined four other regional associations: NEIBA, GLIBA, MIBA, and NAIBA in RAMP -the regional association marketing partnership -- to produce our 2020 SIBA Holiday Catalog. By joining in with the collective bargaining power of other regional associations, SIBA has been able to create a robust catalog featuring many new publishing partners. There has been a strong commitment to including diverse titles by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color authors, and an active attempt to include books that are receiving strong bookseller support and buzz. (Much of the latter comes from the reviews booksellers post in Edelweiss, so if you aren't doing that, start now!)

Deadline to place your orders is August 7!
The Target date for Catalog delivery is November 1
Questions: Suzanne Shoger suzanneshoger@gmail.com

ORDER HERE | Brochure

WHAT IS THE SAME

1) Your first 12,500 Catalogs are completely free. Anything more than that can be purchased in boxes of 500 for $55/box. (or 11 cents per catalog for direct mail, see below)

2) Shipping for your order is free whether you are shipping to your store or to a newspaper for insertion, or both.

3) Your catalogs can be imprinted with a minimum order of 2000. That is down from last year's minimum order of 5000 and better reflects the needs of our smaller stores and more environmentally responsible ordering. There is a $150 imprinting cost, but SIBA will pay for $40 of the price, so the charge for you is $110.

4) Free html catalogs will be available to all stores. IndieCommerce, IndieLite, and Bookshop.org stores will have URLs available to link directly to their shopping carts. A template html page will also be available for stores that use other e-commerce platforms.

WHAT IS NEW

1) Direct Mail Option. Stores can choose to upload their mailing list and have their order direct-mailed to their customers.

2) Saturation Mail Option. Reach potential customers in your area that may not know about your store. Stores can opt to have their catalogs delivered to mailing addresses within a targeted area or zip code.

Mailing costs are competitive at 20 cents per catalog.

The holiday catalog has always been one of the major and most popular benefits of SIBA membership. This year, the ability to reach regular and potential customers is more important than ever. No matter what the situation looks like in the fall, the catalog can be a vital way to generate sales. Don't miss the opportunity.

Meet the Editors Buzz Panel with Macmillan
Wednesday, July 22 | 3:00 – 4:00 PM EDT

If you're a buyer or event coordinator, get this event on your calendar! Join us to hear editors from Macmillan present three books each: one that's currently on sale, one featured Fall title, and one scheduled far out, but exciting to share with booksellers now.

The Editors:

George Witte, St. Martin's Publishing Group
Bryn Clark, Flatiron Books 
Lindsey Hall, Tor 
Ruoxi Chen, Tor
Wes Adams, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

The panel will be moderated by Dominique R. Jenkins, Senior Manager, Author Events & Services at Macmillan, with help from reps Jeff Willmann and Carin Seigfried. Macmillan will welcome a lively Q & A from booksellers after the presentations. 

Please RSVP to attend.

More on our presenters:

Bryn Clark, Flatiron Books:
Bryn Clark is a nonfiction editor at Flatiron Books, focusing on mission-driven memoir, narrative nonfiction, political, and/or social commentary books highly driven by the author's own story. She has worked with New York Times bestselling author and political journalist Sarah Kendzior on her books The View from Flyover Country and Hiding in Plain Sight to expose the corruption and injustices within the American economic, social, and political systems. Recently, Clark has also edited rower and activist Arshay Cooper's coming-of-age memoir, A Most Beautiful Thing, which tells the story of America's first all-Black high school rowing team and was released as a documentary narrated by Common. She lives in Brooklyn.

George Witte, St. Martin's Publishing Group:
George Witte is editor in chief at St. Martin's Press, and was founding editor and publisher of Picador USA. During his 35 years at St. Martin's, George has published numerous New York Times bestsellers, as well as books that have received, or were, finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, PEN Award, and others.

Ruoxi Chen, Tordotcom:
Ruoxi Chen was born in Chengdu, raised in Boston, and lives in New York City, where she edits science fiction and fantasy for Tordotcom Publishing. She speaks Mandarin and a little Sichuan dialect, which is the equivalent of having a serious Southern drawl in Chinese, so even though she's never lived south of New York in the US, she's Southern Chinese at heart and excited to sit down with stores in the SIBA region.

Wesley Adams, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group:
Executive Editor Wesley Adams started at FSG as an editorial assistant in the summer of 1987 with a salary of eleven thousand five hundred dollars and still stuck around for the next 33 years. He loves working on books about kids who are up against it yet forge ahead with humor and pluck, and is delighted by outrageous comedy and books that make waves. Wesley edited Dead End in Norvelt by his longtime friend and author Jack Gantos, which won the Newbery in 2011. His dream projects are both the books that end up on kids' summer reading lists for school and the books they sneak-read during class.

Lindsey Hall, Tordotcom:
Lindsey Hall is a senior editor from Tennessee, currently based in NYC. She got her start in publishing at Hachette and had the pleasure of joining the Tor team in 2017, where she acquires fantasy, science fiction, and mainstream speculative fiction for Tor's adult list.

Registration is now open for New Voices New Rooms!

Booksellers | Publishers | Schedule | Advertising

Here is what you need to know and where you need to go:

Schedule

We are working hard to create a fun and innovative program that will be both engaging and useful. All events will take place via Zoom and some will be recorded or prerecorded. Links will be posted in the schedule as they are confirmed. Only registered attendees will be able to access the events.

Registration

Registration grants access to all NVNR Events, so publishers and exhibitors need to register if they wish to attend. It is the equivalent of creating your show badge. Registration is also strictly limited to members of SIBA and NAIBA. If your membership is not current, you will be contacted to renew your membership before you can attend the events.

Registration will also add you to the New Voices New Rooms newsletter list, which is the primary way that we will keep you informed about the show.

Booksellers

Your registration grants you access to the entire show. The schedule is still in its nascent stage, but as events are confirmed all attendees will receive first notice. You will also receive the "Show Box" of review copies and other goodies prior to the event.

Publishers

Exhibit and Sponsorship information can be found here.
Advertising Opportunities are listed here

All exhibitors and advertising is being processed through NAIBA and can be purchased here: Publisher Sponsorships and Exhibit Reservations
(note that purchasing exhibit space does not register you for the event. You still need to register at the link above to be able to attend events).

Who to contact:

Questions about registration: Nicki Leone nicki@sibaweb.com
Questions about the program: Linda-Marie Barrett lindamarie@sibaweb.com
Questions about sponsoring: Eileen Dengler: naibaeileen@gmail.com
Questions about exhibiting: Kit Little: naibabooksellers@gmail.com

SIBA promotes six new books every month to readers, the customers of our member stores, in our Lady Banks Bookshelf promotion.These titles appear at the top of our weekly Lady Banks Commonplace Book newsletter, which has a circulation of over 60k. We also feature them above the fold on the homepage of Authors 'Round the South and as the cover image of the ARTS facebook page, with buy links promoted to our 15,000 Facebook friends. Plus, we boost these titles on our Facebook page for thousands more views. A different member store is featured with the titles every week.

For publishers looking to promote their new titles out to readers across the South, Lady Banks Bookshelf is our greatest value because of high visibility and engagement across multiple platforms. To support the efforts of publishers launching books during this challenging time, we're offering this, and all of our other promotions (except the RAMP holiday catalog) for half-price through July 1st. Contact us for more information or to get your titles on "The Shelf" in coming months.

July Titles:

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert, ISBN 9781368053297
Regaining Paradise by Paul Corson, ISBN 9781644389430
Adobe Moon by Mark Warren, ISBN  9781432838164
Stay by Bobbie Pyron, ISBN 9780062839237
The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre, ISBN 0998411299
Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby, ISBN 9781250252685

Edelweiss collection

After a short break, Reader Meet Writer, SIBA's virtual author tour program for member booksellers, comes back stronger than ever in July! We've made a few bookseller-friendly changes:

• Events are on Tuesday afternoons (start times between 3-5 PM EDT) and Thursdays at 7 PM EDT.
• Bookseller resources, including Zoom links for rsvp-ing attendees, are available a month in advance. You must login to sibaweb.com to access. Please keep the Zoom info in-house and don't share on your store site, general email list, newsletter or social media. Only make available to folks who rsvp/sign up for your events. Thank you!
• No more weekly emails with zoom links and templates for your emails. We trust you to use the assets and resources provided in RMW Bookseller Resources as works best for your customers. Still need reminders? Let me know; we'll work it out!

Booksellers Resource page

Wiley Cash, our Conroy Legacy Award recipient, award-winning author, and indie bookseller advocate, takes over as host. We have a FANTASTIC slate of authors scheduled for the summer, presenting books in genres and on subjects near and dear to our hearts.

Are you interested in joining the circle of bookstores sending invites to their customers? Please email me and we'll discuss what's involved.

A Quick Glance at July's Reader Meet Writer Schedule:

Tuesday, July 7 at 3 PM EDT: Marian Keyes will discuss Grown Ups. Confession: Marian Keyes is one of my favorite authors. She's also one of the most successful Irish novelists of all time. Her books have been bestsellers around the world. Anybody Out There won the British Book Awards award for popular fiction and the inaugural Melissa Nathan Prize for Comedy Romance. This Charming Man won the Irish Book Award for popular fiction. Her novels, though laugh out loud funny, explore serious themes like addiction, domestic abuse, grief, and depression with compassion and hope.They are great choices for book clubs. Grown Ups tackles eating disorders, compulsive spending, infidelity, and more, in a narrative that moves quickly, is impossible to put down, and completely satisfies. I fell in love with the characters, cheered them on as they struggled to overcome challenges, and hope they reappear in future books. Graham Norton praises Grown Ups, "So enjoyed this! Magnificently messy lives, brilliantly untangled. Funny, tender, and completely absorbing!." She's coming to us from Ireland. Your customers will love her; let's raise her visibility across SIBA territory.

Thursday, July 9 at 7 PM EDT: Silas House will discuss Clay's Quilt, A Parchment of Leaves, and The Coal Tattoo. Silas is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, one book of creative nonfiction, and three plays. His writing has appeared frequently in the New York Times and has been published in Time, Newsday, Garden & Gun, the Oxford American, and many other places. The three novels, which share a common setting and some characters, are companion novels. They may be read individually, in any order, but collectively, they form a rich tableau of life in rural mountain Kentucky in the last century. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution praises Silas House, "In sly and subtle ways, House skillfully beckons readers to dig deep into their own hearts and minds.

Tuesday, July 14 at 5 PM EDT: Peggy Noe Stevens and Susan Reigler present their work Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? Join Peggy and Susan for a bourbon tasting and demonstration, and learn how to make an out-of-this-world Old Fashioned and a marvelous Mint Julep. Peggy Noe Stevens is founder of the Bourbon Women Association and a master bourbon taster. Susan Reigler is a former restaurant critic for the Louisville Courier-Journal and a current correspondent for Bourbon+ and American Whiskey magazines. Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? offers a step-by-step guide to hosting a successful bourbon-tasting party—complete with recipes, photos, and tips for beginners and experienced aficionados alike.

Thursday, July 16 at 7PM EDT: Lenard D. Moore and contributors to All the Songs We Sing: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Carolina African-American Writers' Collective. Lenard D. Moore, internationally-acclaimed poet, anthologist, and professor, and North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green will discuss the collective, which has shaped the modern literary landscape of the Carolinas for the last twenty-five years. They will be joined by contributors who will read selections from poems, stories, and essays included in this collection. Contributors joining us include L. Teresa Church, Crystal Simone Smith, Bridgette A. Lacy, Grace Ocasio, Fred Joiner, Carole Boston Weatherford, Camille T. Dungy, Angela Belcher-Epps, and Gideon Young.

Tuesday, July, 21 at 5 PM EDT: Kristin Harmel will discuss The Book of Lost Names in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris. Harmel, the best-selling author of The Room on Rue Amelie now offers the story of a young woman with a talent for forgery who helps hundreds of Jewish refugees flee France in WWII, encoding their true identities in an ancient book for safekeeping. Though she falls in love with a Resistance agent, they are cruelly separated by the war, and only the Book of Lost Names can reunite them. Fiona Davis praises, "Not since "The Nightingale" have I finished a book and been so choked with emotion. Harmel ...shines a brilliant light on those who had their identities erased and lives destroyed, on a country and its people torn apart, and young women like Eva, who risked their lives with everyday acts of epic heroism. Sweeping and magnificent."

Thursday, July 23 at 7PM EDT: Jill McCorkle presents Hieroglyphics. Jill McCorkle's first two novels were released simultaneously when she was just out of college, and the New York Times called her "a born novelist." Since then, she has published six novels and four collections of short stories. Hieroglyphics is a mesmerizing novel about the burden of secrets carried across generations and the difficulty of ever really knowing the intentions and dreams and secrets of the people who raised you. Damita Nocton, a bookseller at The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, NC writes, "The brilliance of Jill McCorkle is that her novels read as if you are enjoying a marvelous cup of coffee and conversation with a very dear friend. Hieroglyphics is about memories and remembering, loss of love and loved ones, preserving the past and what remains after we are gone. Jill McCorkle writes with poignancy and wry honesty. This is the work of a master at the top of her game.

Tuesday, July 28 at 5 PM EDT: S. A. Cosby discusses Black Top Wasteland. Shawn A. Cosby is a writer from Southeastern Virginia, now residing in Gloucester, Virginia. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. His short story "The Grass Beneath My Feet" won the Anthony Award for best short story in 2019. He is also the author of My Darkest Prayer and Brotherhood of the Blade. Black Top Wasteland is a gritty, voice-driven thriller about a former getaway driver who thought he had escaped the criminal life who is pulled back in by race, poverty, and his own former life of crime. Beauregard "Bug" Montage is a man with many different titles: husband, father, friend, honest car mechanic. But before he gave it up, Bug used to be known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best Wheel Man on the East Coast. After a series of financial calamities, Bug feels he has no choice but to take one final job as the getaway driver for a daring diamond heist that could solve all his money troubles and allow him to go straight once and for all. Like "Ocean's Eleven" meets "Drive" (but with a mostly black cast of characters), Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of sons living up (or down) to their fathers; of a heist gone sideways; of a man ground down by economic desperation; of fast cars and daring chases and identity and love.

Thursday, July 30 at 7 PM EDT: Lara Prescott discusses The Secrets We Kept, a thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice—inspired by the real-life CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago. At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dared publish it, and help Pasternak's magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous Sally Forrester is a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit all over the world—using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. And at the center of this unforgettable debut is the powerful belief that a piece of art can change the world. Amy C. Spaulding, bookseller at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC writers, "Lara Prescott's The Secrets We Kept: A Novel dances before and behind the Iron Curtain with nimble grace. This well-crafted debut provides the right tempo of danger and intrigue, coupled with an LGBTQ backstory, and a deep dive into the role of literature in liberation. Every reader can find something here to enjoy."

Update on our Cocktails & Conversations with HarperCollins

Wednesday June 24th, 6pm – 7:30pm EST 

Our friends at HarperCollins are bringing five William Morrow authors with books launching late summer and fall to SIBA booksellers in a super fun virtual cocktail party: Christina Baker Kline – The Exiles, Emily Gray Tedrowe – The Talented Miss Farwell, Natalie Walschots – Hench, Hazel Gaynor – When We Were Young and Brave, and Alyssa Cole – When No One is Watching. Take off your shoes, mix up your favorite cocktail or mocktail, and enjoy an hour of fun and inspiration for you and your bookseller crew.  These special authors, specially selected for SIBA booksellers, will offer us a glimpse into their private spaces, and a sneak preview of their work. Don't miss it!

Bonus: we’re raffling off a big prize pack of ARCs and swag for top Fall 2020 titles from HarperCollins/Morrow from among bookseller attendees.

Now, onto the cocktails part of the event. Each author has picked out their favorite cocktail to go along with their book. Their choices are listed below and link to recipes. Craft your favorite cocktail and sip on it as the authors tell you about their books. My choice? Easy, “The Hench”! 

The Exiles cocktail: The Exile (Dark ‘N’ Stormy)

When We Were Young & Brave cocktail: The Girl Guide (Shirley Temple)

Hench cocktail:  The Hench (Old Fashioned)

The Talented Miss Farwell cocktail: The Miss Farwell (dirty martini) 

When No One is Watching cocktail:  The Watcher (Paloma) 

Please lindamarie@sibaweb.com so we know you’re coming! And tell me your cocktail choice-I’d love to know!