Twenty-seven booksellers have been selected to receive more than $100,000 as part of the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation’s 2018 Higher Education Scholarship Program. Providing financial assistance to help booksellers achieve their dreams is one of the most rewarding parts of maintaining the bookseller safety net, according to Binc Executive Director Pam French. “Booksellers are people who make the world a better place. We hope that by providing them with the opportunity to learn and grow through higher education, we are helping them change the world even more,” she said. “Congratulations to all of the college scholarship winners!”

The recipients were selected from 159 applicants comprised of bookstore owners, booksellers, former Borders Books employees, or their dependents. In total, $109,000 was awarded to help booksellers from 23 stores in 21 states reach their educational goals at 27 different schools. 

Four of the recipients are SIBA booksellers: Abigail Parkes of FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, GA,  Hannah Richardson of Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC, Sarah Skinner of Island Bookstore in Duck, NC, and Julie Wade of Downtown Books & News in Asheville, NC. 

A list of scholarship recipients, including their goals and favorite books, can be found here. Information about how bookstore employees can apply for the 2019 Higher Education Scholarship Program will be released early next year.

Welcome to SIBA's Galleys & Giveaways—our alert of review copies and resources available to booksellers. To help you harvest a great crop of Southern literature, SIBA and participating publishers are giving away the galleys and other materials below to southern indie booksellers on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you are interested simply email the publisher to request a copy. Supplies are limited, so act quickly!

Liked what you read? Let everyone know!

• Nominate for the next season of SIBA's Okra Picks!
• Nominate for the next Southern Book Prize!
• Send nicki@sibaweb.com your review for the Lady Banks newsletter
• Submit to IndieNext
• Review on Edelweiss+ (be sure to click the "SIBA" option in the review box)

N.B. These are review copies only, and not for resale.

Eat. Sleep. Read. Southern.

---

Confound It (Dreamwalker Mystery #5), by Maggie Toussaint
Camel Press / 6/1/2018 / $16.95 / Paperback / 9781603815956 

"A complex, multifaceted read that holds many satisfying twists and turns even for the staid detective story reader. Confound It will prove hard to put down and surprising right up to its final revelations." —Midwest Book Review

"In her fifth Dreamwalker novel, Maggie Toussaint pairs a tricky murder plot with her amazingly original supernatural setting…a dream come true for fans of paranormal mysteries." —Leigh Perry, Author of the Family Skeleton Mysteries

"Toussaint's deft writing makes Baxley leap off the page."—RT Reviews

While hosting out-of-town guests at her Georgia home, Dreamwalker Baxley Powell helps investigate a suspicious fire. One of her guests, close friend and fellow dreamwalker Deputy Sam Mayes, accompanies her to the scene.

A meth cook is dead, and when Baxley visits her beyond the Veil of Life, she determines the woman was murdered. Baxley pities Mandy Patterson, a single mother with aspirations for her teenage son Doodle. Unconcerned about the death of a criminal, the authorities pursue the drug-supply chain angle. Baxley worries about Doodle and vows to find his mother's killer.

As the case grows more baffling, Baxley struggles against her attraction to Sam. Although her husband is missing and declared dead, she doesn't feel free to love again until she's sure of his fate.

Two suspects have the strongest motive, but Baxley believes they are pawns in a deeper game. Unless she can stop them, the world will never be the same.

"Full of surprises and borders on the fantasy or paranormal genre…witty and thought provoking!" —Ind' Tale Magazine

"I didn't want the experience to end…this book earned a place on my bookshelf to be read again and again." —Karla Brandenburg

To request a review copy: aubrey@epicenterpress.com or maggietoussaint@darientel.net

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Fiction Addiction, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, McIntyres Books, Page 158 Books, Square Books, The Story Shop, and Union Avenue Bookshop.

9781573247436 Protest Kitchen 10/1/2018
"I love the way the book combines recipes with recommended actions for people who want to make a change."

9780440000785 Vox 8/12/2018
"An absolute must read for Fans of Station Eleven, the Handmaid's Tale and When She Woke, Vox may ironically be the discussion-starter of the season."

9781524733377 The Price You Pay 7/10/2018
"When this book is over you will want to take a shower for putting yourself on the side of the despicable miscreant. . .Funny thing is...it won't stop you from eagerly devouring every page of this one"

9781524732813 The Impostor 8/28/2018
"A perfect mix of Javier Marias' compulsive need to unpeel a topic and Emmanuel Carrere's introspective, self-reflective non-fiction."

9780525515029 Small Spaces 9/25/2018
"A deliciously creepy middle grade novel that will inspire under the covers flashlight reading."

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and needs help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Fiction Addiction, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, McIntyres Books, Page 158 Books, Square Books, The Story Shop, and Union Avenue Bookshop.

9780525521228 Clock Dance 7/10/2018
"Willa Drake isn't just a character in a book. She becomes a friend you root for, someone you'd like to hug."

9780316516204 The Wrong Heaven 7/17/2018
"unbelievably funny and charmingly bizarre."

9780316176637 Transcription 9/25/2018
"Kate Atkinson is a genius"

9780999193518 Bald Knobber 10/2/2018
" I've always been struck by the way he manages to capture modernity in all its awkward quietness."

9780062424242 The Other Side of Lost 8/7/2018
"A 'Wild' for a younger audience."

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and needs help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

Bridging the Divide and the Open Discussion Project with Sarah Goddin and Chris Finan on Wed, 5/23, at 2PM via Zoom!
 
Join Sarah Goddin of Quail Ridge Books as she discusses her store’s success with their “Bridging the Divide” book club. The club's goal is to foster dialog and better understanding between people with different political viewpoints and to provide a safe space for civil discourse on controversial or divisive topics. Chris Finan of The National Coalition Against Censorship will discuss The Open Discussion Project, which seeks to create a new kind of reading group that will bring people of opposing views into dialogue about the issues that divide us. Booksellers will have an opportunity to ask questions of Sarah and Chris, to explore how this programming could serve their stores and communities. Please RSVP lindamarie@sibaweb.com to sign up to attend.

Sarah Goddin is general manager of Quail Ridge Books, a 9000 square foot store in Raleigh, NC. She has been a bookseller for 40 years, starting with Waldenbooks in 1978, then opening and running her own store, Wellington's Books, in Cary, for 10 years, finally landing at Quail Ridge Books in 1996. Sarah has served on various ABA committees such as  the Booksellers Advisory Council, Education and Abacus task forces, and as chair of the Spring 2017 Indies Introduce adult book selection committee.

Chris Finan is executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of 56 national non-profits, including the American Booksellers Association.  He has defended the First Amendment rights of booksellers for many years and most recently led American Booksellers for Free Expression.  He is the author of From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America.  His new book is Drunks: An American History, which will be released in paperback on June 5. 

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Book No Further, Bookmarks, Bookmiser, The Country Bookshop, Fountain Bookstore, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Page 158 Books, Parnassus Books, The Story Stop, and Union Avenue Bookshop.

9780802128256 Convenience Store Woman 6/12/2018
"The power of this novel is not in a sweeping landscape or journey, but in its intimacy, humor, and empathy with this very human, knowable woman."

9780062400734 Don't You Ever 7/3/2018
"Bishop walks readers through the surprise, the mystery, the joy and ultimately the heartbreak of finding and losing an all-but-unknown brother."

9780316392358 Calypso 5/29/2018
"Of course there are still times that I spit coffee all over myself because I made the mistake of drinking while reading."

9780062795250 What If It's Us 10/9/2018
"I grinned through reading most of this book. It's SO cute, but not in that super awful, sappy way...in a perfectly wonderful, hopeful, fantastic romantic way."

9780823440559 Dreamers 9/4/2018
"A story of a woman who had her life changed when she entered the public library for the first time. Beautiful, simple and brilliantly done"

9781524738235 Royals 5/1/2018
"I devoured this book in one day! The humor, romance and royal treatment was just what I needed to get my reading mojo back."

9780399574221 The Line That Held Us 8/14/2018
" From the first page to the last, the story will grip you and not let go like a Dwayne Brewer bear hug."

9781501192555 An Ocean of Minutes 7/10/2018
"I can't wait to hand this to our customers who want something just a tad off the beaten path."

9781501169038 The Map of Salt and Stars 5/1/2018
"A beautifully written look at what it means to come of age in the middle of a war, as well as the power of stories and how they shape us."

9780525520375 There There 6/5/2018
"I will be shoving this book into as many hands as I can."

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

Welcome to SIBA’s Galleys & Giveaways—our alert of review copies and resources available to booksellers. To help you harvest a great crop of Southern literature, SIBA and participating publishers are giving away the galleys and other materials below to southern indie booksellers on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you are interested simply email the publisher to request a copy. Supplies are limited, so act quickly!

Liked what you read? Let everyone know!

• Nominatefor the next season of SIBA's Okra Picks!
• Nominatefor the next Southern Book Prize!
• Sendnicki@sibaweb.comyour review for the Lady Banks newsletter
• Submitto IndieNext
• Reviewon Edelweiss+ (be sure to click the "SIBA" option in the review box)

N.B. These are review copies only, and not for resale.

Eat. Sleep. Read. Southern.

---

Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood, by Neal Thompson
Ecco / 5/15/18 / $27.99 / Hardcover / 9780062394347 

"Thompson captures the ache, fizz, yearning and frustration of being the father of adolescent boys." —Michael Chabon

"What a riveting, touching, and painful read!" —Maria Semple

"Fun, moving, raw, and relatable." —Tony Hawk

What makes a good father good, and what makes him feel like a fraud? Does less-is-more parenting inspire independence and strength, or does it encourage defiance and trouble? Kickflip Boys is the story of a father's struggle to understand his willful skateboarder sons, challengers of authority and convention, to accept his unconventional role as a vulnerable "skate dad," and to confront his fears that their out-of-bounds lifestyle will lead them too far afield.

With searing honesty, Neal Thompson traces his sons' progression through all the stages of skateboarding: splurging on skate shoes and boards, skipping classes and defying teachers, run-ins with security guards and cops, painting graffiti, drinking and smoking, and more. As the story veers from funny to treacherous and back, from skateparks to the streets, Thompson must confront his complicity and fallibility. He also reflects on his own adventures with skateboards, drugs, danger, and defiance. 

A "heartfelt and blunt" (Publishers Weekly) story of thrill-seeking teens, of hope and love, freedom and failure, Kickflip Boys reveals a sport and a community that have become a refuge for boys who resist mainstream expectations as they seek their own path. Ultimately, it's a deeply moving survival story of a loving modern American family, of acceptance, forgiveness, and letting go.

"I was immensely moved by Kickflip Boys ... a profoundly honest book and a true achievement." —Dani Shapiro

"The voice is brave, funny and fiercely honest." —Peter Heller 

To request a review copy: Martin.Wilson@harpercollins.com

Make your mark at #SIBA18!
A call for Bookstore Branded Bookmarks and Swag

The theme of this year's Discovery Show is "Mark Your Mark," with an emphasis on the many ways bookstores can brand themselves and become icons in their own communities and in the industry. To that end, SIBA is going to feature bookstore-branded merchandise in an exhibit at the show, and we'd like to incorporate your store-branded bookmarks into show materials.

So here's what we'd like to have from stores:

1) Store Bookmarks. These will be featured in the show directory in other show materials. Stores can provide either electronic files or actually send the printed bookmarks, or both. Electronic files should be sent to nicki@sibaweb.com. Any pdf or high resolution image format is fine. Print materials should be sent to:

Make Your Mark at SIBA
c/o Nicki Leone
718 Hughes Rd.
Hampstead, NC 28443

2) Store Swag. SIBA will have a display of store-branded merchandise in the Exhibit hall during the show, so now is the time to let your store shine. If you are interested in having your store swag featured contact Linda-Marie at lindamarie@sibaweb.com. Bookmarks, coffee mugs, tote bags, t-shirts, bags of coffee, buttons, magnets, aprons, tea towels. . .the sky's the limit.

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Bookmiser, Fiction Addiction, Fountain Bookstore, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, McIntyre's Books, Page & Palette, Quail Ridge Books, and The Story Shop.

9781635830187 The Girl and the Grove 5/8/2018
"the most heartwarming read of the year!"

9781594634925 The Art of Gathering 5/15/2018
"A fabulous and unusual take on the art of gathering -- whether for business or for purely social reasons."

9781492656623 Furyborn 5/22/2018
"full of my favorite kind of character- strong, stubborn, and super-flawed."

9780316392389 Calypso 5/29/2018
"Reading these new stories was like catching up with an old friend."

9780525521228 Clock Dance 7/10/2018
"readable comfort food that reminds us it is not only possible to make a new way in life, but it's never too late."

9781524733377 The Price You Pay 7/10/2018
"A smart, brash carnival ride with no brakes"

9781984822475 Instantly Southern 11/6/2018
"I can tell you I will be living off this book once it comes out. Delicious! "

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

SIBA booksellers who attended Maribeth Pelly’s webinar “How to Prepare a Press Kit for your Store” are now working on creating or retooling their store press kits in advance of trips to Book Expo. Pelly, the event planner for Booktowne (NJ) and a professional marketing consultant,  live-critiqued eight press kits from small and large stores with different approaches to their events programming. Pelly noted SIBA-member stores tend to focus on their story and place in their community, which is very positive. However, she emphasized the importance of including an up-to-date grid, something lacking in most press kits critiqued, showing numbers for attendees, venue seating, and books sold at successful author events. Pelly’s Easy Press Kit Checklist and Press Kit Template are now available in SIBA’s Peer Brain Trust under “Working with Publishers.” Pelly’s next webinar with SIBA is How to Pitch Your Store to Publicists on Thursday, May 24 at 2PM. Attendees will learn how to have productive conversations with publishers at Book Expo’s Speed Dating, and to stay on publishers’ radar all year long. Please sign up to join us!

A recording of Pelly’s Press Kit webinar will be available soon. Booksellers who attended shared the following:

“It helped me de-clutter and focus on what is essential...It was very helpful to take notes and listen to her responses and critiques; her criticisms of all of the different press kits were the best part as she allowed her honest reactions and thought processes to come through rather than just leaving us to rely on her tip sheet...We're putting direct input from the webinar onto the page!” --John Cavalier, Owner of Cavalier House Books

“Having our newly minted press release critiqued by Maribeth was affirming. She thoroughly explained the rationale behind the advice she gave us for changes and helped me see how well we were and weren't communicating our strengths. Maribeth offers fresh eyes combined with real focus on the appropriate goals for each element of a press kit.” --Adah Fitzgerald, Owner of Main Street Books

“I enjoyed seeing what everyone else does and seeing the examples...I am planning on attending the next one and think it will be a great build on the previous material. I did make a quick reference numbers sheet which was something we were lacking. I have since shared with publicists and reps so hopefully will see some traction from that!”

--Jamie Rogers Southern, Operations Director of Bookmarks

“Avid definitely benefited from having our press kit reviewed by Maribeth. It was great to hear what we were doing right, and things we could improve upon. It was definitely worth my time to attend the webinar.” --Rachel Watkins, Communications Director of Avid Bookshop 

 

"The press kit webinar was so helpful. We learned so much and hope to implement what we learned very soon. The most helpful part was just being able to wrap our minds around what a press kit actually is, and what that consists of. The examples were phenomenal. Walking through what publishers look for and other things that give you a leg up when talking with publishers was an eye opener in the best way. We're still babies at this, so we really appreciate the time and effort y'all put in to this presentation." --Lauren Brown, Assistant Manager of The Story Shop

 

"I got a whole lot out of it.  I will be designing the [press kit] solely off what I have learned and it helped us out a whole lot.  I am so glad I got to be a part of it."--Jamille Christman, Marketing Director of of Eagle Eye Book Shop