Maribeth Pelly, Event Manager at Booktowne, presented on Store Press Kits this week as part of NVNR prep for Publicity Speed Dating March 9-12 (Registration opens next week). The lively webinar included live-critiquing of press kits from NAIBA and SIBA stores, updated to reflect stats for virtual events and promotion through social media channels. We’re including some links for stores who are in the process of creating or updating their press kits. Maribeth is available for vetting your press kits: maribeth@maribethpelly.com

Some useful links

Press kit template.

Press Kit checklist

SIBA webinars with Maribeth Pelly (includes pitching to publishers)

NAIBA bookstore press kits (for inspiration)

Call for 2021 SIBA Bookseller Influencers!

Would you like to be more involved with SIBA? Get the inside scoop on new and existing programming? Have an opportunity to provide feedback in an environment where your voice matters? Become a SIBA influencer!

What’s involved? SIBA staff meet with the influencers bi-weekly (no meetings in Sept, Nov, Dec, unless requested) to get feedback on programming and new initiatives. Meetings last one hour and occur on Tuesdays at 10AM EST. Influencers must be current bookseller members of SIBA, and only one influencer per store. We are especially interested in expanding BIPOC bookseller representation.

Please rsvp Linda-Marie by 2/1 if you’d like to be an influencer in 2021, or need more info.

SIBA staff and two board members attended the American Independent Business Alliance’s Building Equity in the Local Economy virtual conference  last week. AMIBA’s first “Local Economy” conference centered on racial equity as a local economy driver. Spread over two days and featuring multiple BIPOC speakers on issues central to the conference’s topic, the gathering also included numerous opportunities to engage with other attendees and the speakers at small breakout sessions. The experience was so inspiring and brimming with actionable ideas that SIBA attendees met for a debrief to discuss continuing this important work. 

Among other initiatives in development, look for a Racial Equity Challenge from SIBA in January 2021, modeled on the Racial Equity Challenge from Food Solutions, New England.

We were struck by this quote shared by Katie Frank from Zingtrain. It was part of Zingerman’s draft vision for 2030 in a section penned by one of their Staff Partners, Betty Gratopp. May it inspire you as well:

“We deliberately practice starting at yes. Until principles tell us otherwise start at yes.  Until thoroughly investigated; start at yes.  Until numbers tell us otherwise; start at yes.  When your mind screams no, start at yes. If it makes us uncomfortable; especially start at yes. Something wonderful may be about to happen! We believe if we start at yes our creative canvas is blank and lends to more creative open-minded conversations. We believe by saying yes, our creativeness and innovation levels will increase and once momentum begins it’s easier to keep momentum than gain momentum. Yes becomes a tool to practice being open to ideas.” 

Learn more about AMIBA

Resources from the conference:

Poems shared at the beginning and end of each day’s session: 
The Why of Small Business | Book referenced by MaryAnn Howland

• Virtual Panel Discussion on Black Economic Empowerment
• Racial Equity Challenge from Food Solutions New England
• Madison, Wisconsin, regional economic development diversity conference : 
• White privilege symposium, Iowa
• ZingTrain presentation
• Links to Zingtrain resources: zingtrain.com/products.  Don't forget that all resources are 20% off with code “community2020” !
• Carol Dweck book mentioned by Katie/Zingerman
• Common Good Collective

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.

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.

One of the best ways to get on a publisher’s radar is to support their programming, whether it’s an Editor Buzz Panel at BookExpo, Publisher Speed Dating at Winter Institute, or one of the many opportunities at our Fall and Spring conferences. 

We’re setting up programming this summer to connect you with publishers in ways that will begin or deepen relationships, and help you identify key frontlist titles publishers are promoting to the indie channel--that means you! We’ve so far lined up events with editors at Simon & Schuster and Macmillan who will present their picks with your customers in mind. Stay tuned for more!

Coming up:

Wednesday, July 15, 3-3:45 PM EDT: Meet the Simon & Schuster Editors

Wednesday, July 22,  3-4 PM EDT: Editor Buzz Panel with Macmillan

Wednesday, July 29 3-3:45 PM EDT: Meet the Children’s Editors at Simon & Schuster.

Please rsvp if you’d like to attend, specifying which event(s) you're interested in. Thank you!

On Thursday, May 28 at 1 PM EDT, Jill Hendrix, owner of Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC will demonstrate how she uses Trello. Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes projects into boards, lists, and cards. In one glance, Trello tells you what's being worked on, who's working on what, and where something is in a process.

Jill's presentation is part of THIS! Thursday Inspiration with SIBA, an informal virtual club on Thursday afternoons at 1 pm, where booksellers share what's working for them. Less formal than a webinar, more fun than figuring it out by yourself, THIS! encourages conversation and the exchange of good ideas. Put this event on your calendar and we'll send you the zoom link next week.

Join us for our March Madness event at Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA on March 17 from 10-3PM. From 10 AM-noon, Cavalier House Books co-owner and SIBA Board member John Cavalier will present "Emergency Preparedness: Preparing for Natural Disasters, Man-made Events, and Whoopsie Daisies." Session description: You've heard it all before ..."By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" ... But you still haven't put a plan in place! Big things can happen and little actions can mean the difference between persevering and closing up shop. What threats can affect your store? Your community? Our Industry? We'll talk generally and specifically about each of these and we'll walk away with a list of concrete steps you can take to build resiliency for your store's future and daily operations.

From noon to 1PM, booksellers will enjoy lunch with a visiting author, and the afternoon will include a store tour and further discussion and networking on bookseller issues.

Link to register for this event and other March Madness Bookseller Series events. These events are free to booksellers who are current members of their regional associations.

Join us for our March Madness event at Starline Books in Chattanooga, TN on March 16 from 10-3PM! From 10 AM-noon, owner Star Lowe and bookseller Nora Ketron will present Curating and Handselling A Selection of Books & Gifts Your Community Will Love. Session description: In the age of algorithm-driven recommendations and content curation it can be more meaningful than ever to personally recommend a book that made an impact on you, or guide shoppers face-to-face through your store's selection. We'll spend some time talking about how we curate for our shelves and hand sell books that are personally loved by our booksellers, satisfy the interests of our regular patrons, and promote the literature and ideas that are important to us. It's more art than science, but when you get it right, you can have a patron for life!

Noon-1PM: Author Luncheon with Ashley Blooms, author of Every Bone a Prayer. Blooms' debut novel, which is set in Appalachia, has been called "The Lovely Bones meets Where the Crawdads Sing." Ashley Blooms has published short fiction in The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Shimmer, among others, and her essay 'Fire in My Bones' appeared in The Oxford American. Ashley is a graduate of the Clarion Writer's Workshop and the Tin House Winter Workshop and received her MFA as a John and Renee Grisham Fellow from the University of Mississippi. She was raised in Cutshin, Kentucky, and now lives in Berea, Kentucky.

The afternoon will include a store tour and further discussion and networking on bookseller issues.

Link to register for this event and other March Madness Bookseller Series events. These events are free to booksellers who are current members of their regional associations.