Terri Leidich is a familiar face to SIBA booksellers. She brings her authors to SIBA in the Springtime, EUREKAsiba, and the Discovery Show, and sponsors programming to bring authors and booksellers together.  

You are the president and publisher of BQB and WriteLife Publishing. What inspired you to become a publisher?

As a writer myself, I felt that new and unknown writers were often getting overlooked by the big houses as they clamored to publish books by public personalities. I felt there was a lot of great literature that was sitting in manuscript form because of the lack of publishers dedicated to new writers and I wanted to do something about that.

Does each company have a specific focus?

BQB is our fiction imprint. We publish mostly adult fiction with a few exceptional children’s or YA books. Under WriteLife we publish nonfiction with a heavy emphasis on body/mind/spirit and self-help with a few memoirs as well.

What are some of your most successful titles with independent bookstores?

Under BQB, our children’s picture book What Does a Princess Really Look Like and the coloring book The True Colors of a Princess both by Mark Loewen; the novel River People by Margaret Lukas; and Rock and Roll Voodoo by Mark Paul Smith are doing well with indies. Under our WriteLife imprint, Tina Zion’s books – Become a Medical Intuitive; Advanced Medical Intuition; and Reiki and Your Intuition (releases May 1st)  are doing well with indie bookstores that have a strong body/mind/spirit following. And SoulStroller by Kayce Stevens Hughlett has caught the attention of indies in the Western US and Canada.

Any books coming out this summer that you think SIBA bookstore customers will be especially interested in?

Yes. Give, a novel by Erica C. Witsell and Some People Do, a children’s picture book by Frank Lowe and Josh Hara are getting a lot of consumer interest. Both release June 1st.

How are your books available to independent bookstores?

While our books are available through Ingram and Baker & Taylor, the best and easiest way to purchase them is through IPG (Independent Publishers Group). IPG has recently hired an inside rep who is dedicated to indie booksellers in the Southeast. His name is John D’Esposito and his email is johnd@ipgbook.com  John tells me that they are able to give indie booksellers a discount that is better than what indies usually receive. If a bookseller has an account with IPG, they can quickly and easily purchase our books. If not, John will be happy to help. IPG represents a large number of amazing indie publishers, including BQB and WriteLIfe.

You're a continuing and very visible partner with SIBA in our SIBA in the Springtime and Discovery Show. Why are you so committed to bringing your authors to SIBA events?

People in the South love to read and in this region of the US, readers seem to be more dedicated to indie bookstores than other areas of the country. I feel that SIBA is a very strong avenue to getting our books into consumer’s hands. And now that IPG has a dedicated sales rep for indies in the Southeast, our books are more easily accessible. Plus, SIBA is the strongest bookseller association that I’ve interacted with and I’ve come to love the SIBA staff and many of the booksellers I’ve met along the way.