CALL FOR AUTHORS: MARCH MADNESS
March 4-22

Nine bookstores, eight states, and everyone’s a winner at SIBA’s March Madness! Kicking off on March 4, nine SIBA bookstores will host one-day gatherings throughout March that include bookseller education, meet-the-author luncheons, networking, and idea shares on what’s working at attendee stores. This programming is free to SIBA member bookstores, and includes lunch. View the schedule.

SIBA is currently accepting submissions for authors to participate. Deadline to submit is February 9, 2024. Click here to see current calls for authors.

New Voices New Rooms New Ideas
January 18, 2024

NVNR EXHIBITS: RESERVATIONS & AUTHOR SUBMISSIONS OPEN

New Voices New Rooms, the joint NAIBA and SIBA conference, is now accepting reservations for exhibits and has opened its call for authors for its 2024 conference. NVNR 2024 will return to Arlington, Virginia Thursday through Sunday, August 8-11 and will feature a larger exhibit hall, more author placements, and expanded options for exhibitors to put their books in front of booksellers.

The move to weekend dates is designed to draw in seasonal and smaller stores with more flexible weekend schedules. NAIBA and SIBA will also increase the number of travel grants awarded to bookstores to offset the expense of attendance, as well as bring back day-pass opportunities. NVNR has also simplified the process for exhibitors to sponsor booksellers at the conference.

New for 2024:

• Exhibitors allowed extra tables. On-site exhibits and sponsorships allow exhibitors to add up to two extra tables above what is already included.
• More author placement in the program. The program for 2024 includes extra author receptions and author panel opportunities.
• More Editor Spots at Our Editors Buzz Reception. NVNR expanded space for more editors at one of last year’s most popular events
• More Region-specific programming focusing on dedicated NAIBA and SIBA markets.
• An expanded focus on Genre titles, including a reception for genre authors.

Download the Exhibits Brochure to see the full range of promotional opportunities, or visit the NVNR website: https://newvoicesnewrooms.org/publisher-menu/

Go to Exhibits, Sponsorships & Sales Reservations

For questions about Exhibits, Sponsorships & Sales email Kit Little | kit@naiba.com

NVNR Conference Details:

New Voices New Rooms 2024
August 8-11, 2024
Crystal Gateway Marriott
Arlington, Virginia

Submitting an Author:
A link to the form to submit authors to the NVNR 2024 program is sent when you sign up for your exhibit reservation. See "Other Sponsor Options" in the Exhibits Brochure or on the Exhibits Reservations for opportunities for author placement without having an exhibit table.

For questions about submitting authors, email Linda-Marie Barrett | lindamarie@sibaweb.com

Upcoming Important Dates:

5/1: Deadline to Submit Authors
5/15: Deadline to Place Ad in Show Journal
7/1: Deadline to Submit Books to Genre Buzz
7/17: Hotel Deadline for NVNR Room Rate
8/1: Deadline to Submit Books to Virtual Galley Room

NVNR Hotel Information:

Crystal Gateway Marriott
1700 Richmond Highway
Arlington, VA 22202
703-920-3230

Reservation Link: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1699028154352&key=GRP&app=resvlink

Room Rate is $154/night. NVNR Attendees receive a $25/day self-parking rate.

The hotel is attached to the Crystal City Metro stop on either the Blue or Yellow Metro lines. It is two miles from Washington, DC and one mile from Reagan National Airport (DCA). The hotel has airport shuttles.

About NVNR / Contact Info

New Voices New Rooms is the programming partnership and platform of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and represents independent bookstores in 18 states in the South and Mid Atlantic.

Eileen Dengler, eileen@naiba.com
Programming and Education

Linda-Marie Barrett, lindamarie@sibaweb.com
Programming and Author Placement

Kit Little, kit@naiba.com
Exhibits, Sponsorships, and Sales

Nicki Leone, nicki@sibaweb.com
Registration and Tech Support

Elliott batTzedek, elliott@naiba.com
Registration, Accessibility Coordinator, Front Desk

Candice Huber, candice@sibaweb.com
Social Media, Social Coordinator, Accessibility Coordinator

Kathy Ellen Davis, kathyellendaviswriter@gmail.com
Social Media, Social Coordinator

Exhibit space at NVNR 2023 is nearly sold out, but there are still opportunities for publishers to put their books in front of the booksellers attending the show:

Virtual Studio: puts your company and products in the online enhanced NVNR Exhibitor Directory, which stays active as a bookstore resource until the end of the year. All fees from Virtual Studios go towards bookseller scholarships. Cost is $1000
Register via NAIBA here (Choose the "Virtual Package" option)

Genre Lists: A brand new, key element in NVNR’s focus on title discovery, Genre Buzz roundtable sessions will be driven by bookseller participation. Each of sixteen featured genres will include a title list handout with up to 100 books, and a corresponding Edelweiss collection link.
Fee is $50 per title; title must fit the genre it is is listed in; title must also be listed on Edelweiss.
Sign up here (select "Genre Lists"):

Welcome Bag: Get Your Product into the Hands of Every Bookseller at NVNR! Place an item in the show bag handed out to booksellers at our welcome desk.
Cost is $1750, 350 items required. Items can be books, swag, fliers, etc. - be creative!
Sign Up here (select "Welcome Bag"):

Readers of the Last ARC Galley Room: Companies can add books and nonbook items to the virtual Readers of the Last ARC Galley Room. The virtual galley room has been one of the most popular elements of NVNR. It is open to bookseller attendees (and only bookseller attendees), who can build their list of requests for as long as NVNR is open. Publishers and Vendors receive a detailed spreadsheet of the booksellers with their requests after the show. No need to ship books ahead of time. If you want to get your books into the hands of indie booksellers, this is fast and inexpensive way to do so.
Cost is $50 per title.
Sign up here (select "Galley Room):

Summer Sale on SIBA Promotions!

Happy Summer! SIBA would love to help you get your titles in front of our bookstore customers. Consumer engagement with our promotions is fabulous and rising, and we’re offering the following promotions at half price. Our summer sale lasts until July 15 for promotions scheduled for July, August, and September. Have a question? Reach out and let’s talk. 

• The Combined Regional Bookstore Banner, which places a banner ad on the home pages of 50+ SIBA stores for a week, clicking through to purchase. We also promote in our Southern Bookseller Review Newsletter (7k subscribers) and across our social media channels. $299, usually $599. This is a fantastic launch week promotion.

• The Southern Bookseller Review Shelf:  feature your title on our shelf, where it appears in four Southern Bookseller Review newsletters, across our social media platforms, and in our newsletters to booksellers 4x (throughout the month). Always clicks through to purchase at a member store. Price is $199, usually $399. We only have one space left for July, and August is filling up. Please don’t wait on this one.

Email Linda-Marie Barrett for more information and to make reservations.

One of SIBA's most visible promotions is also an often overlooked opportunity: the SIBA newsletter banner, which puts your product in front of readers who are already predisposed to open and read the email. Newsletter banners are a good choice for publishers seeking to extend the momentum of a title or a promotion, and a good substitute option if the dates you want for an eblast promotion are not available, or if you have a late addition that needs quick action.

SIBA sends out two newsletters each week. In the Land of SIBA is our industry-targeted newsletter of news for booksellers about important SIBA programs and events. It has a circulation of about 3000.

The Southern Bookseller Review is our consumer-targeted newsletter, featuring book reviews from SIBA booksellers. Its direct circulation is about 6500 and also received extensive social media support.

Newsletters have an advantage over eblasts because subscribers have opted in to receive them and already expect there will be useful information in the email. So they are already prepared to look at and read the message.

SIBA newsletters receive high engagement from readers -- regularly showing open rates of 50% or higher, and click-through rates of 8%-10%.

See the stats report for the two most recent newsletters: SIBA Newsletter | The Southern Bookseller Review

Newsletters each have two header banners and two inline banners available:

• Header banners are larger, appear at the top of the newsletter, above the masthead, and are the first thing readers see. Cost is $399/issue
• Inline banners are smaller and appear between the lead articles, always in the top half of the newsletter. Cost is $299/issue.

Visit SIBA's Ad Specs page for more details and to order. Or contact Nicki Leone at nicki@sibaweb.com for questions about scheduling and format.