SIBA INSTALLS TWO NEW DIRECTORS TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SIBA is pleased to announce the addition of two new board members to the SIBA Board whose terms begin in 2019: Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA, and Jamie Rogers Southern of Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC. Janet and Jamie will attend the #SIBA18 Discovery Show, where they will be welcomed to the board at the SIBA Annual Meeting + Town Hall on Friday, Sept 14 at 9am. Join us in welcoming Janet and Jamie! Congratulations also to Star Lowe of Star Line Books for winning a free hotel stay for one evening in our voter participation raffle.
Janet Geddis is the founder and owner of Avid Bookshop, an award-winning business with two locations in Athens, GA. Jamie Rogers Southern is the Operations Director at Bookmarks. Bookmarks is a literary nonprofit organization based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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#SIBA18 REGISTRATION CLOSES ON 9/1
Don't miss the deadline. Here's why:
Early Registration for #SIBA18 closes on September 1st. While you will be able to register on site, there are a couple important reasons why bookstores should not wait:
1) Meal ticket prices DOUBLE on site.
Really. We're going to repeat that. MEAL PRICES DOUBLE ON SITE. SIBA has to provide final numbers to the hotel before the show and pays annually for uneaten meals. We hope this will encourge early descision making.
This means, for example, that the Kick Off Lunch featuring William Joyce ($39), or the SIBA Supper featuring B.A. Shapiro ($49) will cost $78 and $98 on site. So place your ticket orders now.
See meal descriptions here
2) The ESCAPEroom
A games and team-building opportunity for you and your staff or colleagues, the #SIBA18 ESCAPEroom is scheduled throughout the day on Thursday, 9/13. SPACE IS VERY LIMITED. Sign up here
3) Use your B3 Credit
Your store credit can be used against the cost of meal tickets. Check your credit here
And email nicki@sibaweb.com if you want to purchase any meal tickets with your credit.
4) Get your ducks in a row.
The schedule for the Discovery Show has never been so jam-packed. Education, Author Panels, and a full day's worth of EUREKAsiba talks, not to mention three days' worth of special events.
REGISTER | HOTEL RESERVATIONS
PARAPALOOZA!
Don't Miss One of the Highlights of #SIBA18!
Parapalooza happens on Friday, September 14 at 5:45pm. Authors read with meaning, feeling, and enthusiasm a single hand-picked paragraph from their book. Every year, booksellers have to elbow their way in (kindly, but assertively) to be part of an hour of big laughs, and hear from a sampling of authors representing various genres for adults and children. And, oh, what a great selection of authors coming your way this year! One of the stars, and a first-time presenter at SIBA, will be Tena Clark, author of Southern Discomfort, whom Maria Shriver calls, "a pioneering force of nature." Clark has written award-winning songs, contributed to the soundtracks of many movies, including "Hope Floats," and "My Best Friend's Wedding," and television shows including "Desperate Housewives." Clark is also a civil rights activist and crusader for women's rights.
We have a new MC this year, Helen Ellis, author of the Southern Lady Code. Helen Ellis has a mantra: "If you don’t have something nice to say, say something not-so-nice in a nice way.” What will that mean for the authors in attendance and booksellers in the audience? Time will tell, but I'm sure this "fiercely funny" MC will keep everyone on their toes.
And what's more, National Geographic is contributing cold beer for attendees. The authors of The National Geographic Atlas of Beer, Nancy Hoalst-Pullen and Mark Patterson are part of the line-up. Seriously, amazing authors, an hilarious MC, and cold beer? Does it get any better? See you at Parapalooza!
BINC FOR BOOKSELLERS: CALL US
As Natural Disasters Hit Home, We Remind Booksellers that Binc has their Back!
Kit Mundus Steinaway, Programs Manager at the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, reached out to booksellers recently with the message, "As Hurricane Lane races toward Hawaii and the wildfires continue to burn in the western states, I wanted to reach out with a reminder. If you hear of a bookseller who has been impacted by any disaster, please encourage them to contact Binc. We can help with relocation, loss of property or loss of household income. We want to do anything we can to help booksellers in the path of nature's fury.
If you are a bookseller impacted by a disaster contact Binc for financial assistance 866-733-9064 or help@bincfoundation.org."
Want to Bid on Alan Gratz's Piggy Banks at Binc's Bank on Booksellers Auction?
Better Get Cracklin!
Authors, illustrators, and other celebrities from the book industry and beyond have gone the extra mile for the return of #BankOnBooksellers. More than 90 heroes have decorated piggy banks for the auction which will begin on September 9 and ends September 15. Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to win one-of-a-swine artwork and help booksellers through emergencies at the same time! The auction kicks off at Noon EST on Sept. 9 and will feature a launch party with all of the piggy banks on display from 5 to 7 pm at Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor. This is a great opportunity to see all of the piggy banks in person and also coincides with the Kerrytown Book Festival! If you can’t make it out to Michigan, no worries! All of the pigs will be posted on the auction website and will be available for bidding until Noon EST on Sept. 15. Contact Binc for more information on the auction and for downloadable cards and flyers to promote the auction to your customers.
Beloved bestselling author Alan Gratz (Refugee, Grenade) decorated pigs for the auction and shares with us his very punny experience. He also allowed a sneak peek at his creations.
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PINTEREST BOARDS PROVIDE MORE FOR YOU
SIBA has long maintained a variety of Pinterest Boards in the name of helping booksellers. Pinterest has been with us since 2010 and many of the boards have been maintained since then, so please note that some of the older pins may link to bad urls but a simple google search may get you to the older content. Just today I updated the Gifts Galore for Bookstores Board and had the thought I should bring the boards to your attention again as it has been awhile.
Here are the boards and a short description of what you can expect to see there:
Every year we create a board of the authors attending the show. Check out #SIBA18 Writers @ Innisbrook in Tampa, FL to see the writers coming to Florida with us. And, just in, see the additional presenters.
In addition we have the following boards:
Simple Ideas for Small Budgets: Clever solutions for display, promotion, and decor.
Lady Banks Trailer Park: Every book trailer that appears in the Lady Banks' Commonplace Book consumer newsletter is placed on this board. Use it as a resource if you are in need of content for your website or an email to customers.
Brilliant Bookseller Idea of the Day (formerly known as Cool Things Bookstores Do Besides Sell Books): Anytime I see a store doing something that warrants the attention of another store, I post it here.
Gifts Galore for Bookstores: Over 500 potential gift ideas. An inspiration if there ever was one.
I hope you find these boards useful, and I hope if you find anything that should be added to these boards, you will let me know by emailing me:wanda@sibaweb.com
HELP WANTED
Job Opening: Sales, Design and Project Manager, Franklin Fixtures, LLC, Cookeville, TN
Seeking book industry professional passionate about the creation of Indie bookstores, libraries and educational destinations. Interested in developing fixture design skills mentored by the nation's top bookstore designer? A great opportunity with flexible work location and 15-20% travel, this position will help create visibility and credibility in the book markets, have strong detail and math skills along with problem solving and demonstrated emotional intelligence. We work with passionate (picky), purpose-driven people and need a candidate who enjoys the challenge of being part of our customer's success formula. The position includes marketing efforts, consultation and fixture design of book related spaces, quotation and project management of orders through delivery, and long term customer service. Franklin's high-quality fixtures have been the sterling standard serving independent bookstores from 1974 and we are looking for a results-driven self-manager passionate about carrying that tradition and service to Indies forward.
Interested candidates please contact Lisa Uhrik, Co-owner, Franklin Fixtures, LLC at 931-252-6931 or by email at LUhrik@franklinfixtures.com
STORE FIXTURES AVAILABLE
Bookstore displays, stands, racks, and baskets for sale from closing New Orleans' bookstore, The Stacks.
The Stacks, an art & design bookstore in New Orleans, is closing shop and has many items for sale. For more information on these items, and to purchase, please contact Émilie Lamy via email info@thestacks-books.org or phone 504.439.0846
See the full list of available fixtures here
MEET THE OWNERS OF BOOK NO FURTHER
Name: Doloris Vest and Craig Coker, owners
Store and Location: Book No Further, 16 Church Ave, SW, Roanoke, VA 24011
website || facebook
Number of years as a bookseller: Almost one as an owner and a couple of holiday seasons in the past.
"Best part about being a bookseller: Talking books and trying to get the right book in the right hand."
Best part about being a bookseller: Talking books and trying to get the right book in the right hand.
What book(s) are you reading?: Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Fist by Sunil Yapa (the Roanoke Valley Reads pick), Chesapeake Requiem by Earl Swift.
Favorite handsell of 2018: Varina by Charles Frazier about Varina Davis, wife of confederate president Jefferson Davis. I pair it with Winnie Davis by Heath Lee, a wonderful biography of Varina and Jefferson’s youngest daughter covering the same time.
Best thing you did this year at your store: Got it open! ;-) Also, I am so glad we have been able to bring attention to the literary community that exists here and bring readers and writers together. Our most successful event was a talk with Liza Mundy, a Roanoke native, on her book Code Girls about women who broke German and Japanese codes in WWII. We’re expecting 100-plus for our event on September 5 with another Roanoker and Beth Macy, author of New York Times bestseller Dopesick.
Social Media Stats: Our likes are essentially even with the used and chain bookstores in the area who have been open more than 20 years. One of our most popular social posts was of a visit by the Easter Bunny.
What are some ways you work with your community? Major emphasis in the store on local writers. We’re blessed with a large number of nationally published authors living in Western Virginia: Beth Macy, David Baldacci, Sharyn McCrumb, Diane Fanning, Leah Weiss and others. In our first 10 months we hosted 18 author talks for more than 30 authors, a number of special events including our Grand Opening, Small Business Saturday, Independent Bookstore Day as well as community events like MuggleFest, Spring Festival, Riot Rooster Makers Festival, Dickens of Christmas and others. We work with a lot of non-profits to offer books at their events where they otherwise wouldn’t have the resources, and generally donate some of the proceeds back to the organization, such as the Harrison Museum of African American History. My favorite activity is working with Blue Ridge Literacy. We give each new reader or ESL program completer a book of their choice.
Do you have any community partners you work with regularly? Book City Roanoke, which supports all thing literary in Western Virginia. We work closely with Downtown Roanoke Inc. to promote downtown retail of all kinds.
Do you have passions that carry over into your bookselling life? The most unusual thing is helping customers learn to knit or crochet. If a customer mentions trying to learn and having difficulty, I invite them to the store when it’s quiet and help them through the difficult parts.
Top priority for 2018: Getting established in the store itself, learning customer preferences, and building community awareness that there is an indie store in town.
Favorite SIBA programming benefit: Talking to all the booksellers and exchanging ideas. I’ve made great connections and have people I can call on for nearly any subject. Secondly, would be the webinars on a variety of topics. As the store’s only staff person I don’t always get to listen in, so I love that they are recorded and archived.
