Full calendar here. Email nicki@sibaweb.com to participate
We're redesigning your member site in 2019 and seeking your input!
We've created an anonymous survey to all our members, to gather information and feedback on sibaweb.com. This survey won't take long to do, and your opinions on the site, how you use it, what you love, what you don't, what you want to see in a future incarnation, will help guide us in our redesign. Thank you so much for your time!
Here's the link to the survey.
A Hurricane of Biblical Proportions Couldn’t Keep Them Away: Steve Moss attends his first SIBA Discovery Show
Booksellers, authors, publishers, and industry exhibitors from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama (Roll Tide), Louisiana, Virginia, and of course Florida, descended on the spectacular Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor Florida, just north of Tampa, for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance 2018 and its "Make Your Mark” conference.
As a first-time attendee and a Reba and Dave Williams Scholarship Fund beneficiary, I was joyfully overwhelmed with not only abundant southern charm and hospitality, but by a completely packed and extremely well-organized schedule of events including readings, movies, dinners, lunches, exhibitions, lectures, author panels, and bookstore tours, as well as workshops and industry-themed meetings designed to maximize the efforts of what our industry is all about.
I found myself with writer’s cramp, checking off in my show directory all the events I wanted to be a part of.
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Following a conversation with Rachel Watkins at Avid Bookshop, who was seeking advice regarding the store's school booksales program, SIBA has arranged with Publishers Weekly to create a discussion around the hashtag #schoolsales on its private Facebook group @Bxsellers. Rachel is eager to talk #SchoolSales with booksellers far and wide, and Rachel and SIBA both invite you to join this page and participate in this discussion as well as the many others that are happening on this active Facebook group.
My first SIBA show was absolutely unforgettable! From William Joyce's tear-jerking speech about the end of the Guardians series to Rick Bragg's side-splitting acceptance of the Pat Conroy Legacy award, I was constantly amazed by the brilliance of the many authors who spoke. I loved catching up with old friends like Jo Watson Hackl and Jimmy Cajoleas, who have both held events with Square Books, Jr., and making new connections with authors I have admired for years, such as Roshani Chokshi and Max Brallier. Only at SIBA can you grab a glass of wine and run into your literary heroes!
I thought the sales floor would be an overwhelming experience, but thanks to guidance from the SIBA staff, I navigated my way through all the amazing exhibitions. It was great seeing my sales reps and meeting their cohorts and getting the very best recommendations. In fact, my greatest triumph at SIBA happened on the exhibition floor when I won a cake at the cakewalk, and quickly made friends with everyone on the floor; there was too much cake to take back on the plane! I now have sweet memories of delicious cake and armfuls of books and catalogs to dig into.
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Join us via SIBA's Office Hours Zoom link on Wednesday, October 17 at 2pm for our B3! Webinar: Partner with IngramSpark to Enhance Your Publishing and Marketing Services to Authors. Josh Floyd and Kimberly Daniels Taws, with the addition of Jamille Christman, are reprising their presentation from the SIBA revival on July 20. Josh is with IngramSpark, and will give an overview of how bookstores are utilizing their services in various ways, including producing store-branded journals. Kimberly will share her work with local authors and the store's approach to publishing with IngramSpark. Jamille of Eagle Eye Books will discuss the success of consignment programs that are marketing specific, using IngramSpark materials.
Keebe Fitch of McIntyre's Books in Pittsboro, NC attended the revival and praised, "This revival session was jam-packed with good information. My coworker felt we picked up more in that short period that was useful to our store going forward than any other education we participated in this year."
Sarah Goddin of Quail Ridge Books also attended and added, "Josh gave a really valuable presentation on using Ingram Spark for setting up a bookstore publishing program. Having Kimberly's first-hand experience with it made it even more useful. I couldn't scribble notes and ideas down fast enough."
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B3! Webinar with Priya Parker, author of "The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters"
Time: Wed, Oct 31 at 2pm via Zoom.
In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that we rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play.
Drawing on her expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker will discuss what works, what doesn't, and why. For booksellers hosting author events, book clubs, community gatherings, staff meetings, and more, this webinar offers an opportunity to hear from an expert, ask questions, and receive advice to enhance and improve this area of your business.
Please email lindamarie@sibaweb.com to attend.
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, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, and The Country Bookshop.
9781524798628 Daisy Jones & The Six 3/5/2019
"This is a 24 hour freight train of a book that I couldn't put down."
9781250307460 The Beast Player 3/26/2019
"Not since LeGuin's A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA or the Harry Potter series have I felt so wonderfully immersed in a fantasy novel."
9780062388209 The Other Miss Bridgerton 11/20/2018
"Eloisa James hasn't written a bad book. They are all excellent and this one is no exception."
9780525577942 The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein 9/25/2018
"Sure to put a creepy cold chill into the heart of every reader."
9780393652369 Essential Essays 8/28/2018
"This is a book to give to anyone - young or old - who wants to deepen their experience of meaning."
More bookseller reviews
If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie
