---

LAST CALL FOR EUREKASIBA & SIBA IN THE SPRINGTIME

It’s last call to join us for our annual SIBA in the Springtime/EUREKAsiba gathering in Atlanta next week, Mon (3/18)-Wed (3/20). Registration ends tomorrow (Friday, 3/15) at noon.

Don't miss this great opportunity to visit indie bookstores in the Atlanta area, enjoy dinner with writers and booksellers, learn about pre-orders and ABACUS from the ABA, and take in a full day of EUREKAsiba talks on a wide variety of topics.

EUREKAsiba’s second year includes talks guaranteed to open your eyes to new ways of approaching your business and personal life: Brian Lampkin, co-owner of Scuppernong Books, will discuss how kindness informs their business practices. Megan Bell and Josh Niesse, co-owners of Underground Books and Hills & Hamlets Bookshop will share how they’ve turned staff downtime and damaged books into handmade and high margin sidelines. Doug Robinson, owner of Eagle Eye Books will offer step-by-step how his bookstore uses the SIBA holiday catalog to great success. Michael Reynolds will explore a theme many booksellers know so well: The Small Business Habit of Wearing Twenty Hats. Need more inspiration on organizing your time? Author Elizabeth Emens presents “Life Admin, How I Learned to Do Less, Do Better, and Live.” Mark Pearson of Libro.fm will talk to us about using tech without losing our humanity. And, to offer encouragement, Author Dana Chamblee will inspire us with her talk about doing it all wrong so we can get it right. We’ll also hear from bookseller and publisher Steve McCondichie on bookselling in the 21st century, and from Shari Smith, founder of Working Title Farm and Trio, on how partnering words and music can sell more books. Looking to expand your genre selection? Author Jolina Petersheim will discuss how indie booksellers can expand their customer base and sales by reaching out to the Christian market. For the many bookseller and customer fans of memoir, author Erica Witsell will present her take on “Fiction, Memoir, and Authenticity.”

We hope you’ll join the fun and register for SIBA in the Springtime. We’d love to see you!

Schedule | Hotel | Register 

Schedule | Hotel | Register 

---

A BRILLIANT BOOKSELLER IDEA

Ellen Jarrett, of Porter Square Books, Shared a Wonderful Concept:

Writers Among Us

We at PSB, and all indie booksellers I’d wager, are always brainstorming for ways to engage with our community of writers - published, non-published, self-published, aspiring – in a meaningful and mutually beneficial way. We, actually our marketing team, have hit on something that may not be novel in the literary world, but may be in the context of a bookstore.That is a Writer in Residence program. The idea was first hatched back in January 2018. Management was unanimously behind it and requests for proposals went out to the public in June. The response was overwhelming. Read more about the program HERE.

If this sounds like something you might want to institute in your bookstore, feel free to contact us.  

You can always check out more Brilliant Bookseller Ideas here

---

NEWS IN BRIEF

Job Opening: IBC seeks Executive Director. The Independent Booksellers Consortium is a small, membership organization formed of independent booksellers from across the country. As the sole paid staff member, the Executive Director is responsible for all administrative facets of the corporation’s day-to-day functioning as well as ongoing service to its members. The Executive Director reports to the President of the Board on a weekly basis and is responsible to the Board of Directors made up of bookstore members. The position is 30 hours per week. More details

April Indie Playlist & $500 Display Content Prize. Seven Stories Press is teaming up with Catapult and Europa (Grove will be joining them in June!) to offer their collection specials for April, June, and October.
The April Indie Playlist features prize-winning titles and quick-reads, runs March 28-April 29, and includes special terms for independent bookstores. The publishers are also sponsoring a $500 prize ($250 to the individual bookseller and $250 to the bookstore) for the best display featuring books from one of the playlists. The display contest is open to all bookstores nationally and must include some of the featured titles, but may include other books as well. Submit a photograph of the display to NAIBAeileen@gmail.com by May 6th, 2019. A panel of judges from NAIBA and 7 Stories will select from the submissions and award the prize based on inventiveness and selling effectiveness. More details

---

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Bookmarks, Bookmiser, Fiction Addiction, Fountain Bookstore, M. Judson Booksellers, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Page & Palette, Page 158 Books, Parnassus Books, Sassafras on Sutton, The Country Bookshop, The Little Bookshope, The Story on the Square, Union Ave Books, and Wonderland Bookshop.

9780062747808 Other Words for Home 5/28/2019
"This book is brimming with heart and bravery and should be required reading for everyone."

9781982106980 Ask Again, Yes 5/28/2019
"This novel is one I expect to see on everyone's summer reading list."

9781627790437 The British Are Coming 5/14/2019
"Some of the best writing on the Revolutionary War I've ever read."

9780062862822 The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna 5/7/2019
"A fascinating debut that's also the rarest of things: a sprawling epic of family and love that feels innately and genuinely personal."

9781721364558 The Blink of an Eye 5/14/2019
"Read this and you will appreciate all the good things you have. Loved it!"

9781400069996 Save Me the Plums 4/2/2019
"Generous with her stories and recipes, this is a great mother's day gift to yourself and those you love."

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie