FIRST THINGS FIRST:
9/19: Deadline to order non-imprinted holiday catalogs (here)
10/16: B3! Webinar: Bringing Used Books into the Mix for Higher Sales and Profit (rsvp)
11/6: B3! Webinar: Launching a Book Festival in Your Community (rsvp)
SIBA Office Hours: Wednesdays from 2:00 - 5:00 PM EST
In the Land of SIBA Blog
Margaret Lane, VP of Retail Sales, offers the following update for indie booksellers:
"Due to high volumes of customer returns, the last of the returns received were just recently completed. The accounts receivable reps worked tirelessly throughout August to collect final payments and close accounts. There are still many bookstores that owe Baker & Taylor money and the team will continue to work with them. There is also a subset of accounts who have a credit balance.
For customers with a credit balance, the refund process is currently taking longer than expected. The remaining AR team is working through the backlog and expect to process all refund requests from July, August, and September over the next couple weeks so that all refund requests are completed and mailed within 5 weeks or less. As the backlog is cleared, refunds should go back to a 2-3 week turnaround time. Refunds cannot be processed without a proper W-9 on file and Baker & Taylor refund form signed by the owner. It is not possible to automatically issue refunds on credit balance accounts or issue refunds back to credit cards or wires."
If you are awaiting a refund or have questions about the timeline for being issued a refund, please contact
dl-cfs@baker-taylor.com or call 800-340-5370
SMALL PRESSES PRESENT! FALL & WINTER LISTS
On Wednesday, August 14 , SIBA hosted “Small Presses Present Fall & Winter Lists” as part of our Publisher Picks: Best Bets for SIBA Booksellers series. In this bi-monthly series, publishers, editors, marketing directors, and reps present their favorite frontlist titles via video to booksellers. Besides forging important connections with publishers and their reps, attending booksellers get to discover new titles to add to their store shelves and earn 10 B3! points. The following industry folks presented: Jacqueline Jarik of Agate Publishing, Steve McCondichie of Southern Fried Karma, Ellen Zielinski Whitfield of JKS Communications, Nanci McCloskey of Tin House Books, and Jon Sealy of Haywire Press.
Next week on Lady Banks Pick of the Week:
Read more about SIBA's Circle of Sites Program (aka the "banner for dues" program) and find out whether your store is eligible to participate and receive free membership dues.
#SIBA19 HIGHLIGHTS: WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Herstory Comes Alive: The Daughters of Jackie Robinson & George Wallace In Conversation with Katheryn Russell-Brown
Friday at 6PM
Sharon Robinson is the daughter of Jackie Robinson, a legendary baseball player and civil rights activist who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Her new book, Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963, focuses on the year George Wallace declared “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” in his inauguration as governor of Alabama. Peggy Wallace Kennedy is the daughter of George Wallace. In the summer of 1963, she was a young girl watching her father stand in a schoolhouse door as he tried to block two African-American students from entering the University of Alabama. In her new memoir, The Broken Road, Kennedy looks back on the politics of her youth and attempts to reconcile her adored father with the man who symbolized racism. Katheryn Russell-Brown is the author of A Voice Named Aretha, a picture book biography for young readers about music icon Aretha Franklin, the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame who in the turbulent 1960s, she sang about "Respect" and refused to perform before segregated audiences. read more
 Pajama Party Friday at 10PM!
You heard it right-we’re hosting a milk & cookies (and Kahlua and Baileys) party and silent reading gathering on Friday night, to ease us into the wee hours–in community, in pajamas. Don’t forget to pack some pretty cool jammies (and slippers). Social media opportunities abound, and a lot of fun, too. Hope to see you there! Check the SIBA show app for location. read more
Friday Education Sessions at #SIBA19
One of the highlights for many booksellers at our Discovery Show is the Education Track. Booksellers and industry experts share their best practices, with room for Q & A to address individual store concerns. This year offers a rich variety of sessions of interest to buyers, owners and managers, and frontline booksellers. Because you can’t be everywhere at the same time, we’re recording many of them for later viewing. Handouts will be available through our Peer Brain Trust after the show.
Here are Education Sessions on Friday to attend or check out later:
- 9AM: Ingram Insights: Join Ingram as they take a deep dive into their exclusive indie programs, including Booklove and Indie Vault.
- 9AM: Are you working "on" your business or just working "in" it? (For owners and managers/advanced session). Learn how to reliably grow your business to develop systems that let you slowly free up your time from working "in" your business to working "on" it.
- 10AM: Independent Bookstore Day: Celebrate with Success: An overview of the program and tips from booksellers who have figured out how to make the most of IBD.
- 11AM: Rewarding Returns: Keep your inventory fresh, your shipping costs down, and your credits flowing with best practices in your returns department.
- 4PM: The Art of the Pitch – Handselling Books to Customers: For new booksellers learning the ropes, and veterans who seek a fresh look at handselling.
- 4PM: Romancing the Indie Bookstore: Learn how independent bookstores can bring in new readers and engage current readers through new or expanded romance sections.
more details here
On Lady Banks Bookshelf this month:
Hardcover Fiction
 1. Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens, Putnam, $26, 9780735219090
2. The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead, Doubleday, $24.95, 9780385537070
3. A Better Man
Louise Penny, Minotaur, $28.99, 9781250066213
4. Inland
Téa Obreht, Random House, $27, 9780812992861
5. The Girl Who Lived Twice
David Lagercrantz, Knopf, $27.95, 9780451494344
Hardcover Nonfiction
1. Educated
Tara Westover, Random House, $28, 9780399590504
2. Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead
Jim Mattis, Bing West, Random House, $28, 9780812996838
3. How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
Randall Munroe, Riverhead Books, $28, 9780525537090
4. Trick Mirror
Jia Tolentino, Random House, $27, 9780525510543
5. How to Be an Antiracist
Ibram X. Kendi, One World, $27, 9780525509288
Special to the Southern List
Books that appear on the Southern Bestseller List, but not on any other region's list
see all
THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT
 Some of the reviews submitted this week on Edelweiss+ from your fellow SIBA booksellers. SIBA members earn B3! points for every review if they join the SIBA community on Edelweiss. Email nicki@sibaweb.com to be added.
   
9780525707370 The Babysitters Coven 9/17/2019
"Esme and her best friend have a babysitter's club. Yes, they're 17, but Esme likes to babysit and it beats a regular job any day. And Esme NEEDS a job because suddenly she's got to repair a tree, through no fault of her own, I might add! Enter Cassandra Heaven. She and her brother are new to town and Esme doesn't get why Cassandra really wants to join her babysitter's club. Especially since Cassandra clearly has no idea how to babysit. The Babysitter's Coven will fill the void that Buffy, The Vampire Slayer left in all our lives when it went off the air so many years ago. Through in a dash of Adventures in Babysitting and you'll have a heavy dose of nostalgia in a modern setting. This book is complete fun from start to finish." -- Jennifer Jones, The Bookmiser, Roswell, GA
9780525575474 Blowout 10/1/2019
"If you thought the oil and natural gas industries were corrupt, Rachel Maddow will confirm your suspicions - and inject them with steroids. The international players, their secret deals, and legacies are all connected by Rachel's slamdunk reporting. Blowout will make you very mad even as it educates you. "-- Rosemary Pugliese, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville, NC
9780451489579 Mumbo Gumbo Murder 10/1/2019
"Mumbo Gumbo Murder is light-hearted cozy with a heavy dose of suspense. There's lots of wine, food, and romance, too-- everything you could want! I loved how atmospheric it was; it really felt like I was in New Orleans. But be warned: this book will make you hungry. From the gumbo cookoff to the takeout po boys, my mouth was watering on every page. The mystery itself was also a page-turner. I truly couldn't have guessed the ending! This fantastic book was such a joy to read. " -- Lizy Coale, Copperfish Books, Punta Gorda, FL
9780062473073 Dear Sweet Pea 10/1/2019
"Dear Sweet Pea is the perfect book for both tween readers, their parents, or 20-somethings like myself. In Sweet Pea I see a younger reflection of myself, and it was so affirming to read such a heartfelt and nuanced take about what exactly it means to be a middle-schooler. The protagonist, Sweet Pea, navigates friendships, mean girls, crushes, body-shaming, and her parent's divorce as seventh-grade draws to a close. Julie Murphy tackles all these issues with grace and humor. Don't be surprised if you both laugh out loud and cry while reading; I sure did." -- Gennifer Eccles, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC
More bookseller reviews
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Thank you for your interest in SIBA,
Nicki Leone
SysAdmin
nicki@sibaweb.com
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance
51 Pleasant Ridge Drive, Asheville, NC 28805
803.994.9530
Fax: 309.410.0211
www.sibaweb.com
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