From the Land of SIBAA message from SIBA to its membership
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First Things First...
9/15: Reader Meet Writer: Simon Stephenson, Set My Heart to Five 9/15: FALL KEYNOTE WITH REVEREND AL SHARPTON (rsvp) 9/17: Reader Meet Writer: Margaret Kimberley,
Prejudential 9/21-9/25: New Voices New Rooms (register) 9/29: Reader Meet Writer: Connor Towne O'Neill, Down Along With That Devil's Bones
SIBA Office Hours Update: In order to prepare for the forthcoming New Voices New Rooms show, for the month of September SIBA's Office Hours will be held by appointment
only. To make an appointment, email Linda-Marie Barrett at lindamarie@sibaweb.com.
SIBA Office Hours on Zoom:
Wednesdays from 1:00 - 2:00 PM EST | By appointment in Sep, Nov, Dec 803-994-9530 | siba@sibaweb.com
SIBA Will Install Two Directors to the Board of Directors at the New Voices New Rooms Show
SIBA is pleased to announce the addition of Jamie Rogers Southern of Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC to the SIBA Board of Directors. She will join Deanna Bailey of Story on the Square in McDonough,
Georgia, appointed in July, at the SIBA Annual Meeting being held online during New Voices New Rooms September 24th at 11:30 AM to be formally welcomed to the Board.
Jamie Rogers Southern is the Interim Executive Director at Bookmarks as of October 1st. Bookmarks is a literary nonprofit organization
based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It began as the largest annual book festival in the Carolinas, and an Authors in Schools program reaching 7000+ students of all ages annually, and several other book and author events throughout
the year. In 2017 the organization completed a successful capital campaign and opened a bookstore and permanent event space in downtown Winston-Salem. Before Bookmarks Jamie worked at Alabama Booksmith in Homewood, AL, and for
the American Booksellers Association. She is married to Ed Southern, Executive Director of the North Carolina Writers Network. She's also a University of Alabama football fan. Roll Tide!
Jamie Rogers Southern and Deanna Bailey join board members Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia, John Cavalier of Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana, and Kelly Justice (current Board President) of Fountain
Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia.
New Voices New Rooms: Networking & Zoom Registration Links
Registration Links Added to the NVNR Schedule
The New Voices New Rooms program now has Zoom registration links for all of its events. Since NVNR is hosted on the Zoom platform, registration ("signing in") will be
required on all events. It is strongly suggested you save links to your calendar so that you can easily find them when it is time for the event to start.
Networking Opportunities
Can you really meet people at an online conference? In the early days of planning New Voices New Rooms, organizers talked to booksellers and publishers about what they considered most important and valuable in a trade show. The answer
was almost unanimous: The chance to talk to people you never see otherwise. The New Voices New Rooms schedule was built to provide as many of those opportunities as possible: "Office Hours" with exhibitors.
Roundtables on different topics. Retreats for store owners, managers, buyers, and event coordinators. Annual meetings. Cocktail parties (strategically scheduled
for after the annual meetings). There are at least two and often three or four events each day that are for booksellers to meet and talk to each other and to exhibitors. Read the details
Over 80 Exhibitors!
The Virtual Exhibit Hall has exploded over the last week. 43 of the over 80 show exhibitors now have their show page available with links to catalogs, video trailers, show specials and arc request information. On each page you'll also
find a form to leave your virtual "business card." Your information goes to the exhibitor, and enters you in the New Voices New Rooms Show Raffle.
Wear pants! Tips for making the most of a virtual conference
Five days of online events, an average of 10-15 events each day…there are going to be times when New Voices New Rooms will feel less like a gathering and more like a marathon.
Check your computer/phone/tablet set up. Don't let people think your name is "Mom's iPad." Participate in chats and breakout-room gatherings. Wear pants. Here are some tips for making the most out of a virtual event for yourself and
your bookstore without exhausting yourself in the process.
In RISE UP, Rev. Sharpton revisits the highlights of the Obama administration, the 2016 election, Trump’s subsequent hold on the GOP and his interactions and relationships with other key players in politics and activism.
He also amplifies the new voices and movements that have emerged in response to the Trump presidency.
Rev. Sharpton will be in conversation with Ramunda Lark Young of MahoganyBooks, and will take questions from attendees. This virtual event will be held via Zoom, and access will be limited to association member booksellers only. Booksellers
may register for free now, via this link. Approved registered attendees will receive a Zoom link prior to the event.
Special thanks to Hanover Square Press/HarperCollins Publishers for their support.
Reader Meet Writer in September
Daniel Nayeri's frankly delightful presentation from last week is now available to share with your customers!
Set My Heart to Five with Simon Stephenson
Are you interested in joining the circle of bookstores sending invites to their customers? Please email Linda-Marie and we'll discuss what's involved.
Simon Stephenson previously wrote Let Not the Waves of the Sea (John Murray), a memoir about the loss of his brother in the Indian ocean tsunami. It won Best First Book at the Scottish Book Awards, was
a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4, and a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. Since then he has been dividing his time between the UK and LA, where he works as a screenwriter, most recently at Pixar Animation Studios.
IMPORTANT UPDATE! Reader Meet Writer upgrades event format
Out of an abundance of caution and in response to feedback from the book industry, SIBA is upgrading its Reader Meet Writer series from the more open discussion "Zoom meeting" format to the more presentation-oriented "webinar"
format. Existing meeting links will not change.
This 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.
Read This! Highest Rated Reviews from SIBA Booksellers
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.
A Snake Lies Waiting by Jin Yong
September, 2020 Reviewed by Alex Mcleod, The Haunted Book Shop, Mobile, AL
On Edelweiss
This third installment of Legend of the Condor Heroes continues the story set down in A Hero Born and A Bond Undone. As per the previous books, this is a semi-historical martial arts novel set in 1200s
China, during the rise of the Mongolian Empire and the Jin-Song War. The plot follows the adventures and journey of Guo Jing, a young martial artist, and Lotus Huang, his sweetheart.I'm really impressed with the thematics here.
There's a very consistent arc of growth and increasing independence in each book. In this third installment, the characters have grown to the point where they are on their own, seeking their own answers and making their own
goals. There was one noticeable moment when I realized that the narration had stopped calling the main character Guo Jing a boy and now called him a man. Lotus also grows, and acquires her own skills and power-ups as it goes
on. Another neat thing is the main duo have begun to question their own values and beliefs. There's several incidents where they find memorials (whether literally or, say, poetry written by famous figures of the past) and assess
them critically--and sometimes coming to a negative view of them. Before, one of Guo Jing's major virtues was his unquestioning loyalty, but now he's come to realize that loyalty must be earned and it's possible for a rightful
authority to do wrong. So the action is interspersed with some bits of history and philosophy and an undercurrent of independent thought. It's part 3 of 4. I'm eager for part 4 to wrap this up. When all's said and done, I think
this will be "Character Growth: The Book".
Anxious People Fredrik Backman
September, 2020 Reviewed by Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books, Santa Rosa Beach, FL On Edelweiss
I have read almost all of Fredrik Backman’s books and this is my favorite since A Man Called Ove. Equally poignant, sad and hilarious this was such a fun read! It kept me guessing right along with the policemen until the
end.
Cursed Objects by J. W. Ocker
September, 2020 Reviewed by Sissy Gardner, Parnassus Books, Nashville, TN On Edelweiss
Ocker quickly became one of my favorite horror writers last year with the publication of Twelve Nights at Rotter House. He's hilarious and scary at the same time. This book isn't scary ... it's like watching Ripley's Believe
it or Not with your witty best friend. A must-have autumn bedside book as the days grow shorter.
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
September, 2020 Reviewed by Stuart McCommon, novel., Memphis, TN On Edelweiss
Hench is downright hilarious at times and it questions a number of different aspects of our society when it comes to media coverage and cost analysis. The cool part is that the author does it through the eyes of anti-hero,
Anna Tromedlov, who works through a temp agency for "hench" jobs placed by super-villains looking for all kinds of different employees. All of this is set up in a corporate structure and the lines between good and
evil become more and more blurred as Anna works her way up the ladder. She becomes more of a villain by name as the novel progresses, but her actions seem pretty heroic in their intent. Walschots will have you looking at the
properties of morality in a whole new way by the time you finish this story. It's one of the most imaginative titles I've read this year.
1. The Lying Life of Adults Elena Ferrante, Europa Editions, $26, 9781609455910 2. All the Devils Are Here Louise Penny, Minotaur, $28.99, 9781250145239 3. Squeeze Me Carl Hiaasen, Knopf, $28.95, 9781524733452 4. Transcendent Kingdom Yaa Gyasi, Knopf, $27.95, 9780525658184 5. The Guest List Lucy Foley, Morrow, $27.99, 9780062868930
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. Caste Isabel Wilkerson, Random House, $32, 9780593230251 2. His Truth Is Marching On Jon Meacham, Random House, $30, 9781984855022 3. Untamed Glennon Doyle, The Dial Press, $28, 9781984801258 4. Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 Ian W. Toll, Norton, $40, 9780393080650 5. Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates, One World, $26, 9780812993547
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Supporting independent bookstores in the South SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
Useful Links SIBA Office Hours on Zoom: Wednesdays 1:00-2:00 PM EST | By appointment in Sep, Nov, Dec Available during regular business hours at 803-994-9530,
or anytime at siba@sibaweb.com
Thank you for your interest in SIBA, Nicki Leone SysAdmin
nicki@sibaweb.com
THANKS TO OUR INKREADIBLE SPONSORS:
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805 You have received this email because you are currently subscribed to receive general correspondence. Please click @@unsubscribe_url@@ if you no longer
wish to receive these communications.
Jamie Rogers Southern is the Interim Executive Director at Bookmarks as of October 1st. Bookmarks is a literary nonprofit organization
based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It began as the largest annual book festival in the Carolinas, and an Authors in Schools program reaching 7000+ students of all ages annually, and several other book and author events throughout
the year. In 2017 the organization completed a successful capital campaign and opened a bookstore and permanent event space in downtown Winston-Salem. Before Bookmarks Jamie worked at Alabama Booksmith in Homewood, AL, and for
the American Booksellers Association. She is married to Ed Southern, Executive Director of the North Carolina Writers Network. She's also a University of Alabama football fan. Roll Tide!
Set My Heart to Five with Simon Stephenson
Tue Sep 15th 3:00pm - 4:00pm 
A Snake Lies Waiting by Jin Yong
Anxious People Fredrik Backman
Cursed Objects by J. W. Ocker
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
