From the Land of SIBAA message from SIBA to its membership
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First Things First...
12/3: Reader Meet Writer: #BlackVoices, presented by Ingram, sponsored by HarperCollins (register) 12/15: BIGNY Zoom event: More Than Just Paper, The Rise of the Stationery
Market (more info) 12/15: Deadline to nominate for the Nancy Olson Bookseller Award (read more) 1/7/2020: Registration opens for Winter Institute (more info)
When someone on your staff tests positive for COVID-19
Advice from Gwyn Ridenhour, Matchbook Marketing
If one of your staff receives a COVID-positive test result, your already continual pivoting accelerates rapidly. The storefront closes, all staff get tested, new accommodations for order processing need to be enacted. And somehow,
in the midst of all this activity, the store also needs to communicate to the public what is happening.
What are some of the things you should do if this happens to your store?
Create a public message for your website and to share on social media. Create a long and short version of this message to accommodate multiple needs.
Update your store hours on your website and social media account, and add COVID messaging to the top of your page.
Create a standard and reassuring response for queries and well-wishers.
Check your order processing set up. The odds are, your normal operations are going to be interrupted. You may need an alternative option like Bookshop.org to meet processing demands.
Deadline for Nancy Olson Bookseller Award extended
The late Nancy Olson was a legendary bookseller, a first-class wit, a remarkably gentle soul, and a tireless supporter of writers, especially new writers looking for a chance in the publishing world. Simply put, she was one of the
best folks to ever work in the book business, and her Quail Ridge Books was—and is—a literary institution. In 2019, an admirer of Nancy’s, in conjunction with SIBA, created an annual award of two $2000 gifts in her memory, to be
given to booksellers before the Christmas holiday. All SIBA booksellers—but not owners—are eligible for the awards.
Writers, readers, and/or storeowners may submit a name and any helpful information via email to SIBA at lindamarie@sibaweb.com . Also, individual booksellers may nominate themselves. While
the emails should explain why a particular nominee deserves to be selected, there are no hard and fast rules or requirements or guidelines for the submissions—the hope is to simply honor Nancy and recognize special booksellers.
The winners will be selected from these nominations by Sarah Goddin from Nancy’s Quail Ridge Books, SIBA’s Linda-Marie Barrett, Nancy’s husband Jim, and the donor of the gifts.
The deadline for email nominations has been extended to 5:00 p.m. on December 15, 2020.
Reader Meet Writer: #BlackVoices
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.
Ingram presents #BlackVoices Sponsored by HarperCollins
Thu Dec 3rd 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Shareable invitation for stores to use:
Now available to view: #BlackVoices, #BlackJoy
In Brief
Ingram Matching Donations to BINC Until 12/31/2020 Ingram Content Group will matching donations up to $15,000 as part of BINC's year end fundraiser. The campaign's goal is to generate $40,000,
which will enable BINC to continue providing financial assistance to as many booksellers and comic shop employees as possible. Please encourage your customers to consider donating during this particularly impactful campaign.
More info here. (via The Independent Bookseller)
More Than Just Paper: The Rise of the Stationery Market: A Zoom event from the Book Industry Guild of New York, December 15, 5:30 PM
Join us as company owners and executives come together to discuss trends, innovation, and the future of the ever-growing genre! Speakers include Emily Ley, founder and CEO of Simplified; Kevin Garcia, cofounder and co-CEO of Karst,
Lindley Boegehold, editorial director at Clarkson Potter, Maureen Gallagher, production development director for teNeues NYC Stationery, and Shamese Shular, founder of STATIONED BY HAND. The panel will be moderated by Olivia Hosken,
style and interiors writer at Town & Country. Register here
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.
Outlawed by Anna North
Bloomsbury, January 2021
Adult Fiction | Westerns
Reviewed by Jean Lewis, Copperfish Books, Punta Gorda, FL On Edelweiss | Buy
What a ride. This novel takes place in the wild, wild west. What a wild story filled with compelling characters and a story that will blow you away. Unique and edgy. A modern day cast set in the 1800's. Amazing writing.
100 Boyfriends by Brontez Purnell MCD x FSG Originals, February, 2021
Adult Fiction | African American | LGBTQ
Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA On Edelweiss | Buy
Raging against the grain, 100 Boyfriends is an enticing gem full of wit, surprises, and profundity. The same paragraph will make you laugh, make you horny, then make you sad, then make you horny again, but this time with
a deepened sense of purpose. Highly recommended, especially if you're in a reading rut and you need to be slapped out of it.
Girl A by Abigail Dean
Viking, January 2021
Adult Fiction | Mystery & Thriller | Literary
Reviewed by Ann Peck, Righton Books, St. Simon's Island, GA On Edelweiss | Buy
A deep psychological thriller from the point of view of a girl who escaped from a hellish family (situation), as she looks back from adulthood at how she and her siblings reconstructed their broken lives. Compulsively readable
because of its realistic situations and complicated characters.
Land of Big Numbers : Stories by Te-Ping Chen
Mariner Books, January 2021
Adult Fiction, Asian American
Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC On Edelweiss | Buy
People trapped for weeks on a subway platform, a widow visiting her husband’s hometown for the first time, and citizens across the land becoming obsessed with a strange, new fruit in the market - all these and more you’ll find
in Te-Ping Chen’s excellent debut collection of short stories. Each exploring modern China in a different way - from the mundane to the absurd, the heartbreaking and the profound. Chen’s keen eye for character brings life to
each of these exquisitely crafted stories and the collection as a whole hums with energy and deep understanding for an often misunderstood country. Land of Big Numbers is essential, beautiful, and moving reading; a
remarkable debut from a gifted writer.
Lincoln's Mentors by Michael J. Gerhardt
Custom House, January, 2021
Adult Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Presidents & Heads Of State
Reviewed by Carl Kranz, Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA On Edelweiss | Buy
Lincoln is the most written about president the United States has ever had, yet never before has his self-education that took him from a backwoods "self-made man" to president been so conclusively explored. Gerhardt showcases
the mentors Lincoln chose to learn from and develop his political and legal persona as he grew his law firm, political capital and then held the country together as president. Jackson and Clay (bitter political rivals, both
of whom Lincoln took much from) are well known to history but Lincoln also had peers who were critical to his development. If you want to learn how Lincoln became the most revered president in American history, this is the
book to read.
Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar Catapult, February 2021
Reviewed by Faith Park-Dodge, Page 158 Books, Wake Forest, NC On Edelweiss | Buy
In Love is an Ex-Country, Jarrar takes the reader on a journey through her memory to understand the loss, trauma, and loneliness of growing up Palestinian-American. The book is framed by her 2016 road trip across the US,
but frequently detours into explorations of an abusive childhood, traumatic marriage, and her many lovers. While the subject matter could be considered titillating at times, the sections that stand out involve her discovery
of the kink community and the ways in which she finds she can relate to the world differently in Arab spaces versus the United States. If the goal of reading memoir is to understand experiences beyond oneself, Jarrar has delivered
a story all her own and a journey unique to the genre.
1. The Law of Innocence Michael Connelly, Little, Brown, $29, 9780316485623 2. A Time for Mercy John Grisham, Doubleday, $29.95, 9780385545969 3. Rhythm of War Brandon
Sanderson, Tor, $34.99, 9780765326386 4. The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books, $27, 9780525536291 5. Daylight David Baldacci, Grand Central, $29,
9781538761694
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. A Promised Land Barack Obama, Crown, $45, 9781524763169 2. The Best of Me David Sedaris, Little, Brown, $30, 9780316628242 3. Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South Rick Bragg, Knopf, $26.95, 9780593317785 4. Greenlights Matthew McConaughey, Crown, $30, 9780593139134 5. A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection Steve Martin,
Harry Bliss (Illus.), Celadon Books, $28, 9781250262899
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Supporting independent bookstores in the South SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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.
Advice from Gwyn Ridenhour, Matchbook Marketing
Are you interested in joining the circle of bookstores sending
invites to their customers? Please 
