From the Land of SIBAA message from SIBA to its membership
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. View this email online.
First Things First...
3/3: Webinar with Bren McClain: Making the Most of Your Pitch to Publicists (register) 3/4: Reader Meet Writer - Love at First with Kate Clayborn 3/9-3/12: NVNR Presents: Publicity Speed Dating (register) 3/11: Reader Meet Writer - When the Apricots Bloom with Gina Wilkinson 3/17- 3/18: IndieCommerce Institute (info) 3/23-3/25: NVNR March Madness: Social Media Retreat (register) 3/30: Reader Meet Writer - A Town Called Solace with Mary Lawson 4/1: Reader
Meet Writer - Wild Women and the Blues with Denny S. Bryce 4/5: Sure I'll Be Your Black Friend: A conversation with Ben Philippe and Luis Correa (register)
As we barrel into March (and perhaps, like me, you’re desperately looking for signs of daffodils), I hope you’re feeling the boost of Winter Institute: the big and small gatherings of folks you haven’t seen
in a year, the smiling faces, the unexpected release of tears, the reminder of our beloved, supportive bookselling community. I pulled out my bullet journal and took lots of notes, finding inspiration everywhere. In her conversation
with Janet Geddis, owner of Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA, Brene Brown said, “We are a meaning-making species.” This comment prompted thoughts about the narratives we create to describe our work, our stores, and ourselves. Are they
serving us? Are they moving us forward? Futurist Brian David Johnson, in his conversation with ABA CEO Allison Hill, urged us to consider the future we want for ourselves, our community, and our industry. What role can we play
in creating that future? What are the obstacles and opportunities?
Several sessions nudged reflection on how we’re holding up during a time of continuous social and economic disruption. Are we taking care of ourselves and our staff? Are we finding time to vision, to listen deeply to each other,
to support our mental health? Do we have the support we need, and if not, do we know where to turn? If you find you don’t have the support you need, please look to our resources on sibaweb.com, including these resources provided by the ABA. And reach out to us-we’re there for you and want to help.
I especially loved the poetry interludes that provided windows into experiences quite different from mine, glimpses of beauty and pain, an appreciation, always, of the life-changing magic of words, especially when spoken with such
precise care by a poet. These interludes made the virtual experience more intimate, when witnessed with other poetry lovers similarly moved by striking images and powerful delivery.
If you'd like to pass on your thoughts on Winter Institute-what worked for you, what challenged you, what you’d like to see SIBA providing virtually-we’re all ears! Please stay in touch so you stay on top of SIBA programming and
member benefits that will serve your business, and your dreams. Creating the future you want to be in begins today, and we are here to help you on your journey.
On Monday, April 5th at 7:00 PM, SIBA will be hosting a special event with Ben Philippe, the author of Sure I'll Be Your Black Friend: Notes from the Other Side of the Fist Bump. Philippe will be in conversation
with SIBA's own Luis Correa, the Operations Manager at Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia, and a member of the American Bookseller Association's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
The event will be the keynote for SIBA's forthcoming Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming, the details of which will be announced in March.
Philippe is a SIBA bookseller favorite and was a popular featured speaker at last September’s New Voices New Rooms virtual
trade show. He will be speaking with Correa in a conversation about race, inspired by his new book, Sure, I’ll Be Your Black Friend, an at turns humorous and powerful take on topics universal
and deeply personal.
Ben Philippe is a New York-based writer and screenwriter. Born in Haiti and raised in Montreal, Canada, he has a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers in Austin,
Texas. He has written two young adult novels: Field Guide to the North American Teenager, winner of the 2020 William C. Morris Award, and Charming as a Verb. Sure, I’ll Be Your Black Friend is his first
book of adult nonfiction.
Over the course of three and a half days, 72 bookstores will get their fifteen minutes in the spotlight to pitch their stores to publicists and make their case why they would be a good fit for future author tours, other event programming,
and special pre-order campaigns. The event will only take 12-15 minutes of your time, but an updated press kit is required. Many NAIBA booksellers, who have been doing publicity speed dating for years, tell us this is their most
important event of the year. 15 minutes of your time can result in big positive changes in your store’s relationships with publishers. Have questions? Please email Linda-Marie!
March Madness: Social Media Bootcamp & Author Programming, March 23-2
Registration is now open for this 3-day “bootcamp” for booksellers who want to elevate their social media game. These intensive training classes will cover creating
storylines, branding, visual techniques, posting strategies, and best practices for major social media platforms. Designed for both beginners and advanced social media users, it will use recent and upcoming book releases as part
of the training and for you to create actual posts of your own. Booksellers will learn how to make creative posts for books, research for assets, and share them across social networks, including TikTok. The educational program
runs daily from 9:30AM-12:30PM, followed by 1PM author luncheons, and 3-4PM Social Media Deep Dive breakout sessions.
What's New on SIBA TV
February's virtual events are now available to view on SIBA TV.
Reader Meet Writer: Ariel Lawhon
Lawhon's novel Code Name Helene is a fictionalized account of Nancy Wake, a real WWII spy and possible superhero. | Watch it here
Reader Meet Writer: Jerry Mitchell
Listen to Mitchell discuss his ground-breaking investigative work in bringing unsolved crimes from the Civil Rights era back into the public eye, and ultimately to prosecution and justice served. | Watch it here
Reader Meet Writer: Ed Tarkington
The author of The Fortunate Ones, a SIBA Bookseller favorite, talks about the inspiration for his novel and his exploration into the themes of friendship, privilege, money, and the facade of what we consider civilized behavior.
| Watch it here
And also now available: NVNR Presents Love & Pajamas
If you didn't get a chance to attend this fun event with five romance writers now you can see what you missed. It does get a little steamy in places, so we've rated the video for 18 and over.
SBR March Shelf
SIBA promotes six new books every month to readers, the customers of our member stores, in our Southern Bookseller Review (SBR) Bookshelf promotion. These titles appear at the top of our weekly SBR newsletter, which has a circulation of over 60k. We also feature them on our SBR Facebook page, with buy links promoted to
our 15,000 Facebook friends, and on our Instagram and Twitter accounts. A different member store is featured with the titles every week. We give SIBA member stores a heads up on each month’s featured titles, to encourage in-store
and online displays.
Coming up in March
Bad Girls at Samarcand by Karin Zipf, LSU Press
The Baddest Girl on the Planet by Heather Frese, Blair
Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olsen, Inkyard Press
Five Ways to Fall Out of Love by Emily Martin, Inkyard Press
The Shell Collector by Nancy Naigle, Waterbrook Press
In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race by Amy Cherrix, Balzer + Bray
In Brief
#MarginsBookstores Month to Celebrate BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Disabled, and Neurodiverse-Owned/Managed Bookstores
The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary and Chronicle Books are working together to launch the first annual #MarginsBookstores Month to take place this fall, including an illustrated, interactive map of participating bookstores and festivities.
The deadline to sign up is February 27. Via The Independent Bookseller
SIBA Booksellers named to ABA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee
Nine booksellers have been selected to join the American Booksellers Association’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (DEIC), which serves as a sounding board and
advisory council on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, representation, and access facing the bookselling industry and ABA. Of the nine, two are from SIBA territory: Luis Correa, the Operations Manager at Avid Bookshop in Athens,
Georgia, and Candice Huber, the owner of Tubby & Coo's Mid-City Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana. Read more
Reader Meet Writer: Upcoming Events
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.
Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood by Fatima Shaik Thu Feb 25th 7:00pm - 8:00pm
FATIMA SHAIK, a former professor and journalist, is a trustee of PEN America and author of six previous short story collections and young adult novels. Economy Hall is her first nonfiction work.
Love at First by Kate Clayborn Thu Mar 4th 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Double RITA® nominee Kate Clayborn lives in Virginia, where she spends her days reading and talking about all kinds of great books. Kate loves to hear from and connect with readers—follow her on Twitter, on Instagram,
and on Facebook. Visit her at www.kateclayborn.com to sign up for her newsletter.
When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson Thu Mar 11th 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Gina Wilkinson is an award-winning journalist, author, former foreign correspondent, and documentary maker who’s reported from some of the world’s most intriguing and perilous places for the BBC, NPR,
ABC, and other renowned public broadcasters. During two decades living and working in hotspots across the globe, she spent more than a year in Baghdad under Saddam Hussein. At that time, Iraq was virtually sealed off from the
outside world, and Gina lived under tight surveillance. One of her closest Iraqi friends even worked as a secret police informant, reporting on her every move. Gina now works in international development, supporting efforts
to end poverty in the developing world. She lives in Australia and can be found online at ginawilkinson.net.
This week on Circle of Sites
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! Recently Posted on The Southern Bookseller Review
LAST WEEK'S BOOK BUZZ: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro On Edelweiss
Spotlight on Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
The titular main character in Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel (always a looked-for event!) is an artificial "friend" for her teenage owner in a future where robots and genetic engineering are commonplace and the current
scientific research is focused on "recreating" (no, not "resurrecting") human beings.
"This isn’t some kind of weird fantasy,” Ishiguro says in a recent interview in The Guardian. “We
just haven’t woken up to what is already possible today... we might start to be able to rebuild somebody’s character so that after they’ve died they can still carry on, figuring out what they’d order next online, which
concert they’d like to go to and what they would have said at the breakfast table if you had read them the latest headlines.”
Raise your hand if you flashed to Carrie Fisher's posthumous speaking appearances in the latter movies of the Star Wars franchise.
What booksellers are saying about Klara and the Sun
Such a mix of melancholy and wittiness; it's a gorgeous thing when an author can pull it off, and he can--Ishiguro can--every single time. --Erica Eisdorfer, Flyleaf Books in
Chapel Hill, NC
This understated sci-fi drama will again change the way you view AIs and their place in the human paradigm, all the while falling in love with Klara and her concerted effort to simply comprehend humanity --Davis Shoulders,
Union Ave Books, Knoxville, TN
Ishiguro never wavers in his erudite depiction of Klara. Her speech and thought patterns are totally consistent throughout. You believe in her, the irony of the story being that amongst this cast of characters she is the least
artificial of them all. Future classic. --Chris Buxbaum, A Cappella Books in
Atlanta, GA
The ethics of advances in technology and artificial intelligence are present here, but it’s the truths about love, sacrifice, faith, and healing that resound on every page of Ishiguro’s first novel since winning the Nobel Prize.
-- Megan Bell, Underground Books, Carrollton, GA .
Better Than the Movies is such a joy of a book! You’ve got enemies to lovers with a main character who has the energy of Jack Black’s character in The Holiday–goofy and sweet, full of love and loss,
and of course, a deep, nerdy love for movie soundtracks. Better Than the Movies will have you squealing and swooning, and you definitely need this on your shelves!
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter (List Price: $18.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534467620, 5/4/2021) Reviewed by Brittany Bunzey, Read With Me, A Childrens Book & Art Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina
In this story that spans five generations of women in Cuba, Texas and Florida, you come away with a rather complex picture of immigration plights and political and social pressures. The recurring theme is a book—an aptly named
book— that unites the women in a beautifully written, heart-wrenching story. It reminds us that every woman is created with multiple layers whether she knows it or not.
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia (List Price: $26.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250776686, March 2021) Reviewed by Easty Lambert-Brown, Ernest & Hadley Booksellers in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Linda-Marie: Reading:Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (a fantastic blend of Arthurian lore, Rootcraft, and an unlikely love triangle) and Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Listening: The Piano Guys Relaxation Station on Pandora and Coffee Shop Ambience on YouTube (closest thing to the real thing, though still waiting on my soy latte) Watching:The Great British Baking Show, BAKE!
SP: Reading:The Snow Ball by Bridgid Brophy and Sisters and Rebels/Jacqueline Dowd Hall. Listening: to the album: St. Cloud/Waxahatchee and Spotify playlists: Work at Home/Blossom
Dearie and Chez Baldwin (James Baldwin’s music collection). Watching:Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and laughed my stupid head off.
Lucy: Reading:The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai - “A steamy second-chance romance filled with laughs and “Awwww” moments!” Listening: NPR’s Throughline Podcast - “The hosts trace how certain moments and movements in history are affecting current cultural and political happenings.” Watching:Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist - “I love a good musical anything, and this show is positively bursting with heart!”
Nicki: Reading:White Feminism by Koa Beck (I love a good takedown), Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert (upshot: we're all doomed and it is all our fault), Split Tooth by Tanya Tagak, which is utterly enthralling and beautiful and horrible and also well worth listening to on audio after you are done reading it because there is a reason the author is a musician before she is a writer. Listening:The Slightly Foxed Podcast. I binge-listened to 28 episodes this month and then went back and listened to them all again. Watching:The Dig, the (original) All Creatures Great and Small, and the spring birds starting to show up at my feeder.
1. A Court of Silver Flames Sarah J. Maas, Bloomsbury Publishing, $28, 9781681196282 2. The Four Winds Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s, $28.99, 9781250178602 3. The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books, $27, 9780525536291 4. The Midnight Library Matt Haig, Viking, $26, 9780525559474 5. Hamnet Maggie O’Farrell, Knopf, $26.95,
9780525657606
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. Caste Isabel Wilkerson, Random House, $32, 9780593230251 2. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99, 9780062976581 3. Just as I Am Cicely Tyson, Harper, $28.99, 9780062931061 4. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need Bill Gates, Knopf, $26.95, 9780385546133 5. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together Heather McGhee, One World, $28, 9780525509561
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.
As we barrel into March (and perhaps, like me, you’re desperately looking for signs of daffodils), I hope you’re feeling the boost of Winter Institute: the big and small gatherings of folks you haven’t seen
in a year, the smiling faces, the unexpected release of tears, the reminder of our beloved, supportive bookselling community. I pulled out my bullet journal and took lots of notes, finding inspiration everywhere. In her conversation
with Janet Geddis, owner of Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA, Brene Brown said, “We are a meaning-making species.” This comment prompted thoughts about the narratives we create to describe our work, our stores, and ourselves. Are they
serving us? Are they moving us forward? Futurist Brian David Johnson, in his conversation with ABA CEO Allison Hill, urged us to consider the future we want for ourselves, our community, and our industry. What role can we play
in creating that future? What are the obstacles and opportunities?
Philippe is 
Are you interested in joining the circle of bookstores
sending invites to their customers? Please 
Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood by Fatima Shaik
Love at First by Kate Clayborn
When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson
