From the Land of SIBAA message from SIBA to its membership
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First Things First...
5/6: Reader Meet Writer with Josephine Caminos Oria, Sobremesa (more info) 5/10: Application deadline for Binc "Survive to Thrive" grants (more info)
5/11: Reader Meet Writer with Laura Dave, The Last Thing He Told Me (more info) 5/13: Reader Meet Writer with Bob Drury & Tom Calvin, Daniel Boone and the
Fight for America's First Frontier (more info) 5/13: ABA Session on Coop Business Models (more info) 5/19:
Bloomsbury Glorious Girls Summer Celebration (register) 5/20: Coffee with the Board (register)
5/31: Nomination deadline for SIBA Board (
here) 5/31: Deadline to submit ABACUS Survey (more info)
As we approach the end of SIBA's 21-Day Equity Challenge, we have been hearing
more and more feedback from participants:
"This has been wonderful and so so welcome. The challenge is, well, challenging. Doing anything every day requires quite a luxury of time, especially one that demands such intense focus and internal investigation. I'm invested in doing it."
"This "challenge" has lived up to its name. It has been such a rewarding process to go through. I hope it will remain available as a resource for others in the future."
"The racial equity challenge is really amazing. There’s a lot of information and a lot of things I’m finding I need to sit with for a while, so I’m participating but I’m several days behind, working my way through things slowly and thoughtfully."
"I’m appreciating the Racial Equity Challenge, and saving all of the posts—especially on days that I don’t have time to engage with the prompt. Thank you for doing this."
In response to several requests from stores who were unable to participate in April, and others who did participate, but wished to extend the experience, SIBA will be creating a Challenge Module for its member stores to use with their
own staff. The support materials -- the blog, resource page, and Challenge bulletin board -- will also remain online and accessible, and will continue to be developed.
SIBA Bookstores are reporting a successful Independent Bookstore Day -- in some cases surpassing not only 2020's virtual version, but 2019's "normal" IBD as well:
"We had a great day. Folks were excited to see exclusives and seemed genuinely
pleased to be out for an event. It was a bit out of our comfort zone to be promoting an in person event as we are not fully vaccinated but everyone was respectful of our rules and boundaries. I was very pleased with the hybrid
in person/virtual tone that was taken this year. We had sales for exclusives both in person and online during the day and capped off with a virtual author event. We definitely have folks that support our shop from all over
the country and it felt like all could be a part of celebrating our shop and indies in general this year." -- Michelle Cavalier, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs,
LA
IBD was a big success for us in spite of the deluge of rain all day here. We were super busy, like more than Christmas numbers busy. -- E.Shaver, booksellers in Savannah, GA
When I was a bookseller in Chicago, I got a series of emails from a man named Keith Botsford about his magazine, News from the Republic of Letters. He’d founded the broadsheet with the Nobel-, Pulitizer-,
and every-other-prize- winning Saul Bellow in 1997, and Botsford wanted to make sure that my store, which had been Bellow’s local shop for a time, still stocked it. I was just barely twenty-two years old, and the
name of the magazine was an exciting one that conjured up a nation and a lineage, spread out across continents and time, but unified by something I was only beginning to wrap my head around: the community of books....
..... I’m in a new role now, coming to you with a great deal of affection for the South and its readers, and bringing some very good books. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you, and if there’s
something you need from IPG to get independently-published books into the hands of eager readers at independent shops. As the more corporate parts of this industry contract, you and I are very much in this Independent Republic
of Letters together. You’ll be hearing from me soon. (read more)
SBR Shelf for May
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.
For publishers looking to promote their new titles out to readers across the South, the SBR Bookshelf is our greatest value because of high visibility and engagement across multiple platforms. Contact us for more information or to
get your titles on “The Shelf” in coming months.
Coming up in May:
Reunion Beach: Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank with contributions by Elin Hilderband, Mary Alice Monroe, Patti Callahan Henry, Adriana Trigiani, Cassandra King Conroy, Nathalie DuPree, and Marjorie Wentworth, William
Morrow The Essence of Nathan Biddle by J. William Lewis, Green Leaf Book Group Press We Are Each Other's Harvest, edited by Natalie Baszile, Amistad Master Artificer by Justin T. Call, Blackstone Publishing Anything That Happens by Cheryl Wilder, Press 53 Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe, Tyndale House Publishers
MPIBA offers Free 3-Part Diversity Equity and Inclusion Workshop All booksellers are invited to attend. Build your awareness about where you and your organization are, with regard to equity, diversity and
inclusion. Learn about ways of being to challenge the status quo, mitigate the impact of bias and improve customer engagement. Engage in learning about culturally responsive and humanizing customer engagement..(read more)
Class Action Lawsuit v. Amazon & Big 5 This newest class action lawsuit levied against Amazon and Big Pub derives from facts made public during the FTC's recent investigations
into its antitrust violating behavior. This case is based on clauses in Amazon's contracts with publishers that prevent publishers from offering independent bookstores better discounts than they offer Amazon. Stores that have
experienced an inability to negotiate with publishers due to these obligations are encouraged to send their accounts to the firm trying the case. Currently all independent bookstores are included in this class action lawsuit
whether they sign up or not, and no action is necessary at this time. (read more)
Binc Survive to Thrive Applications are open The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation has announced that applications for the Survive to Thrive grant program will be accepted through May 10 at 5pm Eastern. Fundraising for the grant program, which is designed to provide substantial
grants to as many as 200 independent bookstores and comic shops, is still underway with a campaign goal of $2 million by the end of May. Grants will be awarded to the selected stores in early June. (apply)
Reader Meet Writer: Updates
Tuesday's event with Jaclyn Moriarty was just lovely. And fun! And featured some surprise guests!
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.
Coming up on Reader Meet Writer:
Sobremesa: A Memoir of Food and Love in Thirteen Courses with Josephine Caminos Oría Thu May 6th 7:00pm - 8:00pm | REGISTER
Josephine Caminos Oría is an Argentine-American cookbook author, entrepreneur and mom. It was in her early 40s, with five young children in tow, that Josephine took a chance on herself, leaving a C-level career
to make dulce de leche. Today, Josephine, along with her Argentine husband, Gastón, is the founder of La Dorita Cooks, an all-natural line of dulce de leche products and Pittsburgh’s first resource-based
kitchen incubator for start-up and early stage food makers (see www.ladorita.net for more information). In addition, Josephine is the author of Dulce de Leche: Recipes, Stories, and Sweet Traditions (Burgess
Lea Press, February 2017).
NEW EVENTS!
The Last Thing He Told Me with Laura Dave Tue May 11th 7:00pm - 8:00pm | REGISTER
Laura Dave is the national and international bestselling author of Eight Hundred Grapes and other novels. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times; O, The Oprah Magazine; Ladies’ Home Journal; Glamour; Redbook; Self;
and The New York Observer. Dave has appeared on the CBS Early Show, The Modern Love Podcast, and NPR’s All Things Considered; and Cosmopolitan named her a “Fun and Fearless Phenom” of
the year. She resides with her family in Santa Monica.
Blood and Treasure : Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier with Bob Drury and Tom Clavin Thu May 13th 7:00pm - 8:00pm | REGISTER
Bob Drury and Tom Clavin are the #1 New York Times bestselling authors of The Heart of Everything That Is, Lucky 666, Halsey's Typhoon, Last Men Out,
and The Last Stand of Fox Company, which won the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation's General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award. They live in Manasquan, New Jersey, and Sag Harbor, New York, respectively.
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.
Spotlight on Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal
What booksellers are saying
I was expecting a paranormal cryptid mystery, and what I got in addition to that was a story about funny and wonderful friendship. --Cat Chapman, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, FL Buy from Oxford Exchange
Hilarious and witty, Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses not only tackled exactly what the title says with honesty and grace, it was such a good story of knowing that even if you are struggling there will always be
someone out there on your side to help you fight your battles. Humorous levity and unorthodox plot twists make this a delightful novel. -- Olivia Schaffer, The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA Buy from The Bookshelf.
This was a fun story that also shed a light on how hard it is for people who have a chronic illness, but also the great friendships you can find if you're open to it. --Jennifer Jones, The Bookmiser in Roswell, GA Buy from The Bookmiser
If you’re wondering which Great Gatsby adaptation to read this summer, look no further. I read it in one day because leaving it unfinished for even one night felt like a crime; it surpasses “unputdownable.”
This is the Great Gatsby we need, narrated by a queer, Viet Jordan Baker who is both outside of society yet more connected in society than everyone else around her. The slightest touches of magic bring The Chosen and The Beautiful to life, displaying a world where not all that glitters is gold, yet firm anchors to the original make every line sing true. I truly love this book.
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (List Price: $26.99, Tordotcom, 9781250784780, 6/1/2021) Reviewed by Lizy Coale, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida
As I tore through this book, I kept wondering why I couldn’t put it down, couldn’t stop thinking about it. I mean, I even met Andrew McCarthy once (at ABA, when he was releasing his middle-grades book) and wasn’t
particularly star-struck. It’s very well-written, and his voice is vulnerable and likable and humble and honest. He comes across as a bit bewildered by his success, and captures his 20-something self perfectly. I wasn’t
surprised that, in the acknowledgments, he admitted that he’d “almost” written the book a long time ago. I guess he captured those days when they were still fresh. But, ultimately, McCarthy himself explained
why I was so caught up in it. “…in the memory of those movies exists a touchstone of youth, of when life was all ahead, when the future was a blank slate, when anything was possible.” I have no idea if this book
will resonate with anyone who is not as firmly Gen X as me (class of 1985!), but I’ll stock it and give it a lot of hand-selling. Because it’s my store and I loved it.
Linda-Marie: Reading: Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less by Leidy Klotz. A book for stopping the great “pile on” of responsibilities, tasks, and
possessions. You can’t add anything until you “subtract” something; a philosophy for sane living, and Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass, a YA romance set in Tobago
that’s also a twist on Austen’s Persuasion.
Listening: French Cafe Radio Station on Pandora,
Watching: birds building nests on tree branches not far from my perch on the front porch.
Lucy: Reading:A Vindication of the Rights of Women Listening: Persuasion by Jane Austen Watching:Younger
Nicki: Reading: Women of Salt by Gabriela Garcia, We Are Each Other's Harvest by Natalie Baszile -- so, so inspiring!, and Lenora in the Morning Light, a novel about Lenora Carrington by Michaela
Carter, because I can't resist novels about artists, writers, and musicians.. Listening:Janáček's On the Overgrown Path with pianist Natalia Sokolovska. I love folk-song-inspired compositions. Watching: Reruns of Star Trek Voyager, mostly to laugh and count the plot inconsistencies and the number of shuttles they manage to destroy given the ship is only supposed to have two.
SP: Reading: I just got a copy of Sylvia Townsend Warner’s After the Death of Don Juan in the mail. Who knows when I will have time to read it. Listening: Lots of Laura Marling and Angel Olsen lately. Really love both of them. Watching: The last movies I watched were Passion Fish and The Red Shoes. Both absolutely fantastic movies and the respective directors at the very top of their game.
1. The Hill We Climb Amanda Gorman, Viking, $15.99, 9780593465271 2. The Lost Apothecary Sarah Penner, Park Row, $27.99, 9780778311010 3. Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro, Knopf, $28, 9780593318171 4. The Midnight Library Matt Haig, Viking, $26, 9780525559474 5. The Four Winds Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's, $28.99,
9781250178602
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. World Travel: An Irreverent Guide Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever, Ecco, $35, 9780062802798 2. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne,
$22.99, 9780062976581 3. Caste Isabel Wilkerson, Random House, $32, 9780593230251 4. The Code Breaker Walter Isaacson, S&S, $35, 9781982115852 5.
Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants George W. Bush, Crown, $38, 9780593136966
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 approach the end of SIBA's 21-Day Equity Challenge, we have been hearing
more and more feedback from participants:
"We had a great day. Folks were excited to see exclusives and seemed genuinely
pleased to be out for an event. It was a bit out of our comfort zone to be promoting an in person event as we are not fully vaccinated but everyone was respectful of our rules and boundaries. I was very pleased with the hybrid
in person/virtual tone that was taken this year. We had sales for exclusives both in person and online during the day and capped off with a virtual author event. We definitely have folks that support our shop from all over
the country and it felt like all could be a part of celebrating our shop and indies in general this year." -- Michelle Cavalier, 
Sobremesa: A Memoir of Food and Love in Thirteen Courses with Josephine Caminos Oría
The Last Thing He Told Me with Laura Dave
Blood and Treasure : Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier with Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
