From the Land of SIBAA message from SIBA to its membership
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First Things First...
7/15: Deadline to nominate a video to the VIndies (here) 7/16: Deadline to sign
up for RAMP "Back to School/Work" email (more info) 7/19-7/22 NVNR
New Owners Retreat (register) 7/31: Deadline to order your Winter Catalogs (
here) 8/30-9/1: Children's Institute (register) 9/27-10/1 NVNR 2021 Fall Trade Show: Opening Doors (register)
The deadline to place your orders for the Winter Catalog is July 31st, but if you are signing up for the direct or saturation mail option, you should get your orders started now. It will take a little while to work out with RAMP what
routes or zip codes you want your mailing to reach. Watch RAMP's recent session on Direct and Saturation Mail to help you decide what kind of
investment would most benefit your store.. Register with RAMP | Download the Marketing Kit
Hybrid Events Panel Recap
Earlier this month SIBA hosted a bookseller panel on the topic of hybrid events -- what are they? how do they work? how do we preserve the best of in-person and virtual events for the real world and the online audience?
The panel included John Cavalier, co-owner of Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, LA, Jamille Christman, Marketing and Merchandise Manager of Eagle Eye Books in Decatur, GA, and Rebecca Doel, Digital Media and Event Specialist
at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC. Topics ranged from broadcast equipment needs to how stores can maintain and enhance the successful virtual programs they developed over 2020. Book clubs and storytimes, in particular, have generated
enthusiastic online followings which bookstores wish to nurture. A number of publishers were actively engaged in the discussion. Watch the recap here.
Simple Safety Tips for Booksellers
Kelly Justice talks to safety expert Spencer Coursen about some very simple and practical steps you can take -- for yourself and your business -- to make you more aware of your surroundings and more safe in everyday situations.
George Keating Scholarship Winners
Alissa Redmond from South Main Book Company is the SIBA recipient of the
2021 George Keating Memorial Scholarship. When they learned they received the scholarship they thanked the donors, saying “I am so honored and am grateful for all that SIBA and BINC do for one-man shops like mine! I am still very
new to this industry and there is so very much that I know I have to learn. Ideally, I'd like to use these funds to travel to the next SIBA Conference. If that can't happen in person, I've been registering for all the great virtual
bookseller education programs that SIBA and NAIBA have put on recently, and I will continue to do so whenever I can. Thank you!”
Linda-Marie Barrett, the Regional Executive Director of SIBA, says "We are so grateful to The Friends of George Keating for creating this scholarship in his honor. What an inspiring legacy, supporting booksellers in the regions where George worked,
so that they can pursue educational opportunities and advance their skills and careers."
The other recipients are Bill Carl (NEIBA) from An Unlikely Story and Jen Cheng (NAIBA) from Old Town Books.
The scholarship provides $250 to a bookseller from each of three regional associations, NAIBA, SIBA and NEIBA, for the purpose of professional development and advancement in their roles within their bookstores or within the publishing
industry. The scholarship is tied to the regions where Keating worked and was a well-known, beloved colleague.
“The Binc Foundation is honored to commemorate George’s legacy of advocacy for and encouragement of booksellers with this scholarship,” says Pam French, Binc’s executive director. “Many thanks to everyone who donated In George’s memory.
It is a wonderful tribute to George to keep his spirit alive by helping to advance the careers of booksellers. “
The Anti-Racist Bookseller
Good Intentions Aren't Enough.
This morning many people opened their email to find a full and frank apology from the ABA's CEO Allison Hill for inadvertently allowing a transphobic book to be included in their
July Box, and also accidentally posting the wrong book image for a book on the bestseller list, replacing it with another book of the same title, but promoting a racist, ultra-right-wing message.
"We have caused harm and endangered our members," wrote Hill. She outlined the steps the ABA was taking to ensure these mistakes would not be repeated. Those steps included "listening to impacted members; conferring
with members of ABA's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee; institutionalizing more of our diversity, equity, and inclusion work; revising our internal procedures and checks and balances; discussing with our team the impact
of this violence on our members and our colleagues; changing the submission, vetting, and distribution process for the box mailing program; automating some of our online content to eliminate unconscious bias; reviewing all of our
programs and communication; and more."
The incidents are a painful but necessary illustration of why good intentions are not enough to counter systemic racism. Vigilance is also required. What systems are in place in your store to prevent the kind of situation the ABA found
itself in? How many of their resolutions are things you already do, or can start doing?
In Brief:
Children's Institute 2021 is August 30 - September 1- What’s in store for you? Storytime interludes from your favorite authors, receptions like you’ve never seen before, astounding author appearances,
along with education sessions, rep picks, and more. Featuring Keynote speakers Hanif Abdurraqib, Tiffany D. Jackson, Jason Reynolds, and Tami Charles. Register here
Reader Meet Writer Upcoming
General RMW Event information:
RMW events are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM Eastern
Each event is fully moderated and hosted, with plenty of time for author Q & A. Current host is Wiley Cash, author of When Ghosts Come Home (William Morrow, 2021)
All events are recorded and available to stream at SIBA's Reader Meet Writer TV YouTube
channel.
The Lost Art of Dying with Lydia Dugdale, MD Thu Jul 15th 7:00pm - 8:00pm | REGISTER
Lydia Dugdale MD, MAR, is associate professor of medicine and director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at Columbia University. Prior to her 2019 move to Columbia, she was Associate Director of the Program
for Biomedical Ethics and founding Co-Director of the Program for Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion at Yale School of Medicine. She is an internal medicine primary care doctor and medical ethicist. Her first book, Dying in the Twenty-First Century, provides
the theoretical grounding for this current book. She lives with her husband and daughters in New York City.
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.
What booksellers are saying about Razorblade Tears
This was a powerful story about two fathers seeking forgiveness within themselves, fighting in vain for the redemption of their sons deaths, and all the while finding friendship and ally-ship in ways they never thought possible.
-- Olivia Schaffer from The Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA Buy from The Bookshelf
As much as I loved Blacktop Wasteland, I think I like this new book even more - Cosby just keeps getting better! I forced myself to read this really slowly because I knew I’d be so sad when it was over. This is a strong
contender for my book of the year.. --Andrea Richardson from Fountain Books in Richmond, VA Buy from Fountain Bookstore
Man did Razorblade Tears come out of the gate swinging. I knew it was going to be a gritty crime thriller, but at one point about 90 pages in I yelled “I didn’t know I was reading a John Wick movie!” That said, I love
love loved it. --Faith Parke-Dodge from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC Buy from Page 158 Books
S.A. Cosby is the real deal. He is rejuvenating the mystery scene in a way not seen since Elmore Leonard during his prime. And his new novel is the perfect example how. --Pete Mock from McIntyre's Books in Pittsboro, NC Buy from McIntyre's Fine Books
Award-winning Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam’s second novel is a profound meditation on love, desire, war, mortality, and the human condition. Krishan, an NGO worker based in the capital Colombo, receives an email out
of the blue from a former girlfriend, on the same day he learns that his grandmother’s former carer has died. The journey that follows – through the heart of a country still recovering from a decades-long civil war –
is as much through the mind as it is physical. Highly recommended.
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam, (List Price: 27, Hogarth, 9780593230701, July 2021) Reviewed by Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
Linda-Marie: Reading:You Can Go Your Own Way by Eric Smith, a YA enemies to lovers romance set in a pinball arcade during a snowstorm--fun all the way around. Watching:The Shop Around the Corner, a poignant romantic comedy from 1940 starring the great Jimmy Stewart. Listening: The Concert for George, an extraordinary musical memorial to George Harrison that took place on the first anniversary of his death..
Lucy: Reading:The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova - I just started this, and I’m already enraptured by this story’s stunning prose and captivating narrative! Listening:Questie Besties - This recently launched recap podcast for Apple TV’s Mythic Quest is everything and I adore it! Watching: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Season 6
Nicki: Reading: Fox and I by Catherine Raven, The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili, and The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, which is another doorstop. I've been opening
a lot of literary doors this summer. Listening: After her talk on Reader Meet Writer, I'm listeing to everything Mary Gauthier has ever released.
Watching: Various video lectures on Shakespeare's language for an online course.
SP:
Reading: The PLAN was to read something racy and forgettable--it is summer, after all. HOWEVER one of the characters opens an indie bookshop in upstate New York. "She needs to join NAIBA," I said out loud. "She needs to register for
the NVNR New Owners Retreat on July 19th!" Occupational hazard. Watching: The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978). NYC in all its trashy 1970s glamour, starring Faye Dunaway in the role she was born to play--Faye Dunaway.
The Women (1939). Fast forward long-suffering Norma Shearer, but don't skip the eye-popping Technicolor fashion-show interlude (gowns by Adrian!), Rosalind Russell's brilliantly hilarious calisthenics scene, or Joan Crawford's
monumental Art Deco bubble bath. Listening: Anna Calvi--gorgeous, intense, operatic, plus a Fender.
1. The Midnight Library Matt Haig, Viking, $26, 9780525559474 2. Malibu Rising Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine, $28, 9781524798659 3. Project Hail Mary Andy
Weir, Ballantine, $28.99, 9780593135204 4. The Last Thing He Told Me Laura Dave, S&S, $27, 9781501171345 5. The Paper Palace Miranda Cowley Heller, Riverhead
Books, $27, 9780593329825
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. The Premonition Michael Lewis, Norton, $30, 9780393881554 2. The Anthropocene Reviewed John Green, Dutton, $28, 9780525555216 3. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99, 9780062976581 4. This Is Your Mind on Plants Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $28, 9780593296905 5. How the Word Is Passed Clint Smith, Little, Brown, $29, 9780316492935
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 by appointment. 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.
Alissa Redmond from South Main Book Company is the SIBA recipient of the
2021 George Keating Memorial Scholarship. When they learned they received the scholarship they thanked the donors, saying “I am so honored and am grateful for all that SIBA and BINC do for one-man shops like mine! I am still very
new to this industry and there is so very much that I know I have to learn. Ideally, I'd like to use these funds to travel to the next SIBA Conference. If that can't happen in person, I've been registering for all the great virtual
bookseller education programs that SIBA and NAIBA have put on recently, and I will continue to do so whenever I can. Thank you!”
Good Intentions Aren't Enough.
The Lost Art of Dying with Lydia Dugdale, MD
