The 2025 March Madness Bookseller Series features nine events at nine different bookstores in nine different states. Each event starts with a presentation by the hosting store on something they feel they do well such as customer service or inventory management, or on a successful program they have developed, like a community book festival or a profitable subscription program,

After the morning presentation, booksellers have lunch with an author followed by a booksellers idea share and networking session. All March Madness events are free to SIBA member booksellers and open to nonmember booksellers for a small fee to cover the cost of lunch.

March Madness 2025 registration is now open.
See the complete schedule and register

Publishers: Submit an author for the program via the SIBA Call for Authors page.

2025 March Madness Bookstore Educations

March 3: Snail on the Wall, Huntsville AL
From Pop-Up to Brick & Mortar: Building a Community of Readers

Snail on the Wall, whose mission is to offer specially selected books that readers will love, began as a pop-up and recently made the transition to a permanent location. Through their evolution, they built up a community of readers that supported them through numerous community partnerships.

March 4: Plenty, Cookeville TN
Storytelling on Display

Plenty Downtown Bookshop will present on how they integrate storytelling into their store's marketing, in-store displays, shelf-talkers, and more. As a hybrid non-profit, a nonprofit, and a community-sponsored shop, Plenty is not simply selling books: they are crafting an experience for their customers.

March 5: Square Books, Oxford MS
Building a Successful Subscription Program

Square Books will share with attendees how they run their successful subscription programs, most notably their signed first editions club. Topics include staff time and training, marketing, working with publishers, and shipping to customers. Following the education session is a tour of Square's four businesses around the town square.

March 10: Page 158 Books, Wake Forest NC
Customer Service

Page 158 trains their staff to view customer interactions as the beginning of a relationship, and emphasizes being authentic, welcoming, and going the extra mile to serve customer needs. Attendees will learn tips on hiring and training staff to grow your store's customer base and inspire loyalty and increased sales.

March 11: Cavalier House Books, Denham Springs LA
Bookfairs

Cavalier House will present on their very successful approach to bookfairs, covering planning, buying, packing, staffing, and merchandising. They'll be prepping for a bookfair the following week so will include a live packing and merchandising demo.

March 12: The Storybook Shoppe, Bluffton SC
Community Partnerships

The Storybook Shoppe, a children's bookstore, excels at community partnerships that support the store's and their community partners' missions in unique ways. One example is their Local Heroes Storytime in the courtyard with police and fire departments. Attendees will hear how Storybook Shoppe connects with partners to build relationships to create community support for the store.

March 17: Story on the Square, McDonough GA
Expanding Sales Beyond Books

Story on the Square includes a 2400 sq ft event space they rent out regularly, and a wine and beer bar and cafe. They also host non-book related events for their community, and prioritize a large selection of sideline gifts. They'll discuss how this multi-faceted approach creates a more sustainable and profitable business.

March 18: Fountain Bookstore, Richmond VA
Store-Branded Programming

Fountain will present on their unique store-branded programming like JABBIES®: Judge-A-Book-By-Its-Spine, Fountain First Look, and How To Start and Run a Book Club (in-development). They'll discuss how they create new programming, including customer polling and focus groups to find out what people want.

March 19: Inklings, Lakeland FL
Sustainability Through Trade and Treasure-Hunting

Attendees will learn how Inklings values sustainability, as reflected in their trade-in program, which gives books extended shelf life through the journey from new to used, and offers the store a way to replenish inventory and grow customer loyalty and repeat visits.