New Voices New Rooms (NVNR) will host its 2025 annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, with dates and venue to be announced. 

NVNR is the programming partnership between the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and has been hosting conferences and events for booksellers since 2020. It has hosted an annual in-person booksellers conference since 2023.

In selecting Atlanta, NVNR signals a change from previous years when the conference was regularly held in Arlington, Virginia. Going forward, the location of the conference will travel within the combined NAIBA and SIBA territories to make it more accessible and to better showcase different bookselling communities. After Atlanta in 2025, NVNR will be in Baltimore in 2026 and return to Virginia in 2027.

Recognizing that the area served by NVNR is extensive, both regional associations have committed to increased financial assistance for booksellers to help them attend the conference.

Linda-Marie Barrett, Executive Director of SIBA, says there is strong support among the NAIBA and SIBA boards for an Atlanta conference. “The Atlanta area bookstores are excited to share their spaces and missions," she added. "We're thrilled to bring NVNR to Atlanta next year. Atlanta is a vibrant city with a strong and diverse bookselling culture.”

“NAIBA booksellers will now have the opportunity to visit an amazing city for bookselling,” said Eileen Dengler, NAIBA Executive Director. “We’ll incorporate bookstore visits and visits to America’s Mart to make this a unique opportunity for booksellers. Our team at NVNR continues to create an experience of unparalleled education, networking, and joy.” 

NVNR hopes to confirm the 2025 conference venue and dates by the end of the year. Exhibitor registration will open in January, and bookseller registration will open in April.

For more information, visit newvoicesnewrooms.org.

Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Just finished a re-read of Shark Heart, which is beautiful, wise, and incredibly imaginative. Finished Funny Story by Emily Henry, a fun and thoughtful romance that's also a love letter to Michigan's Great Lakes' setting and culture, and started Susan Coll's Bookish People.
Listening: Back in the mountains after a week away at the beach, I'm enjoying reacquainting my ears with our bird and animal neighbors' sounds.
Watching: Re-watching the Great British Baking Show earlier seasons as I wait each Friday for the new episode. Just started Alan Cumming's Paradise Homes, which is both hilarious (Cumming's flamboyant wit) and ridiculous (these folks have more money than God to spend on their homes. Am I jealous? Of course not!) .

Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: In light of the times, I started reading Mutual Aid by Dean Spade. I've only just started, but I'm excited to get ideas for some additional organizing tools and for taking care of my community.
Listening: To the white noise of my space heater as the weather turns colder.
Watching: I've started watching 3% on Netflix, and I seriously can't stop! It's a Brazilian dystopian show that is just so intriguing. The concept is that in a distant future, most of the population lives in poverty in "the Inland," but there's an elite group chosen via a brutal "Process" to live in "the Offshore," which is supposed to be a paradise. Every year, 20-year-olds get a chance to go through the Process to be one of the 3% that makes it to the Offshore. And, of course, there is a rebellion against this system. The plot has sucked me in!

Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: Sitt Marie Rose by Etel Adnan, which should not be as hard to find as it was. I just ordered something that I hope will be my winter doorstop novel: Lies and Sorcery by Elsa Morante
Listening: Shakespeare Unlimited podcast -- Yes, still.
Watching: The Third Man, again. I actually spent a whole evening with it, just starting and stopping to take it all in.

SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: The new edition of the Finnish author Tove Jansson's Notes from an Island, a chronicle of building a cabin on a treeless island in the Gulf of Finland with her partner, the designer and artist Tuulikki Pietilä (whose paintings illustrate the text). "It is astonishing the number of people who go around dreaming of an island."
Listening: The resident flock of wild turkeys, gobbling away in the woods every morning at sunrise. My favorite Van Morrison album, Saint Dominic's Preview, since it's November and I'm a creature of habit.
Watching: Long-time and new favorite movies: Gaslight, The Third Man, Wild Nights with Emily, Private Benjamin. The third and final season of Somebody, Somewhere which is so good I can hardly talk about it.

Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore - I needed something light and fun after the last few weeks and this Gilmore Girls-y fanfic is hitting the spot.
Listening: As previously mentioned, I am going for distraction and Handsome podcast remains my favorite way to laugh in hard times.
Watching: What We Do in the Shadows is in its final season and I will miss it so much. I am enjoying every minute of the remaining episodes.

Professional Booksellers School (SIBA Sponsored)

Event Management Registration Opens 11/11
Inventory Management Opens 11/18
Use SIBA discount code SIBAem to get $35 off registration for Event Management and SIBAim to get $35 off registration for Inventory Management!

Candice Huber, Dean of Bookstore Finances (and your Membership and Social Media Coordinator!), will be leading a Budgeting for Buying Seminar on November 18. Invest in your future and enroll in a Professional Booksellers School course! Email Candice Huber for more information.

Read more about the Professional Booksellers School

ABA:
(participation restricted to ABA Members)

• Indie Bookstore Day order form is now open. Ssign up and order exclusives here: Deadline to order exclusives is November 15.

Libro.fm

• Libro Bookseller Choice Awards
• Gift audiobook credit bundles.
• Shop Small Sale - limited time sale on bestselling audiobooks, many $5 or less! Runs 11/26 - 12/2.
• Indies First membership offer - get 3 audiobooks for the price of 1 for new customers starting a 1 credit per month membership.
• Plaid Friday
• Cider Monday
• Credit Bundle Sale (only comes once per year!) runs 12/10 - 12/12.

Other Industry

• Macmillan Event Grid Q&A Webinar: Register to join the Macmillan Author Events team (Melissa, Dominique, and Nora) for a short webinar on Wednesday, November 20th, at 1:00 PM ET where they will talk about what they look for in requests, highlight some key authors, and answer any questions you have.
• Macmillan offers extra 5% discount and extended dating: From now through the end of the year, retailers that purchase direct on a returnable basis will receive an additional 5% discount and 120 days dating on orders of 16+ units (per invoice)! This applies to all books (with the exception of College Board, Entangled and Guinness World Records) with a pub date prior to October 1, 2024. Use CODE (Retailers): A136RE
• Penguin Random House has begun 2-day transit! This will last through January 25, 2025, and there are no order minimums! You should have received info from your PRH rep.
• Hachette has announced a guaranteed 2-day shipping window for the holidays! If you order by 3pm during the week, your order will ship the next business day. They've also reduced the minimum to just $75!
• American Express is once again offering swag for Small Business Saturday! Get yours here

Book Lists & Marketing Assets: Native American Heritage Month Lists

• Indigenous Reads Rising
• Sourcebooks
• Macmillan
• Lerner
• Penguin Random House
• Read Brightly (children's)

The McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers Now Accepting Applications for 2025

Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers. The grant is offered by SIBA in partnership with  New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, (Mustique Island) for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers.

Two grants of $1,500 each will be awarded to be used toward craft development (writing classes, retreats, conferences, travel), work-related materials (notebooks, laptops, software, research, etc.), childcare, bills, or any other financial obstacle.

"It is a great honor to have been chosen...I am truly grateful for this grant and have been inspired to work more diligently as a creative," said 2024 grant recipient Maya Martin from Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi.

"I’ve been holding my writing close for the past year, not quite ready to share it with the world and wondering if there would ever be a right time," said 2024 grant recipient Ally Kirkpatrick, owner of Old Town Books in Alexandria, Virginia. "Winning this award gives me the confidence boost to continue finding my voice and sharing my story about maternal mental health."

Author Sarah McCoy created the grant because of her own experience as a struggling young writer. "I’ve dreamt of being able to do an initiative like this since I was in graduate school teaching young writing students during the day to pay for my own MFA creative writing courses at night. While my weekends went to grading papers, studying, and writing, I also took on a weekend job with flexible hours to navigate the bills that seem to never stop piling up. I swore then that when I could, I would do my best to help other writers in similar financial straits."

Applications are currently open and will close on March 21, 2025. Recipients will be announced in July, 2025. To be eligible, the applicant must be an unpublished southern woman or nonbinary bookseller living in one of the states in SIBA territory: Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Mississippi, and must have a novel, memoir, essay collection or poetry collection in progress.

Full eligibility criteria and grant application

"If you’re a hoper, a dreamer, a story stoker opening your laptop and a 99¢ can of tuna fish on the coffee table for dinner while you do the work that really lights your fire… then you’re a kindred spirit," says McCoy. "That was me, too. Still is on many nights. You are not alone. $1,500 won’t magically transform everything, but it’s enough to buy a loaf of bread to go with that tuna. I’m grateful to partner with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), an organization dedicated to literacy, diversity, and creating a world where all stories are given equal voice and respect. Thank you for being our bookseller champions!"

Read more about the McCoy Grant

SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the novels Mustique Island,  Marilla of Green Gables, The Mapmaker’s Children, The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee, The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico, the novella “The Branch of Hazel in Grand Central and Le souffle des feuilles et des promesses(Pride and Providence).  Her work has been featured in Newsweek, Lit Hub, Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, Huffington Post, Writer Unboxed, and other publications. She hosted the NPR WSNC Radio monthly program “Bookmarked with Sarah McCoy" and previously taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Several hundred readers have already submitted their picks for The 2025 Southern Book Prize, and more votes are pouring in every day. Voting continues until February 1st, so it's far too early to make any predictions about which of the eighteen finalists books will be selected as "the best Southern book of the year." One thing that can be reported, however, is how much readers love their local indie bookstore. The last question on the Southern Book Prize Ballot is a simple prompt: "Say something nice about your favorite local bookstore."

Here are some of the wonderful things readers have to say about SIBA stores:

• "Page 158 Books, Sue and Dave Lucey, and all the rest who work there make you feel like family." (Page 158 Books, Wake Forest, NC)
• "Conundrum Books is adorable—it looks like the set of a Hallmark movie!" (The Conundrum, St. Francisville, LA)
• "Tombolo Books is a second home for so many writers and readers" (Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, FL)
• "They made me excited about reading again." (Blinking Owl Books, Fort Myers, FL)
• "Doug and co. are attuned to something true about literature in the South. The store takes me back to a time before "prime" time." (Eagle Eye Books, Decatur, GA)
• "Jen never forgets her patrons. Her store feels like home, like my childhood bedroom, like the dogwood tree I would climb to hide out and read." (Bookmiser, Marietta, GA)

The Southern Book Prize toolkit includes code stores can use to embed the Southern Book Prize ballot on their own websites, so they can encourage their customers to vote (and say nice things about them!), The toolkit also has signage, shelf talkers, logos and ISBN lists for building a list on your store's website or Bookshop page.

Linda-Marie Barrett / Executive Director:
Reading: Funny Story by Emily Henry, a reliably good romance offering relationship wisdom between the quips. Also love that one of the main characters is a children’s librarian. Re-reading Shark Heart for my book club, and can’t wait to hear how they feel about it.
Listening: I am spending the week by the ocean and enjoying all the seaside sounds, the tide against the sands, the wind moving through the tall grasses and palmetto leaves, and birdcalls.
Watching: While waiting for the newest Great British Baking Show episode on Friday, watched Merry Scottish Christmas, one of those “so bad it’s good” Hallmark movies.

Candice Huber / Membership:
Reading: Still on Long Live Evil, and it's really fun so far!
Listening: My partner and I both work from home, and he's been re-watching all the Lord of the Rings movies, so that's been my background noise for the past week.
Watching: I had never seen any Fast & Furious film, so I've been watching through those (had to give my West Wing binge a long-term pause). The tribute they gave to Paul Walker at the end of Furious 7 legit made me cry.

Nicki Leone / Communications:
Reading: I am finding it hard to concentrate, to be honest. Comfort reads and escapist books slide past me without making an impression, but when I try something deeper, I find myself staring at the same page for long periods of time. Time to pull out my Andrea Dworkin books!
Listening: Shakespeare Unlimited podcast -- I'm back into the Covid-era archives now, hearing about all the lock down projects of actors and directors.
Watching: Well, if you don't count Tuesday night, on the advice of SP, The Third Man. Which, WOW.

SP Rankin / Website Administrator:
Reading: A couple of books I don't think I will be able to wait until the holidays to give away. Willpower is overrated.
Listening: The same Martha Wainwright song I listened to on November 9, 2016. I can't share the title or the refrain here, but I encourage anyone reading this to look for it. You'll know it when you see it.
Watching: The 1979 BBC adaption of John Le Carré's masterwork Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Dark, labyrinthine, ambiguous, bleak, and a strangely effective respite during these loud and angry times.

Andrea Richardson / Sales:
Reading: All the spooky things! I'm about halfway into The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 (edited by the amazing S.A. Cosby) and it's a fabulous collection - so many of my favorites are featured.
Listening: Since it's spooky season I'm back into my true crime podcast and Generation Why is currently in my ears.
Watching: My coworker recommended Chimp Crazy and OMG it is a wild ride. Think Tiger King with chimps.

SIBA regularly posts industry opportunities for bookstores in the #Bulletin Board channel of the SIBA Discord community. For early notice, ask for an invitation (open to booksellers only).

Professional Booksellers School 2025 Schedule
SIBA is a sponsor of the Professional Booksellers School, and SIBA booksellers can receive discounts and reimbursements for courses.

Event Management Course begins: Monday, January 13
Registration opens: Monday, November 11

Inventory Management Course begins: Wednesday, January 15
Registration opens: Monday, November 18

Basic Bookselling Course begins: Tuesday, March 4
Registration opens: Monday, January 6

Store & Operations Management Course begins: Thursday, March 6, 2025 Registration opens: Monday, January 13, 2025

Candice Huber, Dean of Bookstore Finances (and your Membership and Social Media Coordinator!), will be leading a Budgeting for Buying Seminar on November 18. Invest in your future and enroll in a Professional Booksellers School course! Email Candice Huber for more information.

Read more about the Professional Booksellers School

ABA:
(participation restricted to ABA Members)

• Indie Bookstore Day order form is now open. Ssign up and order exclusives here: Deadline to order exclusives is November 15.
• The ABA is accepting nominations for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee through October 25. They are specifically looking for location independent stores (pop-ups, bookmobiles, etc.) and Latinx booksellers. You can nominate yourself or someone else here.
• It is once again time for James Patterson Holiday Bonus nominations! Submissions are due November 8, and you can self nominate:

Other Industry

• Binc is currently accepting applications for BincTank. This incubator program specifically supports BIPOC-owned bookselling businesses and is open to location independent stores and novel models. Get more info and apply here.
• Penguin Random House has begun 2-day transit! This will last through January 25, 2025, and there are no order minimums! You should have received info from your PRH rep.
• Did you know? Each week, NAIBA posts a document listing publisher promotions that they know about.
• Hachette has announced a guaranteed 2-day shipping window for the holidays! If you order by 3pm during the week, your order will ship the next business day. They've also reduced the minimum to just $75!
• American Express is once again offering swag for Small Business Saturday! Get yours here

Fiction

Rednecks by Taylor Brown 
[St. Martin's Press]

Rednecks is the dark and moving story of big coal, broken lives, love, and loyalty. The book chronicles the demands for dignity, fair wages and workplace safety in the coal mines of West Virginia that lead to a bloody, infuriating war you were probably never before aware of. ― Susan Williams, M. Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca 
[Berkley]

If you've ever found yourself longing for a spooky beach read, this is it! Set in a quiet beach town, Haunted Ever After brings all of the deliciously warm ambiance that comes from a seaside setting while also balancing the paranormal element of meddling ghosts. ― Tara Leimkuehler, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

James by Percival Everett 
[Doubleday]

A necessary look into the life of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn's Jim, or James, told with Percival Everett's unflinching, poetic, and entertaining prose. ― James Harron, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina

When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart 
[Kensington]

Historical fiction at its absolute best! Everhart's carefully crafted female protagonist shows strength, courage and resolve in the face of the many cruelties of the Civil War. Joetta McBride is not your usual demure Southern Belle. ― Sharon Davis, Book Bound Bookstore in Blairsville, Georgia

Shae by Mesha Maren 
[Algonquin Books]

Gorgeous and honest and heartrending. In compassionate, clear-eyed prose, Shae falls in love, gives birth, and descends into a tunnel of opioid addiction in rural Appalachia. Maren masterfully balances hope and despair on both community and personal levels. ― Miranda Sanchez, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Tell It to Me Singing by Tita Ramírez 
[S&S/Marysue Rucci Books]

A family drama that centers on a mother's secret, this novel is honeyed with warmth, truth, and the secrets that--once revealed--eventually bring us closer together. Ramirez weaves back and forth between a mother's and daughter's voices, illustrating each of the characters' deep hunger for a meaningful life. ― Julia Paganelli Marin Pearl's Books Fayetteville, Arkansas

Nonfiction

The Witch's Daughter by Orenda Fink 
[Gallery Books]

Filled with fascinating information on borderline personality disorder and anecdotes to satisfy any indie music fan, I would recommend The Witch's Daughter to almost everyone I know. While I wouldn't call it a happy story, it is an inspiring story of choosing your family, overcoming impossible situations, and protecting your peace. ― Tori, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Alabama

Sharks Don't Sink by Jasmin Graham 
[Pantheon]

A cautionary tale with a sense of hope, Graham's memoir details her struggles with academia and her successes as a mentor to a new generation of scientists. Her stories of the pressures of being black and female in a male dominated field. ― Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings 
[St. Martin's Press]

This book shows the hidden world of fundamentalist so well and how easy it is to get involved in it and how hard it is to get out. As someone who grew up in the Baptist culture and had to reframe their mind as they got older this book hit home in a lot of spots. ― Kelli Dynia Copperfish Books Punta Gorda, Florida

A Really Strange and Wonderful Time by Tom Maxwell 
[Hachette Books]

Oh man, did this bring back memories! Having grown up in Chapel Hill I pretty recognize everyone mentioned, especially in the first half which I overlapped (my heyday was REM, The Replacements, The B-52's and the rest of that first wave of Indie bands) ― Pete Mock McIntyre's Books Pittsboro, North Carolina

The Barn by Wright Thompson 
[Penguin Press]

This incredible book connects hundreds of dots, centering the murder of Emmett Till in a stream of events, characters and circumstances going all the way back into prehistory. I’m in awe of this book. Vivid storytelling, thorough research and interviews, beautiful prose, insights and turns of phrase that I wanted to share with whoever was nearby. ― Amanda Grell, Pearl's Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

The Mango Tree by Annabelle Tometich 
[Little, Brown and Company]

Parts of Tometich's story of growing up in Fort Myers, Florida, the daughter of a Filipino mom and white dad, are so unbelievable they must be true. Written by a veteran journalist and food critic and writer, The Mango Tree is incredibly entertaining and compellingly readable. ― Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Young Readers

Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo 
[Bloomsbury YA]

I loved the twists laced through this thrilling story. A mystery full of heart and at times deeply unsettling. Teenagers are messy, but they are wholly human with all the pain that often includes. This story takes them seriously in an important way giving voice to true loss and the devastation it can leave behind. ― Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal 
[Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)]

The world building is intricate and vivid, the White Roaring is a perfectly dark, glittering gothic city with so much personality, and the characters are wonderful. I'm already ready for the sequel. ― Winter Goldsmith, E. Shaver, Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

In Praise of Mystery by Ada Limón, Peter Sís (illus.) 
[Norton Young Readers]

One of the most impactful children's books I've read all year.In Praise of Mystery started as a poem from Limón that will be inscribed onto NASA's newest spacecraft planning to orbit Jupiter and its moons in the Fall of 2024. Translated onto the page, the poem becomes a story of hope and guidance, teaching the reader to accept and invite the unknown rather than fear it. ― Grace Sullivan, Fountain Books in Richmond, Virginia

Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin 
[Orchard Books]

Every neighborhood needs a girl like Millie in Christy Mandin's Millie Fleur's Poison Garden. This adorable book has a fun storyline, an important message to be yourself no matter what they say, as well as, great illustrations. Check out Millie's unique, and yes, somewhat creepy garden and you just might find yourself starting a trend in your own community! ― Barb Rascon, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

The Secret Dead Club by Karen Strong 
[Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers]

This is a lovely story about friendship, grief, and starting over. I appreciated the level of diversity in this book, as well as the portrayal of what a modern family can look like. The paranormal aspects were a bit intense at times, but I think it's perfect for readers who are interested in ghost stories. ― Becca Naylor, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White 
[Peachtree Treen]

Andrew Joseph White delivers an edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep readers hooked until the final page. At the same time, White utilizes his characters to address the lasting impacts of trauma, poverty, and economic exploitation on both individuals and communities. Compound Fracture is equal parts blood-soaked and beautiful, a testament to the resiliency and power of community organization. ― Charlie Williams, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

Member stores have begun responding to SIBA’s call for holiday catalog ideas. 

Alissa Redmond of South Main Book Co. in Salisbury, NC said, “I am stuffing the Halloween edition of the local newspaper with [the holiday catalog] - they are too cute to wait for Christmas!”

"How we use the catalogs is fairly basic," says Josh Niesse of Underground Books in Carrolton, Georgia. "We have a link to our Bookshop page on them (which we meticulously update with staff picks), use them as bag stuffers starting November 1st until we run out (usually be December 10th or so), and we'll put a few small stacks at closely aligned neighboring businesses. Last year we also sent copies with handwritten notes to our top 20-30 or so Bookshop.org buyers. I'm not sure if we'll get to that this year again or not, but I do think that paid off more than the earlier year when we tried the blanket local mailing."

Lisa McLaughlin from The Bookshelf on Church in Kilmarnock, VA said they’re giving the catalogs out in the store, but they also gave some to the local Chamber of Commerce because they love handing things out from local businesses, and they get a broader audience. Lisa said, “I love the catalog because it is well-designed, professional and saves me so much time and money trying to design a holiday guide myself.” 

Lynne Phillips of Wordsworth Books in Little Rock, AR said they are distributing catalogs through the local newspaper to align with their neighborhood holiday kickoff, called Holidays in the Heights. When they did the same last year, they had the best response based on coupon use that they’ve ever had.

Gee Gee Rosell of Buxton Village Books in Buxton, NC said the holiday catalog is the largest marketing campaign they do for their local customers, and besides handing the catalogs out in the store and via mailings, they also insert them into swag bags for local fall events. Gee Gee said, “If you’re on the fence about the SIBA holiday catalog, take my advice and DO IT. Our response just keeps getting better every year. Easy marketing, feel good marketing, and the price is right!”

Do you have a great idea for how to use the holiday catalogs? SIBA wants to hear from you! Email Candice Huber and describe how you plan to use the catalogs, show photos of your displays, and send in ideas. If you love the catalog, send a quote SIBA can use in promotion. Participating stores will be entered to win a $100 gift card! Five gift cards will be awarded. This contest is only available to current SIBA members.

Things to do / Things not to miss

1. SIBA Staff Retreat, October 30-31: As bookstores ramp up for the 4th Quarter season, SIBA takes a few days for its annual year-end strategy meeting and retreat. The staff will be in meetings most of the two days and slow to answer emails.

2. Southern Book Prize Ballot Opens on November 1. Read more about what to expect here. SIBA encourages bookstores to get their customers engaged. They can enter a raffle to win a $100 gift card to their local bookstore. Plus, one of the required questions on the ballot is to "say something nice about your local bookshop." SIBA shares these with the stores.

3. Holiday Catalogs Display Raffle: SIBA wants to hear how bookstores are using their holiday catalogs. Email Candice Huber and describe how you plan to use the catalogs, show photos of your displays, and send in ideas. Participating stores are entered to win a $100 gift card! Five gift cards will be awarded. This contest is only available to current SIBA members.

4. Sarah McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers: Applications open on November 11. In 2022, New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy established two $1500 grants for unpublished Southern bookseller women/nonbinary writers. Check SIBA's Scholarships and Financial Assistance page for updated information.

5. SIBA Annual Meeting, November 14 at 4:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM CT on Zoom. In light of the struggles in our territory because of the two hurricanes, the SIBA Board has elected to change the date of SIBA's annual meeting to allow stores more time to focus on recovery and store operations. All SIBA members are invited to attend. The meeting will include a report on the State of SIBA and reports from SIBA staff. The board will report on the work being done on behalf of the membership, and incoming board members will be introduced. | Register