Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Booksellers are busy on the sales floor in December, but there are still some things SIBA wants you to know about the months ahead:
The last Read This Next! list for 2023 has a "love and adventure" theme, making it possibly the most fun list of the whole year.
Booksellers have a chance to join SIBA's 2024 Influencers -- a focus group which provides feedback on SIBA emerging ideas and road tests new projects. Email Linda-Marie by December 15th to be a part of next's year's group.
From December 24 - January 1 SIBA offices will be closed (but we will be watching our email).
On January 10 SIBA is holding its New Year Orientation, a virtual tour through major SIBA programs followed by a Q&A with the SIBA staff. New SIBA members are especially encouraged to attend to hear how to make the most out of their membership. And veteran SIBA members will also find valuable information about the newer programs SIBA offers, such as our Discord Community and the Indie Press Social events.
Further on in 2024, SIBA booksellers can look forward to more Owners Retreats, the return of the SIBA Census for 2024, a full March Madness series of bookstore events, and an enhanced program for the New Voices New Rooms in-person conference.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 30, 2023
CALIBA Joins RAMP Holiday Catalog Consortium
CALIBA, the California Independent Booksellers Alliance, will join SIBA, NAIBA and GLIBA as part of the RAMP consortium in 2024. RAMP is responsible for creating summer and holiday print and consumer catalogs for all the participating regional booksellers associations. The addition of CALIBA to the group gives RAMP a coast-to-coast reach. Read more at RAMPbooks.com
CALIBA seeking Executive Director
The California Independent Booksellers Alliance is seeking a new executive director. This is a full-time, work from home position paying between $65-80k, commensurate with experience and skill set. More info
Indie Bookstore Lunch Drawing from Books Forward
Books Forward is supporting indie booksellers by buying lunch for their teams during the busy holiday season! How it works: Enter your local/fave indie bookstores in our drawing, and winners will receive lunch for their team in December. Nominations close November 30.Enter here.
Ten Southern Booksellers Receive Scholarships to Winter Institute:
On Behalf of ABA from the Scholarship application process:
Jasmine Atkins, Birdsong Books (Locust Grove, GA) Judith McClellan, Horton's Books & Gifts (Carrollton, GA) Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA) Diana Dominguez, Más Libritos Bookstore (Springdale, AR) Vanessa Nicolle, Femme Fire Books (Jacksonville, FL) Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books (Rogers, AR) Kristen Rochelle, The Lazy Daisy Bookshop (Jacksonville, NC) Tayler Simon, Liberation is Lit (Columbia, SC) Sonyah Spencer, Urban Reader Bookstore (Concord, NC)
On Behalf of BINC:
Alissa Redmond, South Main Book Company (Salisbury, NC) Read more
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Romance is in the holiday air with the December Read This Next! list. There is a definite "love and adventure" theme to these most-buzzed books of the month.
Every month Read This Next! highlights new books that are receiving exceptional, and exceptionally enthusiastic, buzz from Southern indie booksellers. Each of the selected books has several enthusiastic cheerleaders among Southern indie booksellers. SIBA always makes a point of putting the store excitement and buzz around these books in front of their publishers, raising store visibility with the industry.
Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura
This is the romance I've been yearning for, one that fills all my needs for a romance novel version of Romancing the Stone, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and Indiana Jones.
– Preet Singh from Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur, Georgia
Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander
The perfect mix of heartwarming holiday charm and queer romance...The characters made my heart ache, they made me laugh, and they gave me the warm fuzzies that come from knowing there are wonderful, genuine, and kind people in the world.
– Emily Lessig from The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Airplane Mode : An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib
I found this to be some of the most moving travel writing I've read in recent years -- it's funny, witty, sometimes scathing, but it's also deeply sincere, personal, and imbued with a love of the world and the people who inhabit it.
– Kate Storhoff from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Betting on You by Lynn Painter
The perfect slow-burn full of page defying chemistry, witty banter, crazy hijinks, and a whole lot of heart! ...Painter also does an excellent job of exploring themes of anxiety, change, and friendship. It's When Harry Met Sally for a new generation!
– Emma Tara from E. Shaver, bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Kiki is forced by her parents to transfer to a top school for her final year. She is able to escape into gaming where, because of the massive amounts of abuse, she's been playing as a male player. But she's made a great friend in game. When she realizes that her friend actually goes to her new school, she must find out who he is. Didn't See That Coming is both hilarious and heartbreaking while being a fantastic read.
– Jennifer Jones from Bookmiser, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia
Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review
Would you like to be more involved with SIBA? Get the inside scoop on new and existing programming? Have an opportunity to provide feedback in an environment where your voice matters? Become a SIBA influencer!
SIBA is in search of booksellers who’d like to join SIBA’s Influencer Team in 2024. Influencers meet twice monthly to gather bookseller feedback on emerging ideas and ongoing projects. Influencers must be current bookseller members of SIBA. Only one bookseller per store.
Your participation as we create and evolve our programming is invaluable. Please email lindamarie@sibaweb.comby December 15 to let us know your interest and to find out more information.
SIBA is seeking an enthusiastic person to join the SIBA team as Sales Coordinator.
The position's responsibilities include presenting and selling SIBA promotions to our industry partners and new markets. This role will work closely with the SIBA team to support and enhance programming initiatives and meet sales goals.
Desired Experience:
Experience as a bookseller at an independent bookstore, or in publishing is a plus. An understanding of the bookselling industry and of the relationships between publishers, independent booksellers, and readers is vital. As is an understanding of sales trends in the indie book market. Excellent in-person and virtual communication skills required.
Hours per week: 10-15 Salary: $20/hr Location: Remote with an ability to travel for conferences. Travel is paid for by SIBA.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Book Banning and Best Response Strategies
A panel with SIBA Booksellers and PEN America's Freedom to Read and Digital Safety teams
During the last year, SIBA bookstores have reported widespread efforts to ban books, including in-person and online harassment over their inventory choices, book displays, and events.
In this session, Sabrina Baeta of PEN America's Freedom to Read team and Jeje Mohammed of PEN's Digital Safety team discuss what’s happening in our territory, and best practices when dealing with these kinds of situations. SIBA Booksellers D.J. Johnson (Baldwin & Co., New Orleans, LA), Mitchell Kaplan (Books and Books, Coral Gables, FL) and Kandi West (WordsWorth Books, Little Rock, AR) talk about their experiences confronting book bans in their communities.
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Updated: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
For the second year SIBA is partnering with New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, (Mustique Island) to award The McCoy Grant 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.
"There’s something so magical about people responding to the stories I tell," said 2023 grant recipient Kendra Gayle Lee, owner of Bookish Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. "Receiving the Sarah McCoy grant felt like a huge vote of confidence from the Universe."
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, 2024. Recipients will be announced in July and awarded at SIBA's Town Hall Meeting at the 2024 New Voices New Rooms conference in August. 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.
"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!"
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Updated: Thursday, November 30, 2023
In 2024 SIBA will offer partial reimbursement for booksellers who complete one of the modules offered by the Professional Booksellers School (PBS): $50 for the Basic Bookselling Course and $125 for all other modules. Booksellers must be employed by a current SIBA member bookstore, and reimbusement will be made to the store, not the individual bookseller.
Registration is now open for the following courses:
Inventory Management (16 classes beginning 1/17/2024 for $375)
Event Management (16 classes beginning 1/21/2024 for $375)
Space fills up quickly and booksellers are encouraged to register soon.
Requests for reimbursement can be made here (log in required). Information about SIBA financial assistance programs can be found here.
Registration open for two Professional Bookselling School modules is here.
Profile by Candice Huber, SIBA Membership Coordinator
Blacksburg Books is a shop in downtown Blacksburg in Virginia offering new and used books, locally-made drinks, snacks, and crafts, and a community space to browse, meet with friends, and find engaging new things to read and think about. In November 2020, owner Laurie Kelly mentioned in a local Facebook group that she was planning to open a bookstore in town, and the positive response was overwhelming. The bookstore opened its doors in August 2021.
Store Manager Ellen Woodall said that the best thing about being a bookseller is making recommendations! Ellen said, “The process of asking [customers] about their likes and dislikes, hobbies, interests, and then finding them the PERFECT book is one of the best things in the world.”
Blacksburg does some really fun community projects. In their Community Poetry Project, they pick a different topic each week and ask customers to write a few lines in a notebook at the store. At the end of the week, they consolidate and edit those lines into a poem! They just published a book of the first year of poems. They also do “Field Trip Fridays,” where they take a selection of books and snap photos of them at another local business, then post on social media. This is a way to highlight some of the other local spots in town as well as show off their favorite books. They have also donated over 300 new books to the Appalachian Prison Project!
About SIBA, Ellen said, “The Southern Booksellers (sic) Review is super helpful to me when I'm ordering for the store. It's great to discover books that weren't on my radar and read what other booksellers liked about them.”
You can follow Blacksburg Books on Instagram @blacksburg_books or on Facebook. Visit their website at https://www.blacksburgbooks.com/.
As booksellers, we all rely on our publisher book reps for survival. Our meetings and conversations with them guide our stores into the future and they massage our urgent requests for last minute event orders through the system. As Jamie Fiocco of Flyleaf Books told me, "our books reps are part of our bookstore family."
One of the members of our family needs our help.
If you work with PRH Sales Manager Heather Stough, then you know of her uncommon competency, her endless well of kindness, and her constant good humor. She apologizes to us when she doesn't catch that we gave her the wrong ISBN. No matter how obnoxious our request, Heather's response usually begins: "Not a problem." She even generously makes note of my puns (which is different than actually laughing at them). And Heather, even while facing her own cancer diagnosis and treatment, never forgets to ask about and care for my own daughter's health crisis. She's a gem. As you will read below, her cancer is entering a critical phase. I know we all have crises swirling around us, but I can't let this person's crisis slip by without helping in whatever small way.
Thanks for your time, and Heather, please accept the love and care of your bookstore community,
Call for Nominations: Nancy Olson Bookseller Award Increases Prize to $2500
Deadline to Nominate is end of day, Friday, December 1, 2023
Recipients will be announced on December 9, 2023
The late Nancy Olson was a legendary bookseller, a first-class wit, a remarkably gentle soul, and a tireless supporter of writers, especially new writers looking for a chance in the publishing world. Simply put, she was one of the best folks to ever work in the book business, and her Quail Ridge Books was—and is—a literary institution. An admirer of Nancy’s, in conjunction with SIBA, awards two $2500 gifts in her memory in December, a $500 increase over past years.
All SIBA booksellers—but not owners—are eligible for the awards. Writers, readers, and/or storeowners may submit a name and any helpful information via email to SIBA at lindamarie@sibaweb.com. Individual booksellers may also nominate themselves. While the emails should explain why a particular nominee deserves to be selected, there are no hard and fast rules or requirements or guidelines for the submissions—the hope is to simply honor Nancy and recognize special booksellers. The winners will be selected from these nominations by Sarah Goddin from Nancy’s Quail Ridge Books, SIBA’s Linda-Marie Barrett, Nancy’s husband Jim, and the donor of the gifts.
The SBP ballot, which is open to the public, is now live at the link above and already votes are coming in. SIBA received several hundred votes, representing customers from over 50 SIBA bookstores, within the first 12 hours of the announcement. And because
the last question on the ballot is "Say something nice about your local bookstore" we are also receiving some wonderful expressions of indie bookstore love:
"My local bookstore has the friendliest staff and the sweetest bookstore cats!" (E. Shaver Booksellers, Savannah, GA)
"When I go there, I feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie" (Greene Books, Athens, AL)
"New Dominion Bookshop makes Charlottesville, VA just a little bit brighter every day."
"Virginia Highlands Books (Atlanta, GA) is cozy and amazing. Exactly as a bookstore should be."
SIBA will share these comments as they come in, so be sure to follow us on Instagram to see
them.
One of the goals of the Southern Book Prize program is to encourage readers to engage with their local bookstore around the question of what are "the best Southern books of the year." SIBA has created some tools to help stores make the most of the Southern
Book Prize:
Embed the SBP ballot on your store website: Bookstores can add the ballot directly to their websites and direct customers there to vote. Email nicki@sibaweb.com for the embed code, which works just like adding a YouTube video to your
site.
Automatic SBP discount at Ingram: Ingram is offering an extra 2% on all the SBP finalists through December 11, 2023. The discount will be automatically applied, no code necessary.
What booksellers have to say about the finalists: All the SBP finalists have been bookseller favorite hand sells. Read what your fellow booksellers have to say about current and past finalist books on The Southern Bookseller Review.
Bookstores using the SIBA Holiday Catalog now have a collection of support and marketing materials available from RAMP. They include not only digital versions of the catalog and extensive title lists, but also graphics designed by Caldecott winner Doug Salati for use in your newsletters and in-store signage.
Profile by Candice Huber, SIBA Membership Coordinator
Books turn muggles into wizards!
Portkey Books in Safety Harbor, FL was recently named Safety Harbor Retail Business of the Year by their local Chamber of Commerce! Portkey is run by Crystel Calderon, and it is a micro store of only 180 square feet with a huge heart. Portkey began as a pop-up bookstore, and after a year of operating in that way, they opened a tiny storefront on Main Street. A fun fact about Crystel that's listed on Portkey's website: under her picture in her 8th grade yearbook, it says "Bookworm."
Before beginning her pop-up shop, Crystel worked for 6 years in the book industry for big box stores, small indie stores, and a public library. Owning a bookstore is her true passion, and she's excited to finally be living her dream (many of us can probably relate!). Portkey does community work with their local Kiwanis chapter, PFLAG, and the library foundation, and they have donated books to local children in foster care with Feeding the Fosters. They also organized a Pride Resource Fair in the middle of town to combat the hurtful things going on in Florida with a visible positive and welcoming community event. For a one-person shop, Crystel is able to do a lot!
About SIBA, Crystel said, "I really enjoyed my first time at March Madness this year! It was fun connecting with other local stores to connect, brainstorm, and just enjoy each other's company."
Congratulations to Portkey Books for being Safety Harbor's Retail Business of the Year! You can follow Portkey Books on Instagram @portkeybookstore or on Facebook. Visit their website at the link in our bio!
Posted By Nicki Leone,
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Updated: Wednesday, November 1, 2023
FOR RELEASE on Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Celebrating 25 Years of Great Taste in Southern Literature:
Announcing the 2024 Southern Book Prize Finalists
The Southern Book Prize celebrates its 25th anniversary with the announcement of the 2024 Southern Book Prize finalists, selected by Southern independent booksellers and representing bookseller favorites from 2023 that are Southern in nature—either about the South or by a Southern writer. Since its inception in 1999, the Southern Book Prize (formerly the SIBA Book Award) has stood as a testament to the love of indie booksellers for great storytelling.
All books nominated for the Southern Book Prize have been submitted by bookseller members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and have received enthusiastic reviews from Southern booksellers. The 18 finalists, six in each category, received the highest number of nominations and rave reviews, making these books a collection of the most beloved “handsells” of the year in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s/young adult literature.
The finalists make up the 2024 Southern Book Prize ballot. Voting is open now and will run through February 1, 2024. All readers who love Southern literature and Southern independent bookstores can vote for their favorites:
SIBA launched the Southern Book Prize public ballot in 2019 to encourage stores to engage their customers in the important question of what books deserve to be called “the best Southern book of the year.” Participating bookstores promote the ballot to their customers, and submitted ballots are entered into a raffle to win a set of the finalist titles. Winners in each category will be chosen by popular vote. Southern Book Prize winners will be announced on February 14, Valentine’s Day.
The Finalists:
Fiction
All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby [Flatiron Books] How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix [Berkley] Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward [Scribner] Starling House by Alix E. Harrow [Tor Books] Tom Lake by Ann Patchett [Harper] The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff [Riverhead Books]
Nonfiction
Above Ground by Clint Smith [Little, Brown and Company] The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl [Spiegel & Grau] Happily by Sabrina Orah Mark [Random House] Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge by Helen Ellis [Doubleday] This Isn't Going to End Well by Daniel Wallace [Algonquin Books] We Are Too Many by Hannah Pittard [Henry Holt adn Co.]
Children's & YA
Begin Again by Emma Lord [Wednesday Books] Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker [Tor Teen] Chaos Theory by Nic Stone [Crown Books for Young Readers] Okra Stew by Natalie Daise [Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)] When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn [Bloomsbury Children's Books] Where are the Aliens by Stacy McAnulty, Nicole Miles (Illus.) [Little Brown Books for Young Readers]
Blog Home
All Blogs
RSS
Booksellers are busy on the sales floor in December, but there are still some things SIBA wants you to know about the months ahead:
CALIBA Joins RAMP Holiday Catalog Consortium
Romance is in the holiday air with the December Read This Next! list. There is a definite "love and adventure" theme to these most-buzzed books of the month.
For the second year SIBA is partnering with New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy, (Mustique Island) to award The McCoy Grant for any unpublished southern women or nonbinary booksellers who harbor ambitions to be published writers.
Call for Nominations: Nancy Olson Bookseller Award Increases Prize to $2500
This week SIBA announced the finalists for the 2024 Southern Book Prize (SBP),
and opened voting for the 2024 Winners. 
