Midwest & Northern California Trade Shows on Tap for Early October

Over the first weekend in October, booksellers belonging to the Midwest Booksellers Association and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association will be gathering at their respective trade shows to preview publishers' latest offerings, meet authors, take part in regional- and American Bookseller Association-sponsored educational programming, and more.

At each show, ABA will have a booth where booksellers will be able to talk to staff and Board members about any issues of concern; learn about the many new features of the redesigned trade website, BookWeb.org; and enter drawings for chances to win fabulous prizes, compliments of BookExpo America and ABA. Prizes include hotel accommodations at the 2008 Winter Institute, accommodations at Hotel ABA at BookExpo America 2008 in Los Angeles, an iPod, and a color inkjet printer.

Booksellers who are not currently members of ABA are invited to join staff and representatives of the ABA Board at a special lunch at each show. These will provide an opportunity to mingle, say hello, and get a taste of what the association has to offer. The lunch will be an informal gathering, with no planned agenda.

Here is a preview of ABA's educational offerings, as well as a few additional highlights from the extensive MBA and NCIBA schedules:

The Midwest Booksellers Association
Friday, October 5, through Sunday, October 7, 2007
Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Among the show's highlights are the Midwest Booksellers' Choice Awards, the Book & Author Dinner, the "Moveable Feast" with 32 authors, and, on Friday and Sunday, Booksellers School Education Programming, which includes three sessions presented by ABA: "Staff Development -- An Overview," "Building and Rewarding Customer Loyalty," and "Participating in the Digital Revolution."

The 2007 trade show features "a refocused schedule of events with a strong emphasis on concentrated bookseller/exhibitor interaction and on high quality bookseller education," said MBA Executive Director Susan Walker. "Our 'Let's Talk' Breakfast for booksellers and vendors was such a success last year that we are repeating this event with an expanded list of vendor sponsors.  And we've expanded the number of participating publishers, distributors, and reps offering Pick of the Lists presentations."

Walker noted that Bookseller Education Programming will include new sessions on "bookstore tourism" with expert Larry Portzline; a discussion of free expression issues with American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression President Chris Finan; panels on working effectively with phone reps, book clubs, and reading groups; Booklog and Anthology user group sessions; and more.

ABA will be represented at the show by ABA Board member Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis, ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz; and ABA Director of Education and Director of BookSense.com Len Vlahos.

ABA programming, which will take place on Friday and Sunday, includes:

• "Staff Development: An Overview," presented by Domnitz, on Friday, October 5, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. Topics will include hiring people who will add strength to the store, recognizing and building upon an employee's unique abilities, and creating a work environment that motivates staff.

• "Building and Rewarding Customer Loyalty," presented by Vlahos, on Friday, October 5, from 4:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. This session will explore what customers really want, and how booksellers can foster loyalty by responding to consumer needs. An in-depth discussion of the pros and cons of implementing and marketing a customer loyalty program will be featured.

• "Participating in the Digital Revolution," presented by Vlahos on Sunday, October 7, from 9:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Booksellers will explore how phenomena such as digitization of content, print-on-demand, social networking, and open source computing are affecting their businesses today, as well as scenarios for the future. This session will provide information on how booksellers can create MySpace pages and blogs.

MBA members who are not currently members of ABA are invited to join staff and Board member Collette Morgan for lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Sunday. Booksellers who would like to attend are asked to e-mail ABA's Membership Marketing Coordinator Sarah Rettger at [email protected].

For a full look at MBA's program, including author events, and to register, go to www.midwestbooksellers.org/. --Karen Schechner

Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
Friday, October 5, through Sunday, October 7
Oakland Convention Center and Oakland City Center, Marriott

Among the many highlights of the 2007 NCIBA trade show are the Saturday Author Reception, the Booksellers Olympics, and Friday's Education Day, including the ABA session "Improve Efficiency to Achieve Success."

ABA Board member Michael Tucker of Books Inc., in San Francisco, ABA COO Oren Teicher, and Dan Cullen, ABA Information director and editor-in-chief of the Book Sense Picks, will be at the show.

Cullen will present the ABA session "Improve Efficiency to Achieve Success," from 10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. on Friday. Intended for owners and senior staff of bookstores of all sizes, this seminar will show booksellers attendees how to use their time more effectively, make their staff more productive, and implement efficiencies throughout the store.

Key changes at this year's show include replacing the Moveable Feast with the Author Reception and the Booksellers Olympics, said NCIBA Executive Director Hut Landon. Saturday's Author Reception, which Landon noted was styled after the popular Winter Institute event last year in Portland, features 20 authors who will be signing copies of their books or ARCs and visiting with booksellers.

At Sunday's Bookseller Olympics, booksellers are invited to "compete" in Olympic events such as a Jeopardy-styled book quiz, assembling book dumps, moving books between shelves, and a receiving test. There are cash prizes for the winners.

"We are aware of the fact that shrinking attendance is an issue for many regional trade shows, so we are making a real effort this year to ask booksellers to bring frontline booksellers to the show," Landon said. "The Booksellers Olympics and Author Reception, hopefully, will appeal to some of those frontline staff."

NCIBA members who are not currently members of ABA are invited to join staff and Board member Michael Tucker for lunch on Saturday from noon to 1:00 p.m. Booksellers who would like to attend are asked to e-mail ABA's Membership Marketing Coordinator Sarah Rettger at [email protected].

For more information, contact NCIBA at (415) 561-7686 or via e-mail at [email protected]. --David Grogan