Second Shop Talk Planned for Central New York State

Building on the success of last May's Shop Talk, the first held in central New York State, Colgate Bookstore and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) have announced that they will be holding a Shop Talk at Colgate Bookstore in Hamilton, New York, on August 10, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. "At the end of the last Shop Talk, we asked [the attendees] if they would like more Shop Talks, and an overwhelming number of people said yes," said Rob Stahl, general book manager at Colgate Bookstore.

The first Shop Talk -- which was held on May 18 in East Syracuse -- was meant as a way to bring together a broad-based group of independent booksellers from the central New York region, many of whom have a tough time attending other regional meetings due to travel distances. It was sponsored by the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA) and NAIBA and had a turnout of 40 booksellers.

The focus of the second Shop Talk will be publicity and promotion, Stahl said, and the event will feature a presentation by Debra Finkelstein, associate director of events, for Random House, Inc.

"One of the subjects that generated a lot of interest at [the first] Shop Talk was promotion and how to get authors and publishers to pay attention to your store," Stahl said.

A complimentary lunch will be provided, and parking will be available at both Colgate Bookstore and the Colgate Inn. For more information and to RSVP, booksellers should contact Stahl at (135) 228-7481, or via e-mail, at [email protected].