MBA Offers an Education-Packed Trade Show

The 2006 Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA) Fall Trade Show will be held from Thursday, September 28, through Saturday, September 30, at St. Paul, Minnesota's RiverCenter. Among the many programming highlights are MBA's "Authors Tea: A Moveable Feast" and Thursday's Booksellers School Education Day, which includes seven sessions presented by the American Booksellers Association: Demonstrations of Constant Contact, Above the Treeline, and BookSense.com, as well as "Shop Local: Forming Business Alliances in Your Community," "Budgeting & Monitoring," "Creating Killer Events," and "Getting the Most Out of Your Website."

Susan Walker, MBA executive director, said, "We have reworked our schedule of events significantly. We've added a new bookseller-publisher 'Let's Talk' Breakfast, which is sponsored by participating publishers Penguin USA, PGW, Random House, S&S, Tristan Publishing, and a couple of others to come. Booksellers and publishers will have a chance to discuss pre-announced topics chosen by the publishers with input from booksellers. 

"We've moved publisher Pick of the Lists Presentations away from the education day and onto the mornings of our two exhibit days, so that booksellers can go to these presentations right before they go to the Exhibit  -- and they can get lots of fresh ideas for books to look for and order! We also are providing this morning time for exhibitors and booksellers to schedule one-on-one meetings. Overall, we have created more ways for booksellers and publishers/exhibitors to interact and do business together productively, so we urge all of them to take full advantage of these opportunities."

In addition to educational sessions on Thursday, at its booth on the trade show floor, ABA will provide demonstrations of Above The Treeline, Constant Contact, and BookSense.com. Booksellers will also have the opportunity to meet with ABA staff and to learn about the association's other products and services. Information will be available about the Winter Institute, to be held in Portland, Oregon, on February 1 - 2, 2007, the Book Sense marketing program, and much more.

ABA member booksellers who stop by the booth and drop off a business card will be eligible to win prizes. In a random drawing, ABA will award a color inkjet printer. The printer winner will then be entered into a grand prize drawing with the eight printer winners from the other fall trade shows. The grand prize winner will be awarded airfare to, and up to three-night hotel stay at, the association's 2007 Winter Institute.

ABA members will also have a chance to win up to a four-night stay at Hotel ABA in Brooklyn for BookExpo America 2007 in New York City, compliments of BEA. Booksellers can enter the drawing for the BEA prize at the ABA booth.

ABA is asking all member booksellers at this year's shows to participate in the formulation of the association's next Five-Year Strategic Plan by filling out a strategic planning survey. Surveys will be available in the ABA booth.

MBA's Thursday programming includes a First-Timers Orientation and education sessions and panels grouped in four tracks that will run concurrently to provide a range of sessions appropriate for owners and managers, buyers, and/or bookstore staff. Tracks topics are Technology and the Bricks & Clicks Bookstore, Smart Bookstore Financial and Inventory Management, Marketing Your Store to Your Community and to Publishers, and Handselling Training and Tips for Frontline Booksellers.

ABA programming, featured in three of the tracks, includes:

• Budgeting & Monitoring, 11:00 a.m. - 1:45 p.m.
  Presented by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz
  Bookshops, like other businesses, are best operated within a system of financial controls that allow the owner/manager to predict performance and then measure outcomes against those predictions. Most importantly, close control over cash flow is essential to the successful operation of any business.
  
  Through the use of a series of Excel worksheets (available to ABA members on BookWeb.org), booksellers will be shown how to integrate such a system into their store operations. This program focuses on the issues of small- and medium-sized stores, and special attention will be given to those factors that are the drivers of profitability and success.
  
  
• Creating Killer Events, 12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
  Moderated by ABA COO Oren Teicher and featuring ABA Board member Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis and Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books & Cafe in Witchita, Kansas
  As the number and variety of outlets selling books increases, independent booksellers are finding new and innovative ways to distinguish themselves from the competition. Among the most effective methods of setting a store apart is to offer a schedule of compelling events. Participants will learn from experienced booksellers what is required to create a killer event. An event prep checklist will also be featured.
  
  
• Shop Local: Forming Business Alliances in Your Community, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
  Moderated by ABA COO Oren Teicher and featuring panelists Stacy Mitchell, Senior Researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, David Unowsky of Magers & Quinn Booksellers in Minneapolis, and Chris Livingston of The Book Shelf in Winona, Minnesota
  Not only do locally owned businesses have far greater economic impact on their communities than do national chains, there is growing evidence that by working with other independently owned businesses in your town or city, stores can become more profitable. Panelists will discuss their own experiences in creating successful independent business alliances, as well as how other booksellers can play an important role in the creation of new alliances and in convincing more consumers to shop locally.
  
  
• Getting the Most Out of Your Website, 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
  Presented by Len Vlahos, Director of BookSense.com and of ABA's Education Program
  A website is a powerful marketing tool, but it's only as useful as the effort a bookstore puts into it. In this session, booksellers will learn the basics of developing a website as a marketing tool, as well as 10 key tips to increase traffic and sales.
  
  
• BookSense.com Demo, 2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
  Presented by Len Vlahos, Director of BookSense.com and of ABA's Education Program
  BookSense.com is ABA's turnkey, e-commerce enabled website solution for independent booksellers. The product features a full database, a sophisticated search engine, a state-of-the-art shopping cart, and robust content management tools. At this session, the program's director will present a demonstration of the product and will answer questions from the audience.
  
  
• Constant Contact Demo, 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
  Presented by Len Vlahos, Director of BookSense.com and of ABA's Education Program
  Booksellers are increasingly using technologies such as websites, blogs, and e-mail to communicate with their customers, to further their marketing goals, and to drive traffic to their stores. This session will demonstrate Constant Contact, an ABA affinity program that facilitates the creation, mailing, and tracking of e-mail marketing campaigns. Attendees will learn what the service offers, how to create an e-newsletter, how to manage subscriber lists, and how to check status reports, including how to find out how many people opened an e-mail, and more.
  
  
• Above The Treeline: An Introduction, 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
  Presented by the John Rubin, Creator/Owner of Above The Treeline
  Above the Treeline is an online software product designed to help bookstores improve finances by optimizing inventory selection. This introductory session will feature a demonstration of the product and information about the special discount available to ABA bookseller subscribers. This session is designed for booksellers who are not current Above The Treeline users.

After Thursday's educational programming, MBA will hold the second annual Midwest Booksellers' Choice Awards Reception. Speakers include Louise Erdrich (The Painted Drum, HarperCollins); David Laskin (The Children's Blizzard, HarperCollins); Lois Ehlert, (Leaf Man, Harcourt); and Kate DiCamillo (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulan, Candlewick).

Friday's events will include the "Let's Talk" Breakfast, a Pick of the Lists program, and MBA's General Membership Meeting. In the evening, MBA will hold its Cocktail Reception and Book & Author Dinner. The dinner will feature Tom Drury (The Driftless Area, Atlantic Monthly Press); Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants, Algonquin); Jane Hamilton (When Madeline Was Young, Doubleday/Random House); Ward Just (Forgetfulness, Houghton Mifflin); and Michael Perry (Truck: A Love Story, HarperCollins). The Cocktail Party will feature guest speaker Jerry Kramer (Instant Replay, Doubleday).

On Saturday morning, the Children's Book & Author Breakfast will include authors Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, Hyperion/Miramax); Ann M. Martin (On Christmas Eve, Scholastic); Judy Schachner (Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble, Dutton/Penguin); and David Wiesner (Flotsam, Clarion/Houghton Mifflin).

The "Authors Tea: A Moveable Feast," featuring an array of children's and adult authors, will be held on Saturday afternoon. Keynote speakers will be author Tom Hegg and illustrator Warren Hanson, whose A Cup of Christmas Tea (Waldman House Press/Tristan Publishing) is marking its 25th anniversary.

The exhibit hall will be open will be open on Friday, September 29, from 1:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., and again on Saturday, September 30, from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Registration materials, including ticket information and a full schedule of events with times and locations, as well as full lists of participating authors, is available on the MBA website, www.midwestbooksellers.org. Questions about MBA programming should be addressed to [email protected]. Questions and requests for information about ABA's participation at MBA's trade show may be directed to ABA's Kristen Gilligan, associate director of programming and constituent groups liaison, at [email protected]. --Karen Schechner