NEBA Puts on a Show That Delights

By Tova Beiser of Brown University Bookstore in Providence, Rhode Island

There is nothing quite like a regional trade show to renew the spirit of a bookseller and I, for one, look forward to the New England Booksellers Association show all year long. This show is intimate and lively, and a great mix of booksellers attend. This year, the show took place at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence -- which, for me, meant (on the up side) no commuting and (on the down side) no hotel room at the Westin, with fluffy duvets, hordes of pillows, spacious closets, and double shower heads.

But a more important consideration (yes, even more important than the hotel) was the educational sessions. The weekend kicked off with ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz's presentations of "It's in the Payroll" and "Increasing Margin." These sessions were filled with solid, money-saving tips on how to control expenses and to increase margin. They were informative and very helpful, but don't just take my word for it. Katherine Osborne of Books Etc., in Portland, Maine, characterized the sessions as, "very useful, [with] lots of common sense, but also some key information that is easily overlooked." And Frank Kramer of Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said, "It was a great presentation -- valuable for all size stores, and vital for managers and owners."

As a quick aside, these two valuable sessions and over a dozen more, including "Budgeting & Monitoring," "Increasing Sales," "E-Mail Newsletters," "Identifying Competition," and "Renegotiating a Lease" will be offered at ABA 's first annual Winter Education Institute, which is being offered free of charge to all ABA member bookstores. The institute will be held on Thursday, January 26, and Friday, January 27, 2006, in Long Beach, California.

All the educational sessions that I attended over the weekend were informative, well attended, and, generally, very entertaining. At "Buying and Merchandising Bargain Books," David Kitzmiller of Kitzmiller Sales and Marketing Company suggested stickering bargain books in the upper left-hand corner, so that they can be easily identified as bargain books even if they are displayed fanned on a shelf or spine up on a table. All the panelists agreed that ordering in low quantities (three to five copies), preferably on lipped tables, situated prominently, and merchandised enthusiastically to keep the tables fresh, increased add-on sales.

There was lots of great advice at the "E-mail Newsletters" session. The suggestions included: keep newsletters short, and not too frequent; make sure that your newsletter has a personality; avoid using the word "newsletter" in the subject line; offer special promotions periodically to newsletter subscribers; solicit feedback from your customers by asking a multiple-choice question in your newsletter; and track your efforts and measure the results. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to go into depth about the services offered by ABA's newsletter provider, Constant Contact, but information and a free trial subscription is available on the ABA website.

The "Stone Soup: The Ingredients of Great Children's Bookselling " seminar, sponsored by NECBA [New England Children's Bookselling Advisory Council], was also well attended, interesting, entertaining, and chock-full of practical information for handselling children's books to a variety of customers. Alison Morris of Wellesley Booksmith, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, reminded us to be enthusiastic and honest, and to ask questions to solicit information (as well as to stall for time while you scan the shelves trying to come up with appropriate titles).

Carol Chittenden of Eight Cousins, Falmouth, Massachusetts, reviewed stages of pattern recognition and language development in growing children. The panel also provided useful handouts, including "Working with Customers," "Resources for Staff," and book recommendations for all ages. More information about NECBA's recommended titles can be found on NEBA's website.

"The Buyer/Sales Rep Relationship" highlighted such key points as keeping communication open (for instance, by giving feedback to reps on galleys read); being considerate (keeping appointments; disseminating appropriate publicity information by fax or e-mail); doing your homework (the rep should really know their line and the buyer should be familiar with a catalog if it has been requested), to mention a just few.

The session was particularly interesting because it opened up into a great give-and-take discussion with lots of tips on how to disseminate information about titles from the publisher to the frontline booksellers. Several stores make catalogues accessible to all booksellers so that they can comment on what appeals to them and be aware of what new titles are coming in. A calendar or clipboard in the receiving or merchandising area helps better coordinate the store's buying and merchandising efforts. You may have had great plans for displays when you ordered them in June, but, by the time they arrive in November, you might need a reminder.

However, picking the brains of other booksellers and reps was not all I did this weekend. I also trolled the show floor looking for interesting, new (to us) vendors and products. Twin Lights Publishers located in Rockport, Massachusetts, offers lovely and inexpensive photography books of lots of New England locations. Literary Luminaries, a fun company that features the images of great writers on tote bags, umbrellas, boxed notes, and mugs has added playing cards, magnets, and bookmarks to their mix. And I was happy to see that BookStream, a new wholesaler based in Poughkeepsie, New York, will be opening in November and will be offering a 42 percent discount on all books, no minimums of dollar or quantity, and free freight on orders of $150 or more in shipped value.

While we didn't place too many orders at this show, I did learn more about many of the marvelous books that are coming our way. Some of the titles (aside from all of the author breakfast and dinner titles) that sparked my interest, either through discussions with booksellers or reps were: The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch (Bloomsbury), Girls of Tender Age by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith (Free Press), The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (Morrow), Love and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman (Doubleday), Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (Putnam), Chasing America by Dennis Watlington (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's), and Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star by Tab Hunter with Eddie Muller (Algonquin). These are just the tip of the iceberg.

The author dinners and breakfasts are always good and often surprising. They are a great opportunity for booksellers to get better acquainted with authors, and, thus, to become a better advocate for their books. "The Moveable Feast" this year was fantastic! It was truly one of the highlights of the show (and I don't just say that because one of my co-workers, Susan Schlesinger, was the moderator).

Booksellers at the dinner had the opportunity to meet and to talk with at least half a dozen of the authors present. The author lineup itself was delightful and synergistic as well as being eclectic. The trade show breakfasts were also stimulating. There was something for everyone, and each of the authors had an interesting story to tell.

Although the weather was less than cooperative, Providence is home to a plethora of superb restaurants, many of which are within walking distance from the Westin (even in the rain). And even Hurricane Ophelia's leftovers on Saturday night could not completely extinguish the flames of WaterFire, the award-winning sculpture by Barnaby Evans, in which 97 lighted braziers appear to float in a line down the middle of the Providence, Moshassuck, and Woonasquatucket Rivers. To top it all off I won a display of Tokyopop Manga!

Ooooh, I can already hardly wait for next year!

Related NEBA Trade Show News

NEBA Installs New Board Officers

A new NEBA Board of Officers for 2005 - 2007 was installed at annual meeting on Saturday. The new officers are:

• President: Allan Schmid of Books, Etc. in Portland, Maine
• Vice President: Penny McConnel of Norwich Bookstore in Norwich,Vermont
• Treasurer: Mitch Gaslin of Food for Thought in Amherst, Massaschusetts
• Clerk: Kate Sullivan, Random House Children's Books Sales Representative
• Past President: Fran Keilty of Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Depot, Connecticut

ABAs awarded scholarships to its inaugural Winter Education Institute to two booksellers who dropped off a business card at the ABA booth at the NEBA show: Tom Holbrook of RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Karen Baker of The Country Bookseller in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The scholarship includes airfare and hotel accommodations to attend the Institute, which will be held on Thursday, January 26, and Friday, January 27, 2006, in Long Beach, California.