SCBA Offers Educational Programming & Authors Feast

The Southern California Booksellers Association (SCBA) will be holding its Fall Seminars on Friday, November 5, at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach and its Authors Feast on Saturday, November 6, at the Aquarium of the Pacific, also in Long Beach.

"We're expecting over 50 authors and over 200 booksellers, and we're sold out for the Authors Feast," said SCBA Executive Director Jennifer Bigelow. "It's been a great year for SCBA and the icing on the cake will be a terrific Authors Feast. I'm also very excited about the four book award winners. They truly represent what's great about Southern California."

One of the highlights of the educational programming on Friday will be "The 2% Solution," a seminar presented by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, from 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. The seminar, offered this past spring at BookExpo America to rave reviews, looks at the drivers of bookstore profitability and examines how they can be reworked to move a business to greater profitability. Specific suggestions and ideas about how a bookseller can work on sales, gross margin, compensation, and occupancy expenses will be provided. The 2003 ABACUS study of independent bookshop operations showed that the average profitability of all 197 participants was a negative 1.67 percent. While moving from negative profitability to a positive two percent is a long journey, this seminar will help us to start drawing the road map. ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will present this program.

Also on Friday, from 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., SCBA educational programming includes "Building Independent Business Alliances in Your Community" and "Business to Business Advantage With Penguin Group," a program is designed to help booksellers target and service local corporations, schools, and businesses.

The SCBA Authors Luncheon will be held from 11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. with guest authors Molly Hewitt (Men Are Dogs: In the Best Possible Sense!, Sourcebooks Hysteria) and Randall Wallace (Love and Honor, S&S).

On Saturday, from 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., SCBA will host a reception with appetizers and cocktails in the Aquarium of the Pacific, where attendees can visit the Southern California and Baja Exhibits. Following the reception, at 8:45 p.m., is the Authors Feast & Book Awards. Over 50 authors are expected to attend this year's event including M. Allen Cunningham (The Green Age of Asher Witherow, Unbridled Books); Dean Koontz (Life is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living, Yorkville); Marcia Wallace (Don't Look Back, We're Not Going That Way, Off the Wall Publications); and Ron McLarty (Memory of Running, Viking).

For further information about the SCBA Seminars and Authors Feast and a list of the finalists for the 2004 SCBA Book Awards, go to www.scbabooks.org/home.html. --Karen Schechner