e-Newsletter February 13, 2015

In This Issue




Laura Ayrey
Executive Director
MPIBA

435.649.6079 office

435.649.6105 fax  

 


Association Information
Send publisher catalogs, author information,  
ARCs, and publicity  
to Laura:

3278 Big Spruce Way  
Park City, UT 84098

 

  

 

 




Kathy Keel
Project Manager
MPIBA
970.484.3939
970.484.0037 fax
800.752.0249 toll-free


Administration/Projects
Send project-related
questions (Fall Discovery Show, Winter Catalog, Reading the West Book Awards, Website)
plus bills, invoices,
and payments to:


MPIBA Administration
c/o Kathy Keel
208 E. Lincoln Avenue

Fort Collins, CO 80524

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Mark Your Calendar!


Fall Discovery Show (Trade Show) 2015
October 8-10, 2015
The Renaissance
Denver Hotel








2,000+ Neil Gaiman Fans Converge on
Old Firehouse Books

Due to Waiting Fans, the Neil Gaiman Book Signing Stretches to 3am 

  

Neil Gaiman's Fort Collins fans might still be dragging this week.

 

An estimated 2,000 people showed up to the celebrated author's book signing at Old Firehouse Books Friday (February 6, 2015), and stayed until the early morning as signings stretched into 3 a.m. the next day.

 

"We were expecting about 1,000 to 1,500 at most so this really was fantastic," Old Firehouse's events manager Kelsey Myers said Monday.

The line of fans consistently wrapped around the Old Town book store to see Gaiman, the fantasy writer known for his comic book series "The Sandman" and novels THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, CORALINE, and STARDUST.

 

Neil Gaiman on Twitter, February 7, 2015: "It's 3:12 am and I'm leaving @OFirehouseBooks. I started signing there at 3:50 pm. My everything hurts, but the people were marvellous."

 

The signing was Old Firehouses's prize for winning a sales contest late last year that promoted Gaiman's book, THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE. It was also part of promotions for his newest work, TRIGGER WARNING.  

 

"Neil Gaiman's dedication to his fans is unparalleled, and we were in awe of the tenacity and generosity of our customers, staff, and volunteers," a statement from Old Firehouse Books read. "This week our staff is sending signed books to readers as far away as Canada, England and Australia."  

"Together we are proving that books and bookstores still matter, especially in Fort Collins, Colorado."

 

-Fort Collins Coloradoan, February 10, 2015
 

MPIBA Bookstores
in the News

MPIBA Board President Anne Holman
Becomes Full Partner at The King's English 

  

Congratulations to Anne Holman, who has become a full partner in the King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, after acquiring stock in the shop from former partner Barbara Hoagland. She has worked at the store for 15 years, first as bookseller, then as events coordinator, and, for the past eight years, as store manager.

 

The King's English said about Holman: "Putting the partnership on paper is really only a formality; over those years she's taken enthusiastic ownership of every role she's played at TKE. She's demonstrated her competence in all aspects of this crazy, complex business of bookselling and has been Betsy Burton's de facto partner in decision-making, both the tough and the creative ones,  

 

bringing her vast knowledge of bookselling and publishing (not to mention her outsized sense of humor)    

 

to bear on not only our store but our regional booksellers association, Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. Anne's just been elected president of this group; her investment in TKE and in the business of books is extraordinary."

 

-Shelf Awareness, February 5, 2015


BookBar Named One of Denver's Best Bars
by 5280 Magazine    

  

BookBar was named one of Denver's best bars in 5280 Magazine, Denver's most prestigious magazine:

 

"Nineteenth century Romantic poet John Keats gave us more than just a few sexed-up odes; he also provided the blueprint for the perfect modern bar. "Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know," he wrote in 1819.  

 

Two hundred years later, we found Keats' nirvana: BookBar on Berkeley's Tennyson Street. This light-filled bookshop with its own bar fulfills all of Keats' requirements: books (nearly 5,000 volumes), French wine (plus bottles from Spain, California, and the Northwest and an almost-all-Colorado beer list), fruit (try the Midsummer Night's Fruit Plate), fine weather (given), and a little music (soft indie tunes or, during story time on Thursday afternoons, you'll be serenaded by the characters).  

 

Throw in tea sandwiches with literary names like the Salinger (chicken salad) and the Melville (tuna, naturally),  

 

and you've got yourself a swoon-worthy
21st-century sipping spot."
   


Happy 25th Birthday to Back of Beyond    

  

Congratulations to Back of Beyond Books, in Moab, Utah, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month. Back of Beyond Books was conceived in 1989 during the memorial service for Edward Abbey, an author and essayist with strong ties to the Southwest and environmentalism.

The store's name refers to Abbey's most famous fiction title, THE MONKEY WRENCH GANG, in which protagonist Seldom Seen Smith names his company and hideout "Back of Beyond." The bookstore specializes in books about western history, Native Americans, environmental literature and local guides, including rare editions. Back of Beyond combined with Arches Book Company in 2011, expanding its inventory with mainstream bestsellers and other genres.

Please click here to read the full article. 

 

-Shelf Awareness, February 11, 2015

 

Winter Institute 10 Celebrates Anniversary
and Indie Bookstores

Colorado Booksellers Enjoy ABA's
Wi10 in Asheville, North Carolina 

From left: Nicole Sullivan, BookBar in Denver; Bobbi Smith, Between the Covers in Telluride; Cathy Langer, Tattered Cover in Denver; Kappy Kling, HearthFire Books & Treats in Evergreen; Daiva Chesonis, Between the Covers in Telluride; Nicole Magistro, The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards.
Wi10 highlighted the "unique
characteristics that have helped fuel
the resurgence of indie bookstores ..." 
 

The 10th anniversary celebration of the Winter Institute (Wi10), held this week in Asheville, North Carolina, brought more than 500 ABA member booksellers, 100-plus authors, and close to 20 international guests from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and France to the stunning setting of the historic Grove Park Inn.

  

Wi10 featured three days of keynote addresses and featured speakers, education sessions, rep picks presentations, publisher/bookseller focus groups, and breakout sessions, and the event received the generous support of lead sponsor Ingram Content Group and a record-breaking 63 publisher sponsors.

  

ABA President Steve Bercu of Austin, Texas' BookPeople welcomed booksellers to the opening plenary on Monday, February 9, in the Grand Ballroom at the Grove Park Inn ahead of speaker Steven Johnson's talk.

  

"When we began planning for this year's Institute, we wanted it to be memorable and fun, and we wanted it to highlight the unique characteristics that have helped fuel the resurgence of indie bookstores - especially the power of localism and indie businesses," said Bercu. "It's hard to imagine a better example of what Indies First is all about than our host city, Asheville, home of the great Main Street businesses we visited yesterday on the Indie Crawl."

  

Acknowledging that 2014 proved to be a positive year for many booksellers, Bercu added,  

  

"After our many years of hard work, it's become clear customers are realizing the importance of shopping at locally owned stores."

  

Please click here to read the full article. 

  

-Bookselling This Week, February 11, 2015

 

Thank You, James Patterson!
Here's What We Accomplished
with Your Grant Money (Part 2)
Off the
Beaten Path
Bookstore

Steamboat
Springs,
Colorado

We were thrilled to receive a James Patterson grant and are excited about what it's allowed us to do.  

 

During last winter we carefully watched how customers walked our floor space, browsed our books and gifts, visited our cafe. The result was a near complete redesign of our main floor. In the early summer we implemented that design to rave reviews from our customers. A portion of the James Patterson grant went to cover this redesign.

 

The rest of the grant is going to defray the cost of replacing our entrance door and windows and only display window. These window and door units are 30+ years old, plagued with holes, rotting structural timber, and are energy and light nightmares. Our new door and window units have just arrived at our installer, and we are counting the days 'til early April when we will finally be able to keep the outside out and the inside in!


"Rearranging a Bookstore" 
at Off the Beaten Path 

 

At the start of 2014 when things in the retail world were starting to look better, we started a discussion with all the staff including our current baristas, about how we could make the store better. It was a lengthy process with many meetings -- some with fun paper diagrams -- and many with wine. In May of 2014 we came up with a whole new floor plan. We moved almost all the bookcases, tables, and the front desk.

 

Everyone who came into the store right after the move commented on how open we had made it. We didn't really lose any bookshelf space but it did make the space more inviting. Through it did bring on new challenges -- we were only able to use some old parts and pieces to make the new front desk and it was never quite right. But that, too, we were able to overcome.

 

Christmas of 2014 has come and gone; now it is time to analyze if what we did was the right thing. Just because all the customers liked the new set-up doesn't mean that it was right for the books.  

 

With our book software, Anthology, I was able to compare every section in the store within the same time period.  

 

I did June 1 2013 through December 31, 2013 and June 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014. This had some very surprising results. I have also used this information to evaluate the books in each section. There are a few sections that will have to be relocated again due to poor sales.

 

But overall, the rearrangement of Off the Beaten Path was a good thing.

 

-Chris Erickson, Off the Beaten Path Bookstore and MPIBA Advisory Council member 

 

It's Binc Scholarship Time



Binc has provided over $1.5 million in higher education scholarships to booksellers and their dependents.

For over a decade, the Binc Foundation has focused on making a positive impact in the lives of bookstore employees by offering higher education scholarships based on financial need, academic performance and community involvement. Scholarships have been awarded to bookstore employees and their dependents for full-time or part-time study at any accredited institution in the United States.

 

Over $1.5 million has been awarded to help defray the costs of higher education for more than 550 individuals. These booksellers and their family members received scholarship awards to help them achieve dreams of becoming educators, writers, engineers, doctors and more.

 

Higher Education Scholarships

The Binc Foundation is accepting applications from January 12, 2015 until February 27, 2015 for the 2015 Binc Foundation Scholarship Program.

 

The program will offer up to 53 higher education awards totaling $200,000 to eligible current bookstore employees/owners and their dependents as well as eligible former Borders Group employees and their dependents. As part of the scholarship program, awards may be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies and room and board.

 

Awards will be given as follows:

-Fifty awards of $3,500 each

-Two awards of $10,000 each to the top two candidates overall

-One Karl Pohrt Tribute Award of $5,000 will be awarded to a candidate who has overcome learning adversity or is a non-traditional student.

 

Applicants to the Binc Foundation Scholarship Program must be:

Current employees and/or owners of retail bookstores in the U.S., or their dependents*, who have a minimum of one year of continuous employment at a bookstore (as of February 27, 2015 - the last day applications are accepted). The bookstore must have a bricks and mortar presence in the U.S. and have a substantial portion of the store's revenue coming from the sale of books. Employees must be employed directly by the bookstore at the time employment is verified.

 

*Dependents include children aged 25 and under, spouses and qualified same-sex partners.

 

In addition to the requirements listed above, all applicants must meet the following criteria:

-Be high school seniors, graduates, current postsecondary undergraduates or graduate level students.

-Plan to enroll in full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate study at an accredited two or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school for at least half of the 2015-2016 academic year.

 

Scholarship Management Services (SMS) will again conduct the 2015 scholarship program. The evaluation process will utilize selection criteria including: financial need, prior academic achievement and leadership capabilities (including participation in school and community activities) work experience and a statement of career and educational goals and objectives, and unusual personal or family circumstances.

 

Eligible students interested in applying are encouraged to visit https://www.scholarsapply.org/binc for full details.

 

Professional Development Scholarships

The Foundation believes that the future of healthy bookstores lies in the continuing education of the owners and employees. To encourage further business development and growth, the Foundation offers scholarships for the following professional events.

 

Please visit http://www.bincfoundation.org/request-assistance/scholarship/ for full details on the programs below.

 

ABA Winter Institute

Scholarships to help cover room, meals and travel expenses are provided by the Foundation.

 

ABA Children's Institute

Selected in partnership with the American Booksellers Association, the Binc Foundation will offer scholarships to cover room, meals and travel expenses to Children's Institute. The scholarship winners are selected by the ABA and their names provided to Binc. The current ABA rules and regulations apply for these selections.

 

Book Expo America

In conjunction with the American Booksellers Association, the Binc Foundation will offer scholarships to help cover room, meals and travel expenses to BEA. Rules and regulations for these selections will be announced in March.