e-Newsletter January 21, 2016

In This Issue
Independent Bookstore Day 2016 Kickoff
BookBar Named Green Business of the Month
See You at Winter Institute!
10 Must-Like Facebook Pages for Book Lovers
R.I.P. David Bowie, An Avid Reader













Laura Ayrey Burnett
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) 2016
October 6-8, 2016
The Renaissance
Denver Hotel
Independent Bookstore Day 2016 Kickoff
300 participating stores reported average sales increases of 70%. 
Last year's inaugural national Independent Bookstore Day, which coincided with Free Comic Book Day on May 2, was a huge success. More than 300 of the 400 participating stores reported average sales increases of 70% and a significant uptick in foot traffic over a typical day, according to IBD program director Samantha Schoech.
 
IBD returns on April 30, 2016. 
This spring IBD returns on April 30. The slightly earlier date was prompted by concerns about competing with Mother's Day, which falls on May 8 this year.
 
More booksellers predicted to participate. 
Schoech predicts that even more booksellers will participate in 2016. Sponsorship has already increased. In addition to the American Booksellers Association and Penguin Random House, Ingram has joined in, and its support enabled IBD staff to visit the fall regionals to talk with booksellers one-on-one.
 
A boon for geographically isolated stores. 
"That was great because we got to take our message to the people," Schoech says. "We are figuring out ways for smaller, slightly more geographically isolated stores to participate. There's a lot of stores that fit that description that did really well in 2015. Where larger stores can draw huge authors for big events year round, smaller stores don't have that pull. In some ways Independent Bookstore Day can be that giant boon for them."

Catalog items include a Neil Gaiman coloring book, a Curious George plush doll, and a Bad Citizen stencil.  
To help boost sales for participating bookstores, IBD offered 15 exclusive items last year. For 2016, it has cut back to a dozen exclusives with lower price points, including a Curious George plush doll with an IBD logo on his shirt, a Neil Gaiman coloring book, a vinyl record to accompany Rad American Women A-Z, and IBD's signature item: a Bad Citizen stencil featuring a quote from Fran Lebowitz. At WI 11, IBD will announce its first "Author Ambassador," who will help with promotion this year.
Get creative!
Schoech says it is often the little things that make a difference on IBD and encourages booksellers to get creative. Last year Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company offered a behind-the-scenes tour, for example, while other stores tweeted out secret passwords that customers could mention in exchange for prizes.
 
"Join the Party"  
"Join the Party" is IBD's tagline, and Schoech encourages stores to embrace it. "Throwing a party is a huge part of the entire thing," she says. "We want this to become known as a day that celebrates books, bookstores, booksellers, and authors - and the party is a huge part of it."
 
Attend the IBD panel at Winter Institute.  
See Schoech moderate the panel "Independent Bookstore Day and the Power of Alliance"- featuring Country Bookshelf owner Ariana Paliobagis, Pegasus Books owner Amy Thomas, and Calvin Crosby, executive director of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association - on Monday, January 25, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Governor's Square 17.  

-Anisse Gross in Publishers Weekly

For more bookseller information, please click here.

 

BookBar Named Green Business of the Month
By Certifiably Green Denver, a department of the City & County of Denver

BookBar has spent the past few years making their business and building as efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly as possible. They will continue to do so when they put in their garden, in which they will be growing some of their own food for their menu, in the Spring.

This is a topic that doesn't often get a whole of attention in the book world. It's important to green up our stores!

Congratulations to owner Nicole Sullivan and the staff at BookBar!

[Note the "Book Ends" cut out letters on top of the bookshelf.]

 

MPIBA to Host Hospitality Suite at Winter Institute 






"Goodies" for
booksellers

Saturday, January 23
8:00am to 5:30pm

Eric Boss and Kathy Keel will be manning an MPIBA table during Winter Institute Registration on Saturday, January 23 ... be sure to stop by for "goodies" for MPIBA member booksellers.

Sunday, January 24
9:00am to 4:00pm

Monday, January 25
9:00am to 4:00pm

Tuesday, January 26 
9:00am to 4:00pm

We will also represent MPIBA and welcome Wi11 bookseller attendees in the Hospitality Suite, Plaza Court 8 meeting room, during the days and times listed above.

We look forward
to seeing you!

 

10 Must-Like Facebook Pages for Book Lovers 
Social media is a powerful tool for readers. With the right likes and follows, you can make your social media feeds a great source for book news and reading suggestions! Make better use of Facebook by giving a "like" to these bookish pages.

Click here for more information.

 

David Bowie - Avid Reader.
R.I.P. 
The world lost one of its greatest cultural figures ... legendary musician David Bowie passed away at age 69. He died after a battle with cancer. Bowie was known as a forward-thinking chameleon musician who was always changing, innovating, and creating new sounds and styles. Even in his late 60s, Bowie was producing new music. His last album, Blackstar, was released only days before his death.

Bowie was also, not surprisingly, an avid reader
and many of his albums were influenced by books. When Vanity Fair asked him "What is your idea of perfect happiness?" he responded simply "reading."

In 2013, Bowie posted his 100 favorite books on his public Facebook page. The list is a characteristically eclectic list featuring everyone from Junot Diaz and George Orwell to Angela Carter and Muriel Spark.

RIP Bowie. The world was a better place for having you in it.

-Electric Literature.com