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

See You at BEA!

In the meantime, get a jump on your

2016 Winter Catalog reservation . . .

Winter Catalog 2015

Laura Ayrey Burnett

MPIBA Executive Director

Laura is available to meet with publishers about space reservations in MPIBA's beautiful, successful Winter Catalog. The catalog art featured last year, Charlesbridge Publishing's A TOWER OF GIRAFFES, was a huge hit with booksellers and consumers alike.

Laura is also available to meet with publishers to discuss promotional opportunities at MPIBA's much-anticipated (and loads of fun) Fall Discovery Show in October 2016 in Denver, Colorado.

If you haven't already made an appointment with Laura to discuss these two projects, you can get started by clicking here.

If you'd like to get a jump on your Winter Catalog space reservation, click here to access information or click here to access the online Winter Catalog 2016 Advertiser Contract.

See you in Chicago!

Bookstore News

Welcome New Bookstores!

MPIBA has been doing a rather "brisk business" in new bookstore members, with eight bookstores, including the two below, joining the Association since the 2015 Fall Discovery Show.

Please join us in welcoming these bookstores to Mountains & Plains!

Downtown Books
in Craig, Colorado

Purchased by Liane Davis-Kling in 2015, Downtown Books, in "upper" downtown Craig, provides a place for people to meet, greet, and share ideas. With a coffee (or tea) in hand, customers can peruse the bookshelves or shop for cards and gifts.

The bookstore carries selections from local authors and artists - everything from poetry, fiction, history and memoirs to pottery and photography. They are stocked with new books and used books for all reading abilities. Downtown Books purchases new books, accepts donations of used books, and sells collectibles both in the store and online.

Visit their website or drop by the store when you're in the area and give them a warm welcome!

The Last Word Bookstore
in Fort Worth, Texas

Paul Combs will be opening a brand-new bookstore in the bustling town of Fort Worth, Texas, in the next few weeks. We want to wish him success in securing his retail space, stocking his shelves, and getting ready to open!

BookBar and Independent Bookstore Day Featured in
Denver Post Article

Ray Kellogg, left, and Eric Fiss use the free wifi at BookBar April 21, 2016. (Photo by Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

Independent bookstores find success
by creating a unique experience

Times are tough for some brick-and-mortar bookstores, thanks to competition from online Goliaths such as Amazon, so what's an independent bookstore to do?

A tailored customer experience is the buoy ...

For Nicole Sullivan, owner of Denver's BookBar, a tailored customer experience is the buoy that keeps the small business afloat. And a glass of fine wine while you read doesn't hurt either.

"As it gets harder for brick-and-mortar businesses, hybrid businesses become more important," Sullivan said. "It's either get it fast and cheap online, or come into a store and have an experience. That's what indies have to offer, a more personalized experience and that sense of community we've lost a lot of over the years."

On Tennyson Street in the Berkeley neighborhood, BookBar is a bookstore, coffee shop and wine bar with a daily happy hour. The store also offers events like literary trivia nights and book socials.

Because of such efforts, independent bookstores like BookBar aren't just surviving. They're thriving.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, bookstore sales increased 2.5 percent from 2014 to 2015. The American Booksellers Association, which represents independent sellers, reported 1,712 member stores in 2015, up from 1,401 in 2009.

April 30 will be the second annual Independent Bookstore Day, a nationwide event to celebrate and recognize those successes.

"These stores that are thriving all over the country are anchors in their communities and their towns. They've become destination spots and social hubs," said Samantha Schoech, program director for Independent Bookstore Day.

This year, 421 bookstores in 48 states will participate in the event. According to Schoech, 80 percent of last year's participating stores saw a sales increase, and those stores saw an average sales increase of 70 percent compared with the Saturday the year before.

Independent Bookstore Day . . . "felt like my birthday."

"Last year the event got more attention than I expected, it felt like my birthday," Sullivan said. "Sometimes stores need a day that draws those people in so they know we're here."

"Bookstores are places of discovery," Schoech said. "Sure, we believe in shopping local, but a bookstore is different than a local hardware shop. What you find in a bookstore can change your whole world. They've become a place of gathering outside of work and home."

"Our customer base is all across the board."

"We have avid book-lovers, some people who need a place to just come and work during the day, or some people who feel better about coming to drink in the afternoon if they're in a bookstore."

There's also what Sullivan calls a "book club one-night stand. "We'll pick a buzz-book and give (customers) a badge saying they've read the book, which gets them a free drink while they talk it over," she said.

Click here to read the full article.

-The Denver Post, April 22, 2016

ABC Children's Institute Scholarship Recipients

Thanks to the generosity of lead sponsor Baker & Taylor, 38 publisher sponsors, and the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation, 53 ABA member booksellers will be attending this June's ABC Children's Institute in Orlando, Florida, on scholarship. The awards cover the conference fee, a two-night stay at the host hotel, and up to $400 in travel expenses to the June 21-23 event at the Wyndham Orlando Resort International.

"We extend sincere thanks to all the sponsors of the fourth ABC Children's Institute," said Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, the American Booksellers Association's senior program officer. "Because of their generosity and ongoing commitment to children's bookselling, more than 50 ABA members will join with their bookselling colleagues from around the country at the outstanding educational program we have planned for this June."

Amy Daniken from Back of Beyond Books in Moab, Utah

MPIBA Bookseller Recipients:

Abrams:
Randi O'Brien, HearthFire Books & Treats, Evergreen, CO
Baker & Taylor:
Amy Daniken, Back of Beyond Books, Moab, UT
Candlewick Press:
Brandi Stewart, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
Enchanted Lion Books and TOON Books:
Dea Lavoie, Second Star to the Right, Denver, CO
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers:
Abbey Paxton, BookBar, Denver, CO
Scholastic:
Kate Brasch, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO

There is still time for booksellers who are interested to register for Children's Institute; however, space is limited. The nonrefundable Ci4 conference fee is $89 per bookseller. Click here to register.

Publisher News

Hachette Celebrates 10 Years
with Big Discounts!

Hachette's +10% Promotion on Select Titles
for Booksellers

Hachette Book Group is helping booksellers celebrate its 10th anniversary with a +10% retail discount offer on a great selection of some of the most popular titles published during the past decade.

The promotion is valid from May 1 to June 30, applies to minimum orders of five copies of 10 titles, up to 500 copies maximum. Booksellers should use the promo code HBGI10 when ordering and, for an additional $50 credit, send their sales rep a photo of their "HBG Is 10" display by September 15.

Some of the selected promotional titles include:

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie
THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold
ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris
THE TENDER BAR: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer
GOD IS NOT GREAT by Christopher Hitchens
THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt
CASE HISTORIES by Kate Atkinson
WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE by Maria Semple
LIFE by Keith Richards
THE SHACK by Wm. Paul Young.

Click here to view the Monday, April 25, 2016 Shelf Awareness dedicated issue that's all about Hachette Book Group.

Welcome New Professional Member: Blue Star Coloring

Blue Star Coloring was launched in early 2015 with the release of their first Adult Coloring Book, Stress Relieving Patterns. Since then, they have quickly grown into a troupe of creative, talented publishers dedicated to a simple mission:

Share the love of coloring with the world,
and have a great time doing it.

In pursuit of that, they collaborate with independent illustrators to develop fresh, forward-thinking coloring books, ranging from seasonal offerings like Spirit of Halloween to unique titles like Yoga Kitties and It's Owl Good. They also work with domestic and international partners to make their books available to coloring fans around the globe.

"This is why we go to work every day: to build a stronger, loving world in which each and every person can celebrate the artist within."

Visit (and color in) their beautiful website.

Charles Roberts Promoted at HMH

MPIBA's colleague Chuck Roberts has been promoted to senior sales representative at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Congratulations!