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

Bookselling Witches
and Wizards Make Magic
at MPIBA Bookstores

Len Vlahos, Co-owner of Tattered Cover Book Store
and author of Scar Girl getting sorted into his Hogwarts house.

Emily Katzman, Event Coordinator at Off the Beaten Path, Reflects ...

The midnight release of HARRY POTTER AND
THE CURSED CHILD will forever be a career highlight.

As an event coordinator, what a dream come true to open the doors to the bookstore and receive a line of eager, costume-clad guests of all ages, extending down the block. The dream is even sweeter because ... HARRY POTTER!

I like to think of myself as part of the original Harry Potter generation;

I started the series when I was 10 years-old, and I always relished being same age as Harry, Hermione, and Ron. When I was a kiddo, my parents took me to HearthFire Books in Evergreen, CO to get my copy of the newest Harry Potter each summer.

Now, years later, it was an honor to be on the other side:

to take up the torch and continue the midnight release tradition, to help cultivate excitement and magic for readers, and to provide a space in our community for everyone to gather simply to celebrate.

Emily Katzman and her co-worker stayed up all night gluing wings on golden snitches at Off the Beaten Path in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

The staff of Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins, Colorado, cast spells before the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Though we're all still tired and recovering from the long hours clocked leading up to the event, I continue to ride a high that I hope will not fade. Now, in the days following the event, it is so much fun to check in on bookstore peers around the country to ask about the parties: their success and challenges, and how quickly they sold through the first shipment.

At Off the Beaten Path, our only challenge was crowd control

and how to comfortably accommodate twice as many guests as our maximum occupancy allows (please don't tell the fire marshall on us!). I get the sense this was a challenge for many other stores too. BookPeople, I applaud you for your foresight and for hosting your party outside. Brilliant!

Here are just a handful of photos from Midnight Release Parties in the MPIBA region. I can't help but smile, appreciating the boundless creativity and enthusiasm of book nerds!

-Emily Katzman, Off the Beaten Path, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Wizards at Changing Hands Bookstore and First Draft Book Bar
in Tempe, Arizona, practice their charms.

Booksellers at BookPeople in Austin, Texas revel in the magic mood.
Photo by Erika Rich for The American-Statesman

The Owl Post at The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Photo courtesy of Chris Longhurst

Communities Prepare for
Fall Literary Festivals

The unique, artistic communities of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Missoula, Montana, and Evergreen, Colorado are in preparation for their upcoming literary festivals.

Literary Sojourn:

September 17 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Literary Sojourn is an annual festival of authors and readers celebrating the power of the book. Each fall, an esteemed slate of authors and 500 book lovers from all over the country gather in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Together they revel in the written word, fueled by award-winning writers who share the stories and inspiration behind their exceptional books.

Featured Authors: Jessie Burton, Ethan Canin, Patrick deWitt, Lauren Groff, Anthony Marra, and Jess Walter as Master of Ceremonies.

Tickets for Literary Sojourn have sold out but can become available via the ticket exchange.

Learn more about Literary Sojourn

Montana Book Festival:

September 20-25 in Missoula, Montana

The Montana Book Festival is a celebration of literary arts held each fall in downtown Missoula that seeks to provide a dynamic, evolving forum for literary engagement, as well as to foster literary community and enthusiasm for the written word among readers of all ages.

Over the course of several days, the Montana Book Festival presents exciting literary arts programming for participants and attendees from throughout the city, state and region.

Events include readings, author signings, panels, workshops, a youth festival, special events, vendor exhibits and a book fair.

The first iteration of the Montana Book Festival in 2015 generated considerable enthusiasm in the Missoula community and beyond. Over 150 authors participated in more than 80 events at 15 venues; over 5,000 people attended.

Learn more about Montana Book Festival

The Montana Book Festival will take place
September 20 - 25 in Missoula, Montana.

Rocky Mountain Literary Festival:

October 15 in Evergreen, Colorado

The Rocky Mountain Literary Festival is the gathering of authors, readers, and books to celebrate the importance of literature in our culture and education. A passion for reading, the love of literature, and a sense of community has inspired a group of mountain-area residents to launch this endeavor. Evergreen has long supported artists in many different categories such as fine art, music and theatre. Now with the founding of this new event, the art of the written word will be highlighted.

The Festival will be an opportunity for readers and authors to share literary experiences in a small and intimate setting. With a day-long gathering at Mount Vernon Country Club, the selected authors will share their journey of research, writing, and publishing. Readers will gain a sense of personal acquaintance with the writers while hearing about the experiences that inspired their books.

Learn more about Rocky Mountain Literary Festival

Colorado Book Festival:

September 10 in Denver, Colorado

The first COLORADO BOOK FESTIVAL is already sold out! Organized by the Colorado Authors' League in conjunction with the Western History Department of the Denver Public Library, this event will allow authors to meet, greet, and talk with Colorado readers, and sell and sign copies of their books. It is to be held at the Denver Public Library's main downtown branch.

The idea, originated by the Denver Public Library's Director of the Western History Department, Jim Kroll, is to "Celebrate Colorado's outstanding authors, and promote literacy in Colorado." The Western History Department of the library includes a special collection of many Colorado authors called the Colorado Authors Collection, on the main library's fifth floor.

Learn more about the Colorado Book Festival.

Fall Discovery Show 2016:
Celebrate. Connect. Discover.

This extraordinary, energetic "discovery" Show

celebrates bookselling and the MPIBA family, welcoming 250 booksellers; 150 publishers, exhibitors, sidelines companies, and sales reps; and 75 authors to Denver, Colorado, on October 6-8, 2016.

Mountains & Plains offers opportunities

for exhibitors, sidelines companies, publishers, and authors to meet booksellers, talk about and sign books, and make their experience at the Fall Discovery Show productive and memorable.

MPIBA also has multiple avenues for you

to promote your company, including reserving an exhibit table in the gorgeous Colorado Ballroom at The Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel -- available in wall, full table, or half table sizes -- so that your company, titles, authors, and sidelines products will have visibility to the booksellers who visit the exhibit hall.

Click here for more information.

Show Deadlines

August 5 - September 2

Exhibitor and Author books and materials can begin arriving at Coast to Coast Trade Show Services.

August 15
Online-only Exhibitor Reservation Form due. MPIBA will invoice you after this date; please do not pay from the online form. Exhibitor Reservation Forms received after August 15, 2016, will incur a $50 late fee.

August 22: Fall Discovery Show Directory Ads due. Upload your digital file in the form below.

September 9

Applications due for Blue Willow-Vener Barnes Fall Discovery Show bookseller scholarship. See below for more information.

September 12

Send all three September 12 due date items below to:
MPIBA Administrative Office, c/o Kathy Keel
208 E. Lincoln Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80524. 970-484-3939.

Pick of the Lists Handouts due (125 sets, collated/stapled or bound).
Bookseller Welcome Bag insertions due (300 quantity).
Two copies of your advertised titles for the Winter Catalog Exhibit Hall display.

September 15

Payment due by check or by bank transfer; no credit cards accepted.
If payment is not received by this date, your reserved tables will be released.

September 16

Deadline for special room rate at The Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel.

Preliminary Show Schedule

Wednesday, October 5

Bookseller Registration

2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

"Are You a First-Timer?" for New Exhibitors

7:15 pm - 8:00 pm
In an informal setting, seasoned exhibitors provide valuable insights on how to make the Fall Discovery Show work successfully for a new exhibitor. Presented by Phoebe Gaston, Book Travelers West, and Eric Boss, Former Penguin Sales Representative.

"Are You a First-Timer?" for New Booksellers*

7:15 pm - 8:00 pm
In an informal setting, seasoned booksellers will guide new booksellers in navigating the world of the Fall Discovery Show.

*Please see the Blue Willow-Vener Barnes Scholarship Application below; booksellers who have never attended the Fall Discovery Show are eligible.

"Backlist Blind Book Swap"

8:00 pm

Bring your favorite backlist paperback with you to the Show; we will have a "wrap" station, where you will wrap your book in a brown paper bag and write descriptive words about it on the outside (i.e., "Nonfiction Genre. Cold, Wet, and Doomed"). Then everyone will pick a "wrapped" book that interests them and that's when the fun begins!

Thursday, October 6

Exhibitor Set-up

7:30 am - 2:30 pm

Children's Author & Illustrator Breakfast

8:00 am - 9:15 am

Pick of the Lists #1: Children's-only Morning Session

9:30 am - 10:42 am

12-minute Slot $200

Must have a minimum of five new titles to present.
Focus on five frontlist titles, not your entire list.
Use of microphone required.
Handouts are required and must be sent to MPIBA
by September 12, 2016. If multiple pages, must be
collated/stapled or bound.

Pick of the Lists #2: Morning Session

10:54 am - 12:18 pm
12-minute slots; see requirements above.

General Meeting Luncheon

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Sole Sponsorship $1,500 (Ingram Content Group)

Pick of the Lists #3: Afternoon Session

1:42 pm - 3:54 pm
12-minute slots; see requirements above.

Exhibit Hall Gala Opening Reception

4:00 pm - 4:15 pm Special Ceremony
4:15 pm - 7:45 pm Exhibits Open
Overall Sponsor $2,500 (HarperCollins Publishers)
Cash Bar Sponsor $1,000 (two available)

Exhibits Open

4:15 pm - 7:45 pm
Hors d'oeuvres, (two) cash bars, author signings at exhibitor's tables.

Friday, October 7

Authors of Buzz Books Breakfast

8:00 am - 9:15 am

Exhibit Hall Open

9:30 am - 4:00 pm (with 1 hour lunch break 12:30-1:30pm)
Exhibits open; author signings at exhibitor's tables.

Young Readers Roundup

Multiple Children's Authors
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Bookseller Raffles

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
"Discover This Cover," boxes of exhibitors' books and materials plus Winter Catalog display books will be raffled off to booksellers in an exciting end to exhibit hall hours. Booksellers must be present to win.

Exhibitor Breakdown

4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Cocktail Reception and Literary Trivia Game

6:00 pm - 7:45 pm
Sponsorship $1,000

Author Banquet

8:00 pm in the Colorado Ballroom
Overall Sponsor $3,000

Saturday, October 8

Exhibitor Breakdown

9:00 am - 11:00 am

Authors of Future Releases Breakfast

8:00 am - 9:15 am

Charity Book Collection

12:00 noon - 2:00 pm

Bookseller Educational Programming

9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Any sponsorship amount welcomed.

Reading the West Book Awards Luncheon

12:00 noon - 1:15 pm
Sponsorship $2,000

Books & Brews
Multiple Adult Authors: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm