2024 Rep of the Year

Jason Rice is the 2024 Kristen Keith Sales Rep of the Year. Booksellers across the NAIBA region are recognizing Jason Rice for his work and dedication to our independent market.

“It’s a great honor to be named Sales Rep of the Year. This is a relationship business and I’m very happy to have booksellers and bookstore owners recognize my efforts, especially since the spirit of the award means so much to me,” says Jason. “Kristin Keith was one of the first people I met in the book business. She was both kind and generous, and her love of books was infectious. Kristin was a friend and in those first years as a sales rep, someone I looked up to.”

Read the full announcement.

2024 Legacy Award

NAIBA is proud to present the 2024 Legacy Award to Ellen Oh and Dhonielle Clayton.

"We are incredibly honored to receive the NAIBA Legacy Award and to be included with the likes of past winners like NK Jemisin, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Judy Blume. 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of We Need Diverse Books, and we couldn't have reached this milestone without the support of independent booksellers who continue to champion diverse voices to their patrons and in their communities. We thank NAIBA for this recognition, and we look forward to working together to build more empathy and connection in our world, one diverse book at a time."

Dhonielle Clayton is a New York Times bestselling author of The Conjureverse series, The Belles series, Shattered Midnight, co-author of Blackout, Whiteout, The Rumor Game, and of the Tiny Pretty Things duology, a Netflix original series. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side. She taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. She is COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. She is the President and founder of Cake Creative and Electric Postcard Entertainment, IP story companies creating diverse books for all ages where she’s concepted and sold over 55 books, including the Tristan Strong series, Promise Boys, Love Radio, the Love Sugar Magic series, and more. She’s an avid traveler, and always on the hunt for magic and mischief.

Navigating to NVNR: Revisiting Your Goals

by Nicki Leone

At New Voices New Rooms 2024, our theme is wellness and self care. We know how hectic industry conferences are and how easy it is to get lost in the chaos and forget to care for yourself. To make this a bit easier for attendees, NVNR is incorporating mindful moments into the conference.

When the New Voices New Rooms conference was announced in February, one of the pieces of advice given to booksellers was to think hard about their purpose for attending the conference, and to create specific, achievable goals for their visit. It is impossible to see everything at a conference, but with a list of goals in hand, it can be a success even if you only check off a few things on that list.:

"One of my goals for NVNR 2023 was to learn how to deal with industry challenges and how to squeeze a little bit out of profit to make my business sustainable while continue my commitment to pay a livable wage." –NVNR 2023 Attendee

Now that NVNR is only a week away, it is time to revisit that list of goals you made when you registered. Take a look at the detailed schedule in the show app, and decide where your time would be best spent.

Is your goal to expand your events program?

Successful Spins on Authorless Events (8/9 at 9:45 am)

Strategic Event Planning: Mission and Branding (8/9 at 11:00 am)

Community Book Festivals (8/9 at 2:45 pm)

Is your goal to find creative ideas to refresh your business model?

Bookmobile Rally (8/8 at 11:00 am)

New Bookstore Models Redefine Success (8/9 at 11:00 am)

Parnerships with Non-Bookstore Retailers (8/9 at 1:30 pm)

Is your goal to increase your store’s profitabilty?

Prioritizing Cash Flow: 10 Areas to Review for Improved Cash Flow and Profitability (8/9 at 9:45 am)

Book Fair Tips (8/9 at 1:30 pm)

Budgeting for Booksellers (8/9 at 2:45 pm)

Is your goal to put your store on the radar of publishers and sales reps?

Indie Press Authors Reception (8/9 at 5:00 pm)

Rep "Pick of the Lists" (8/10 at 11:00 am)

Focus on Editors Reception (8/10 at 5:00 pm)

No matter what your specific goals for attending NVNR, there is something in the schedule — maybe several somethings — to help you achieve them. The NVNR conference can be the most valuable time you spend all year long if you come with a plan.

If you missed the bookseller or the exhibitor orientation, you can find both recordings here.

Bookseller details and registration link are HERE! You must be logged in to register for the annual conference.

Exhibitor details and reservation link are HERE! You must be logged in to make a reservations.

Vote TODAY for the 2024 incoming NAIBA Board of Directors. Voting is open to current bookstore members. Only one vote per bookstore. Voting closes today.

Vote for NAIBA Book of the Year Awards!

The NAIBA Book Awards recognize an author who was born or lived in our region, and/or a book whose story takes place in our region. The book must have been published in the year prior to the award year. (2024 is for books published in 2023)

Only NAIBA booksellers may vote. Please select up to one title per category. You may only vote once per category.

Voting ends Monday, August 5, 2024. The winners will be announced at the NAIBA Annual Meeting on Sunday, August 11.

NVNR 2024

SCAM ALERT! scammers are using the names, logos, and information of independent bookstores to scam self-published authors. ViVisit BookWeb to learn what to do if you are approached with tto do if you are approached with this scam!

Check out this fantastic information and How They Defend the Freedom to Learn: Stories and a Blueprint from Florida. Find out more!

The USA Today Books Page spotlights an independent bookstore each week. ABA member bookstores can pitch their bookstore to USA Today. Good Luck!

The Professional Booksellers School is now an affiliate of Rabbit Tree Soaps. You can support the school and receive a discount by purchasing items with the promo code PBSretailer at https://www.etsy.com/shop/rabbittreesoaps?.

The Professional Booksellers School is now an affiliate for Fly Paper Products. You can support the school by purchasing your items through their affiliate link: https://flypaperproducts.com/?rs_ref=wAsCcW6U.

Join the NAIBA community on Edelweiss by emailing kit@naiba.com with your Edelweiss account name and email and we will take care of it.

Join the NAIBAhood on Discord. Current store owner & bookseller members can contact kit@naiba.com to request the access code.

NAIBA wants to share your fantastic ideas! Your idea could be featured in an upcoming NAIBAhood News and/or on our website. Submit your idea here.

Need some advice? Submit your question to Dear NAIBA.

1 Love this call for book reviews from Otto Bookstore and how they'll reward customers if they use their review.

2 Booksellers at WORD Bookstores show off their Bookish Olympic Skills.

3 Great reminder from Font Books that even when their physical location isn't open, their website is always open and has helpful information. Great to do posts like these every once in a while.

4 Love the collection of books and sidelines for cat ladies from Oblong Books.

5 Fun candle from Howling Basset Books; candles are a great merch idea.

6 Telling their customers exactly when to bring in used books and what they're exactly looking for? Great idea from Book Culture Pittsford.

7 Have fun at your upcoming conference, Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop!

8 Love this from Old Town Books: showing off random purchases made recently and in the caption stating why. I think you should do something like this too!

9 "Things In Our Store That Just Make Sense" is always a good idea for a video and a chance to show off the unique parts of your store. Check this one out from Werner Books.

10 Harvard Bookstore booksellers compete in a bookseller Olympic challenge here: watch to see who wins!

11 I really like this simple monthly events overview from J Anderson's Books.

12 Nice Olympics display from Astoria Bookshop.

Changing Hands Bookstore seeks a Director of Operations for their Phoenix/Tempe location. For details and application process click here.

Two booklovers in Perry, New York who recognize the importance of bookstores to a community and have the money to capitalize and subsidize a new bookstore seek a manager/partner with the passion, experience, and time to open it and run it. For more information contact: Hauser.perry@gmail.com and meghan@insitearch.com.

Inquiring Minds Bookstore & Cafe, an independent bookstore in Saugerties NY, is seeking a full time Store Manager. Click here for details and application process.

Reading Group Choices is celebrating 30 years and the company is for sale. Click here for details.

Milkweed Editions seeks a Bookstore Manager for their brick and mortar Milkweed Books. Click here for details and application process.

Harvard Book Store is looking for a General Manager to help lead one of America’s prized independent bookstores into its next chapter. Click here for details and application process.

HarperCollins is seeking a Sales Support Associate. Click here for details and application process.

House of Books, a boutique literary bookstore located in Kent, CT, is seeking a Marketing Director to join the team! Click here for details and application process.

Baltimore Read Aloud, a pop-up independent bookstore, seeks Pop-up and Event Booksellers for their offsite events. Click here for details and application process.

Greenlight is hiring an Events & Marketing Manager. Click here for details and application process.

Midtown Scholar Bookstore seeks a book cataloguer for their rare-and-collectible-books division. Click here for details and application process.

Book buyer for hire! If you are in need of help with your book buying so you can focus on all the other aspects of running a bookstore, click here for details.

House of Books, in CT, is hiring a Children's Specialist to be the store's point of contact and front-facing employee in directing and growing our Little House of Books brand. Click here for details and application process.