New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association
Trade show meets Sat., Oct. 6, and Sun., Oct. 7, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.
On Saturday morning, workshops and panels start at 11 a.m., with visual merchandising and Internet know-how heading up the discussion topics. Suzanne Welsh takes on the former, while Candler Hunt of Olsson's talks about the other topic. At the same time, Steve Geck, v-p and associate publisher of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers will get together with Scholastic editor Lauren Thompson and authors Nancy Tafuri (Where Did Bunny Go?) and Andrew Clements (The School Story) to review the author-publisher relationship in the children's book field. Booksellers can choose between two luncheon venues; both are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. The Children's Author and Illustrator Luncheon features Denise Fleming (Pumpkin Eye) and Patricia Reilly Giff (All the Way Home). The other lunch will honor adult fiction and nonfiction, with Naomi Wolf (Misconceptions) in attendance. The annual NAIBA awards for the best in children's books and adult literature will be presented at each of the respective lunches.
Educational programming resumes at 2:30 p.m. with a session on customer service and staff training lead by Joe Drabyak of the Chester County Book Co., a panel on elevating store profile conducted by Lynne Gonchar of Tudor Bookshop & Café, and a discussion on co-op lead by Fern Jaffe of Paperbacks Plus. 45-minute "talk to the pros" roundtable sessions are scheduled from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Topics to be considered include: new store issues, electronic newsletters, promotional ideas, co-op, children's bookselling and non-author events. A review of the Book Sense program also takes place at the same time. The William Helmuth Award for salesperson of the year will be given at the Saturday opening reception, which begins at 6 p.m., in the Regency Ballroom. Charlie Young of Simon & Schuster is this year's honoree. Congratulations! Dinner follows at 7:30 p.m. It will be moveable feast, with guest authors making their way between courses—and between tables—greeting and chatting with booksellers. Notable authors include Martin Goldsmith, Haynes Johnson, Laura Lippman, Celia Rees, and Christopher S. Wren. There's a treat for everyone at evening's end: each diner will receive a gift bag filled with autographed books—a $200 retail value.
The trade show is open Sunday at 9 a.m—5 p.m. Noonday activities include the annual NAIBA meeting, and luncheon discussion groups during which participants are encouraged to exchange notes and comments.
Contact: Eileen Dengler, 2667 Hyacinth St., Westbury, N.Y. 11590; (877) 866-2422; info@naiba.com; www.naiba.com.
