Upper Midwest Booksellers Association
Trade show meets Fri., Oct. 1—Sun., Oct. 3, at the RiverCentre, St. Paul, Minn.
At first glance, the show's venue seems familiar—but there have been a few significant changes to this year's program. The trade show exhibit is now a two-day event, Saturday and Sunday. Exhibit hours are 10:30 a.m.—5 p.m. and 9 a.m.—1 p.m., respectively. Note the earlier start and finish times on Sunday, staggered to accommodate those attending the author-packed luncheon. Unlike in years past, the exhibit hall will have multiple autographing areas, allowing seekers to circulate among exhibitor tables. Autographing sessions are scheduled Saturday afternoon (1—4 p.m.) and Sunday morning (10 a.m.—noon). A donation to ABFFE in exchange for a signed book is also new.
Arriving in town on Thursday? Come around that evening (7:30—9 p.m.) to the hospitality suite (hotel to be announced) and join colleagues for light refreshments and small talk. On Friday, the doors open to the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at 10:30 a.m. for show attendees picking up badges and meal tickets. Booksellers participating in the seminars, workshops and panels which comprise the all-day educational programming can make their way to adjacent meeting rooms located in RiverCentre. Fledgling booksellers will be grateful for the 45-minute "first-timer" orientation program at 11 a.m. At the same time, others can take advantage of the two-hour "picks of the lists" presentations, where sales reps get a chance to talk about top fall titles.
At noon, get down to business with consultant-turned-trainer Bob Steele. His four-hour seminar begins with the question, "How does your store measure up?" Hear about the industry's best practices and learn how to better monitor your store's inventory to improve your bottom line. (There's a late afternoon follow-up planned on the finer points of buying.) At 1 p.m., hear academic-turned-author-turned-consultant Kenneth Stone as he offers strategies on competing with retail giants. This lesson is worth missing lunch for! Instead—take a mid-afternoon break and share ideas with fellow booksellers on what works in your store.
Ready for more? At 3 p.m., Ari Weinzweig, author of Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service, presents an intensive two-hour workshop on how to treat your customers like royalty—and reap the benefits sooner rather than later. Another program covers making the most of the UMBA catalogue. At 4 p.m., step into the meeting room for a panel discussion on inventory management, focusing on back- and midlist. There will be plenty of time to schmooze, starting with the official welcome party on board the Mississippi riverboat AnsonNorthrup. Hop on a shuttle bus at 5:30 p.m. and head over to this lively kick-off featuring delicioushors d'oeurvres, cool drinks (cash bar) and interesting gossip.
You can start Saturday at 7:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast and your favorite regional writers. The annual Book and Author Breakfast features former local bookseller Dean Bakopoulos (Please Don't Come Back from the Moon), poet Phebe Hanson (Why Still Dance: 75 Years: 75 Poems), activist Wilma Mankiller (Every Day Is a Good Day: Reflections of Indigenous Women) and novelist Miriam Toews (A Complicated Kindness). Advance ticket purchase is a must. An hour-long general membership meeting is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. The show floor opens at 10:30 a.m. for UMBA booksellers (blue badges) and exhibitors (red badges) only; other attendees (gray or clear badges) are welcome after noon. Once in the exhibition hall, there's stock offers, raffles, giveaways, autographings and networking opportunities galore! Refreshments and box lunches (via meal ticket) are available, too.
All attendees are invited to the cocktail reception (5:30—7 p.m.) at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel, just a quick walk from the convention center. Dinner follows at 7:30 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance. General admission tickets are available for those unable to make dinner or who plan to come just for the speakers. The after-dinner authors promise to be interesting. Diane Mott Davidson (Double Shot) joins Gretel Ehrlich (The Future of Ice: A Journey into Cold), Bob Greene (Fraternity: A Journey in Search of Five Presidents) and Marilynne Robinson (Gilead). For a perfect finale, audience members receive complimentary pre-signed copies of the speakers' books.
So popular is Sunday's Children's Book and Author Breakfast that attendees will gather in the RiverCentre grand ballrooms. Well-known kids' authors and illustrators James Howe (Bunnicula), Peter Sís (The Train of States), Mark Teague (Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation) and Rosemary Wells (My Kindergarten) are guest speakers. Complimentary pre-signed copies will be available, as at all breakfast and dinner programs. Doors to the trade show open at 9:30 a.m., and close at 1 p.m. The more orders placed, the more chances to win raffle prizes. Check the trade show program for an up-to-date schedule of formal autographings and informal signings. A "movable feast" lunch begins at 1 p.m. Patricia Hampl, author of I Could Tell You Stories, is the keynote speaker.
Contact:Susan Walker, 3407 West 44th St., Minneapolis, Minn. 55410; (800) 784-7522 or (612) 926-5868;UMBAoffice@aol.com; www.abookaday.com.
Great Lakes Booksellers Association
Trade show meets Fri., Oct. 8—Sun., Oct. 10, at the Hyatt Regency, Dearborn, Mich.
For the third year in a row, Great Lakes booksellers will gather in historic Dearborn at the Hyatt Regency, this year celebrating 15th annual trade show. On Thursday afternoon, in advance of the show, members of the board will hold their annual meeting. Show volunteers meet at 8 a.m. Friday morning to receive their assignments. At 8:30 a.m., first-timers gather for a breakfast and tips from board members and veteran booksellers on working the trade show.
The theme of this year's educational programming is "Making It on Main Street." As in the past, four tracks of 40-minute seminars run concurrently: operations, buying, authors and, new this year, "Picks of the Lists." These workshops take place all day Friday, beginning with the grand "Ideas That Work" session at 9:30 a.m. (Sessions resume on Sunday morning at 10 a.m.) When "Ideas That Work" ends at 10:20 a.m., the individual track programming gets underway. From 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m., the first four workshops take place: in "Picks of the Lists" reps present the best of their adult lists; the author track focuses on children's books; the operations track features Ruth Haag offering tips on "How to Slash Staffing Costs While Stimulating Productivity"; and the buying track starts with a session on fostering business-to-business sales. These are followed by a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. during which the annual Great Lakes Book Awards winners will be celebrated. This is the first of the show's popular book and author events, all of which include a meal, author talk and signed books. Showgoers may buy tickets for events at a discount.
In 2003, the GLBA introduced two successful participatory events at the show—a Team Spelling Bee and Poker Night. Both were enormous fun, and raised nearly $1,000 for literacy. This year the Team Spelling Bee reprises at 1:10 p.m. on Friday afternoon, following lunch. Workshops resume at 2:30 p.m. and run until 4:20 p.m. In the first track, children's reps point out their "picks of the lists", followed by a session called "What's the Buzz": several seasoned buyers talk about building books through word of mouth rather than media hype.
The second track features Pennsylvania bookseller Joe Drabyak giving advice on authorless events, followed by a Web marketing workshop led by HarperCollins rep Kate McCune and Joseph-Beth marketing director Michele Sulka. The buying track's afternoon sessions should prove provocative and practical: first, there's a candid interchange between reps and buyers on "10 Things I'd Like My Sales Rep to Do and 10 Things I'd Like the Buyer to Do"; second, a workshop on managing backlist in an era of tight cash flow. The author track continues with sessions on political books, then regional books.
Ten minutes after the workshops end at 4:20 p.m., convention-goers are urged to attend the first of the show's formal autographing sessions. It lasts until 5:10 p.m. Friday evening's reception—open to all show attendees—begins at 6:15 p.m. The third annual "moveable feast" follows the short reception. Keynote speakers are Sarah Stewart and David Small, the prize-winning author/illustrator team of The Friend. Booksellers will have an opportunity to linger with their favorite authors and collect signatures afterward.
The show kicks off on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. with the "breakfast with the board," its annual membership meeting, during which anyone can raise subjects of concern. After the board introduces several new initiatives, the ABA's Oren Teicher will outline two programs to enhance bookstore success. The show floor opens at 9:30 a.m. and stays open till 5 p.m. There are no scheduled seminars or autographings Saturday to help attendees stay focused on the books and sidelines, and to encourage dialogue with exhibitors. Following the lone exhibit day, there's an open reception beginning Saturday evening at 6 p.m. The Reading Room—meant to bring new voices to booksellers' attention —takes place concurrently.
The Booksellers Banquet starts at 7:30 p.m. This year's featured speakers are T. Jefferson Parker (California Girl) and Mary Doria Russell (A Thread of Grace). During the banquet, the GLBA will unveil its "Readers of the Great Lakes 2004" poster and honor contest winners. When the banquet is over, everyone is invited to participate in the sure-to-be fun "Quiz Bowl and Cocktails," featuring The Know-It-All author A.J. Jacobs. Proceeds, like those from the spelling bee, will go toward literacy causes.
Sunday morning's children's breakfast commences at 7:45 a.m. and features Marc Brown (Wild About Books), Tomie dePaola (Guess Who's Coming to Santa's for Dinner), Cornelia Funke (Dragon Rider), and Peter Sís (The Train of States). The final 50-minute workshops start at 10 a.m. They are: "Preparing Your Store's Publicity Packet" (this one grew out of the N.Y.C publisher visits made by GLBA members); "One-to-One Marketing in the Age of the Patriot Act"; a session on finding the balance between just-in-time and direct-to-publisher purchasing; and a final author seminar covering the mystery genre. From 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., educational programming culminates in the plenary session, "Making It on Main Street: Forming Local Business Alliances." Before departing, participants can sample fare from featured cookbooks and attend another formal autographing session from 12:30 p.m. until the convention ends at 2 p.m.
To support freedom of expression and business advocacy, the GLBA is again setting up its Grass Roots Café, where conventioneers can fax or e-mail their elected officials about sales tax, the Patriot Act or other issues of concern. There's also another Silent Auction to raise money for its First Amendment Defense Fund.
Contact:Jim Dana, 208 Franklin St., P.O. Box 901, Grand Haven, Mich. 49417; (800) 745-2460 or (616) 847-2460;glba@books-glba.org; www.books-glba.org.
