New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association
Trade show meets Sun., Sept. 21 and Mon., Sept. 22, at the Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa, Atlantic City, N.J.
Miss America Pageant, Boardwalk Hall, Lucy the Elephant—it's the Jersey Shore. NAIBA show goers are headed to Atlantic City, one of the top tourist destinations in the country, for a much-anticipated two-day fling at the swank new Borgata. Sunday is dedicated to educational programming, while Monday is given over to vendor exhibits. The theme is "success is 99% work and 1% luck." At 11 a.m. on Sunday, it's back to financial basics with ABA's CEO Avin Domnitz, who presents a proactive approach to the balance sheet, operating statement and cash flow. His seminar is a great introduction for the novice and a terrific refresher for the veteran bookstore owner or manager. Each participant will take away a disk with accounting software and programs appropriate for his or her store. At the same time, reps and booksellers get together to talk about their "picks of the lists." This perennial favorite lasts two hours, with house reps doing their thing from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by indie reps from noon to 1 p.m. Hungry? The book and author luncheon is scheduled for 1:15—2:45 p.m. Gerald McDermott (Creation) heads up the guest list. After lunch, re-energized booksellers head off to afternoon workshops while publishers set up their displays in the ballroom. From 3 to 5 p.m., three concurrent workshops are planned; each 45-minute session will be repeated so folks have a chance to take part in two of three. Lucy Kogler of Talking Leaves Bookstore discusses the importance of community partnerships. Joe Drabyak of Chester County Book Co. takes on the subject of non-author events. (On Monday, watch out for NAIBA the Magnificent as he traverses the show floor demonstrating to mystified onlookers that every book has a potential customer event lurking between its covers.) Mark LaFramboise from Politics & Prose will tackle the how-to's of marketing book clubs. Appreciation goes to Random House for support of the day's programming. Between sessions, everyone is encouraged to stop-by the "playroom," where new sideline products are displayed. Come, relax and fool with the various sample card sets, trivia games and craft kits. The playroom is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. in the exhibit hall, booksellers and vendors have a chance to meet, greet and peek at books during the Ingram Book Co.-sponsored grand opening reception. At 7:30 p.m., a scrumptious moveable feast will be served with more than 20 authors on table-rotation duty. A partial list includes Kathi Appelt, Dan Fesperman, Edward P. Jones, Larry Kane, Kevin O'Malley, Donna Jo Napoli, Carol Plum-Ucci, Walter Staib and Lisa Tucker. There's a treat for everyone at evening's end: each diner will receive a gift bag filled with autographed books.
Monday morning promises a "breakfast with champions" at 7:30 a.m. sharp, compliments of Windstone Editions. NAIBA members will be ready after their second java jolt for their annual meeting. The presentation of the William Helmuth Award is also on the agenda, with a round of applause going to "salesperson of the year" Jerry Goodman of St. Martin's/ Holtzbrinck. The trade show opens at 9 a.m., with exhibit hours running until 5 p.m. More than 500 publishers and allied vendors are represented this year, with more than 100 authors signing their books in the autographing area from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. A book-buying frenzy is anticipated, with show specials and holiday deals to seal.
Contact:Eileen Dengler, 2667 Hyacinth St., Westbury, N.Y. 11590; (516) 333-0681;info@naiba.com; www.naiba.com.
