Fall Conference

Preliminary Event Schedule

Subject to change

Tuesday, September 15

7:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Registration Desk open

 

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Early-Bird Education

Ingram’s covered*: Everything You Need To Know
Ingram is in the process of launching covered*, a website designed to enable publishers to share catalogues and digital review copies (DRCs) with booksellers and offer free access to comprehensive title information--including marketing plans, events, comps, sales and inventory data, marketing assets, and more. But how is this new platform going to impact buying, publisher interaction, and store processes? Join staff from Ingram Content to learn the most up-to-date details on this new initiative.

 

New-to-NEIBA Bootcamp
This session is designed for those who are attending the Fall Conference for the first time, or are new to bookselling in general, and will focus on navigating not only the Fall Conference and NEIBA's many other programs and events throughout the year (including Holiday and Summer Reading catalogs and the Spring Forum), but also the book industry as well, with guest speakers from Edelweiss and BINC, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. Come with questions!
 
Panel: Sam Kaas, moderator (The Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vermont), Katie Mannix (Book Love, Plymouth, MA), Jason Rice (Ingram Content Group), Lisa Dugan (Macmillan Publishers), and Ryan Quinn (American Booksellers Association)

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Coffee Break

 

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Opening Keynote

Jill Lepore, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State (W.W. Norton)

 

12:15 PM – 2:45 PM

Rep Picks Lunch

Advance RSVP required

 

3:00 PM - 3:45 PM

Education

Every Event Is a Special Occasion: Providing Exceptional Service at Author Events
Bookstore events are a hectic business, and it's easy to get lost in habit and hustle. What can you do, start to finish, to rethink those habits and elevate your events for the audience, guest authors, and publisher partners without breaking the bank (or your back)? Come hear and share tricks and tips for turning a basic event into exceptional customer service.
 
Panel: Alex Schaffner, moderator (Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA), Ryan Clark (Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH), Kym Havens (Blue Bunny Books & Cafe, Dedham, MA), Stephanie Pando (Abrams Books)

The Needle Drop: Adding Vinyl Records to Your Inventory Mix
The vinyl renaissance of the past fifteen years has parallelled the resurgence of indie bookstores, and it should be no surprise: the same customers who appreciate hardcover books are also buying albums. Can your store become a one-stop shop for this clientele? In this session, booksellers who have successfully incorporated vinyl records into their inventory will provide a playbook for opening accounts with record labels and wholesalers, curating a selection, setting margins, and building out displays.
 
Panel: Steve Iwanski, moderator (Charter Books, Newport, RI), Peter Bascom (The Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough, NH), Josh Christie (Print: A Bookstore, Portland, ME), Dick Hermans (Oblong Books, Millerton, NY)

Many Happy Returns: Letting Go of Your Fear of Letting Go (While Improving Your Turns and Bottom Line)
Booksellers love, well, books…which is why it can be so painful to discard the ones nobody wants. After all, each book comes into the world with good intentions; and late at night, all alone in the store, you may hear the unloved ones crying out from your returns shelf. So, how to cope? Whether you believe bad books hide good books and cull brutally, or whether you strategize how to finally sell those unloved titles, we’ll discuss best practices around being strong and, when the occasion calls for it, merciful.
 
Panel: Meghan Hayden, moderator (River Bend Bookshops, Glastonbury & West Hartford, CT), Sarah Gibson (Whitelam Books, Reading, MA), Ashley Peck (Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH), Benjamin Rybeck (House of Books, Kent, CT)

 

3:45 PM – 4:15 PM

Coffee Break

 

4:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Education

NEIBA Finance Fundamentals: The Balance Sheet
The long-term success of any small business is determined by its financial standing, and this is especially true in retail bookselling, an industry with narrow margins and unpredictable fluctuations in sales. Understanding how to read your company balance sheet can help you make decisions that affect the long-term viability of your business. At the end of this session, attendees will be able to analyze their balance sheets; sort through assets, liabilities, and equity; and create a plan for long-term success.
 
Panel: Steve Iwanski (Charter Books, Newport, RI), Michael Herrmann (Gibson’s Bookstore, Concord, NH)

Visual Merchandising as Branding: Looking Your Best and Reflecting Your Store’s Distinct Style 
What do the merchandising decisions you make say about your store? Does your shelving style reflect your brand? Does it drive you crazy to see that there are four—four—copies of a book faced out, when four copies should go on the display shelf, obviously, the shelf talkers are sticking out at the wrong angles, and the stacks all need to be straightened two millimeters, at least!? Do you ever think: Do the customers even notice? Does this illness of merchandising perfection help sell books? Let’s take some deep breaths and discuss.
 
Panel: Hannah Harlow, moderator (The Bookshop of Beverly Farms, Beverly, MA), Rachel Kanter (Lovestruck Books, Cambridge, MA), Lisa Riddle (Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA), Amy Van Keuren (Charter Books, Newport, RI)

ABA Education

Advocacy and Free Speech: What’s Important Right Now
It feels like we all have a non-stop stream of advocacy issues in our information feeds these days. And we all want to help and act. But where to start? Join Dave Grogan, Director of the American Booksellers for Free Expression, Advocacy, and Public Policy at American Booksellers Association for a practical, actionable session on the burning issues right now, including credit card swipe fee reform, ADA website compliance, and the many free speech legislative initiatives that impact the entire NEIBA territory.  

Panel: David Grogan, moderator (ABA), Kenny Brechner (Devaney, Doak, & Garrett, Farmington, ME), Kathy Crowley (Belmont Books, Belmont, MA), Becca Morton (Back Cove Books, Portland, ME).

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Author Reception

Abrea Armstrong, Ferry Tales (Red Hen Press)

Aaron Becker, The Water Beast (Candlewick Press)

Gabriel Bump, Don't Stop Snowing (Algonquin Books)

Antonio Gonzalez Cerna, Vampire Girl Conquers the Night (Levine Querido)

Erica Ferencik, The Blooming (Scout Press)

Valorie Fisher, Look and Cook Fresh (Astra Books for Young Readers)

Susan Fox, Charlotte Cane (Harper Books)

Hannah Fries, A Forest Language (Storey Publishing)

E.B. Goodale, Robin and the Moon (Abrams Books for Young Readers)

CJ Green, Record Lows (Hachette Book Group / Cardinal)

Taylor Grothe, Lethal Kiss (Nightfire)

Tiffany Hammond, How Do You Spell Belong? (Bloomsbury Children's)

Patti Callahan Henry, Heart of the Wild (Atria Books)

Anna Hogeland, Wild Aster (Bloomsbury)

David Keohan, The Wind Beneath the Stone (Chelsea Green Publishing)

James (J.R.) Lowry & Daniela De Luca, Be the Boss You Wish You'd Had: A People-First Guide to Management (Page Two)

Maria "Mia" Millefoglie, Daughters of Stone and Tide: Loss and Resilience in a Fisherman’s Family (University of Massachusetts Press)

Sarah Maslin Nir, The Lost Unicorn (Erewhon)

Katie Norton, I Think I Made You Up (Charlesbridge Teen)

Ron Pedro, Throwbacks and Keepers (Islandport Press)

Kathleen Reidy, Engineering a Love Story: A Novel (Sibylline Press)

Justin A. Reynolds, Fan Favorite: The Mostly True Diary of a Kinda Cool Kid (Scholastic)

Elizabeth Wellington Rollins, The Three Graces of Pearl Street (Atria Books)

Pam Muñoz Ryan & Andrés Vera Martínez, Esperanza Rising: A Graphic Novel (Scholastic)

Margaret Eastman Smith, A Spectacular Inheritance (Sibylline Press)

Emily Snyder, We Were Supposed to Find This (Wednesday Books)

Susan Tan, Miri and the Squid (Norton Young Readers)

Ethan Tapper, The Forest Year: Finding Hope in a World Worth Saving (Timber Press)

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Wednesday, September 16

7:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Registration Desk open

 

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Adult Author Breakfast

Flynn Berry, A Good Man on a Dark Night (Viking)

Amy Cuddy, Bullied (Harper Wave)

Andre Dubus III, Our Possible Life: And Other Stories (W.W. Norton)

Malinda Lo, Something Inside Me Knows: A Memoir (Dutton Books)

 

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Children’s Author Breakfast

Jasmine Guillory, It's Only Dancing (Scholastic)

Cathy G. Johnson, Fox River Comics Camp (Abrams Fanfare)

Janae Marks, Starting Now (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Katie Yamasaki, The Invisible Crown (Norton Young Readers)

 

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Publisher Exhibits

 

12:00 PM - 1:15 PM

Adult Editor Buzz Panel Lunch

Advance RSVP required

Amy Caldwell, Beacon Press
Shana Drehs, Sourcebooks Landmark
Amy Einhorn, Crown Fiction
Rebekah Jett, Scribner
Asya Muchnick, Little, Brown and Company

Children’s Editor Buzz Panel Lunch

 Advance RSVP required

Calista  Brill, 23rd Street Books / First Second
Susan Dobinick, Astra Young Readers
Alexandra Hinrichs, Islandport Press
David Levithan, Scholastic

Ben Rosenthal, Stonefruit Studio
Nancy Siscoe, Knopf Books for Young Readers

4:00 PM – 5:15 PM

Education

Anatomy of a Book: Expanded Edition
What do designers consider when creating Deluxe Editions of beloved books? Why do some reprints take longer than others? Whose job is it to source paper, glue, and other materials - and what happens when they run out? In this “expanded edition” of last year’s popular session, a panel of professionals from the production and editorial side of publishing are here to answer these questions and so many more. They're going to tell us how a book gets made, nose to tale (pun intended!).
 
Panel: Liz Whitelam, moderator (Whitelam Books, Reading, MA), Amy Baker (Associate Publisher and Editorial Director of Harper Perennial and Harper Paperbacks), Nancy Siscoe (Senior Executive Editor at Knopf BFYR), Celeste Knudsen (Senior Art Director for Stonefruit Studios, Sourcebooks)

 

5:30 PM – 6:30 PM

Awards Banquet Cocktail Hour

6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

New England Book Awards Banquet

Advance ticket ($50 bookseller/$65 industry) required

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Thursday, September 17

7:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Registration Desk open

 

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Adult Author Breakfast

Augusten Burroughs, The Debris Field (Dutton)

Nicole Dennis-Benn, Black Gold (Random House)

Caitlin Doughty, Dead in the Water: The Lost Passengers of the Titanic (W.W. Norton)

Dani Shapiro, Kaleidoscope (Hachette Book Group)

 

8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Children’s Author Breakfast

Lucy Ruth Cummins, Love Bug (Balzer + Bray)

M.J. Hastings, Firstborn (Stonefruit Studio)

Kara LaReau, Licorice (Scholastic)

Kekla Magoon, Alfie Hazard and the Spy Cats: A Spy in the Embassy (Candlewick Press)

 

10:15 AM – 11:15 AM

Education 

Don't Reinvent the Wheel: How to Systematize Recurring Projects, Processes, and Events
This session aims to provide a framework for creating and managing systems to tackle recurring projects. Panelists will cover breaking down a recurring project into manageable steps, tools you can set up once and utilize again and again, how to keep your systems up-to-date, and how to get staff buy-in. The session will begin by providing a broad overview that you can apply to any project and then provide personal examples of systems we use in our stores. This session is aimed at booksellers looking to build a solid foundation of general systems, and will not deep dive into the particulars of any single project. Great for booksellers who already have a basic understanding of the projects that need to happen at their store, but who feel like they are constantly repeating their work, asking the same questions, or making the same mistakes.
 
Panel: Emma Kaas, moderator (The Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vermont), Jillian Puzzo (River Bend Bookshops, Glastonbury & West Hartford, CT), H Rooker (Still North Books & Bar, Hanover, NH)

X Marks the Spot: Tricky Sections Made Browsable
Every store categorizes titles differently, and some categories are thornier than others. Is it psych, business, or self help? Does breaking out fiction subgenres sell books better than putting it all in one section? How much can you train customers vs. how can you adjust to them? Let's hash out where that darn book should be shelved!
 
Panel: Emily Russo, moderator (Print: A Bookstore, Portland, ME), Sarah Rettger (Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA), Douglas Riggs (Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT), Melissa Sagendorph (Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge, MA)

NECBA Presents: Fostering Third Spaces for Kids and Teens
What steps can bookstores take to create more effective third spaces for kids, tweens, and teens? What are some ways we might make our kids' and young adult sections and selections more appealing and profitable? What kinds of interactive activities and community-building programming have been most successful? Spend an hour with your fellow booksellers to share ideas and advice for fostering more welcoming social spaces for kids and teens.

 

11:30 AM - 12:15 PM

NEIBA Annual Meeting

 

12:30 PM to 2:30 PM

Moveable Feast Author Luncheon

RSVP requested

Julie Abe, The Magic Library of Waterfall Way (Bloomsbury Children's)

Libba Bray, Radio Free Texas (Scholastic)

Ann Dávila Cardinal, Hear the Dead (Sourcebooks Landmark)

Charlotte Gordon, I Speak of Wrongs (Crown)

Lynda Mullaly Hunt, How to Build a Miracle (Penguin Young Readers)

Julia Pike, Don't You Miss It (Riverhead Books)

Alexis Schaitkin, Two Lives (Celadon Books)

Laura Shapiro, Big Appetites: Five Couples Who Dreamed Up a Revolution in Food (Viking)

Maggie Thrash, Red Cherry (Harper Perennial)

Trang Thanh Tran, The Summoning of Tess Pham (Bloomsbury Children's)