Project Brings Emerging Leaders Together in Venues Around the Country

June 22, 2006

The Emerging Leaders Project, the creation of four booksellers who want to pave the way for the next generation of booksellers to meet and brainstorm about the future of independent bookselling, and their roll in it, has been inspiring young booksellers to come together at venues ranging from BookExpo America (BEA) to local bars.

At last month's BEA, the group's founders -- Allison Hill of Vroman's in Pasadena; Julia Cowlishaw of Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cindy Dach of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona; and Neil Strandberg of Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver -- invited booksellers to a reception, sponsored by the American Booksellers Association. Among those in attendance was Jennifer McPheeters of Sarasota News & Books, in Sarasota, Florida, the recipient of ABA's Emerging Leaders Scholarship, who recently told BTW that "having a support system of peers makes having a career in bookselling less of a challenge ... you've got others' years of experience and energy behind you."

Emerging Leaders discussions at BEA examined the "bookstore of the future," said McPheeters, who noted that topics included using blogs to publicize bookstores, staying on top of developing technology, carrying graphic novels and audio books, and more.

A less formal gathering of emerging leaders was held this past Tuesday at an artisanal brew pub in Brooklyn, New York. The "Emerging Leaders Night Out" party, organized by Jessica Stockton of Manhattan's McNally Robinson Booksellers and Richard Nash of independent publisher Soft Skull Press, drew about 25 booksellers and publishing industry professionals. (Stockton's comments on the event and photos can be found on her blog, The Written Nerd.)

Stockton told BTW that she and Nash are considering holding similar events quarterly.

"Here in New York there's a unique opportunity to get booksellers and people in the publishing industry to meet in person," she said. "Our goal was to sort of expand the Emerging Leaders Project and extend it to young people in the publishing industry so everyone who is in the area could get to know their peers and the people they'll be working with for the next 20 years, to start to create a community."

Booksellers in the regions served by the Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA) and the Midwest Booksellers Association are coming together for an Emerging Leaders discussion planned for today's ShopTalk at the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop in Shorewood, Wisconsin. GLBA Executive Director Jim Dana described the event as an opportunity for networking and a wrap-up discussion about the next generation of booksellers.

And on Saturday, October 21, the Southern California Booksellers Association will hold an Emerging Leaders party, sponsored by Random House, at 10:00 p.m., after their fall trade show and annual author feast.

Booksellers interested in finding out more about Emerging Leaders Project should send an e-mail to emleaders@gmail.com. --Karen Schechner

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