MBA Show: A Great Mix of Education, Authors & Events

The 28th Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA) Trade Show was a "wonderful mix of education, booksellers, authors, and reps," said MBA President Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books in Wichita, Kansas. "There were lots of opportunities for booksellers to meet with colleagues, authors, and sales reps, and to get excited about fall offerings as they go into the Christmas season. The book award recipients were inspiring, and the author dinner and children's breakfast authors gave us a lot to get excited about."

The ABA Booth at the Midwest Booksellers Association Trade Show

The September 25 - September 27 show at St. Paul, Minnesota's Roy Wilkins Auditorium at RiverCentre drew nearly 1,000 participants, including 400-plus booksellers from 105 bookstores. "The MBA Trade Show focused both content and schedule on a well-planned progression to our big event -- the trade show exhibit -- and we promoted connections and shared information with our booksellers, exhibitors, and authors at every opportunity," said MBA Executive Director Susan Walker. "Education, author events, bookseller picks, rep picks, and a tremendously popular new Midwest Connections booksellers-and-authors workshop gave everyone the impetus to do business and place orders at the exhibit on Saturday. This approach was thoroughly successful for everyone at the show, and we've had high praise from booksellers, vendors, and authors alike."

As part of MBA's full schedule of education, ABA presented three sessions. "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store," led by ABA COO Oren Teicher, featured a primer on using localism, independence, and sustainability to gain traction with consumers.

New bookseller Tim Arsenault, who recently began working at his parents' store, Central Avenue Bookstore in Faribault, Minnesota, appreciated the bookselling history component in the session, particularly the section on the evolution of the chains and the ways chains and indies differ. "It gave really good background on the world of bookselling," he explained. "It helped me understand what we need to do as independent booksellers ... that we need to compete on experience and on having a connection with the individual customer and the community."

Arsenault said MBA's Marketing Programs 101 "was awesome. I learned about all the materials available for booksellers from MBA, like the catalog. The catalog really helps identify all kinds of Midwest books... which we can use to our advantage."

Having learned so much so quickly, and since he considered the show as "quite possibly one of the best experiences I've ever had," Arsenault is intent on attending ABA's Fourth Annual Winter Institute in Salt Lake City this January, and is currently working on his scholarship application.

ABA's Teicher and Member Services Director Jill Perlstein presented "Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound," which focused on the ways IndieBound taps into the growing localism movement and how booksellers can use it to further communicate their core strengths. Booksellers also shared tips for using IndieBound promotional materials within their shops and with other local businesses.

Sue Zumberge of Common Good Books in St. Paul told BTW that the store's staff are already confirmed "IndieBound people."

"You could knock your head on our 'Here's What You Just Did' banner as you leave the store," she said. "And we ran an ad for the Republican Convention that said 'Support Your Independent.'"

Zumberge attended the Reps' Picks session at this year's show and "learned a lot about midlist titles." Along with her own favorite of Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love (Myron Uhlberg, Bantam), she plans on stocking Elizabeth McCracken's An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir (Little, Brown).

Zumberge said that, as always, she loved attending the Midwest Booksellers' Choice Awards, which she noted brings attention to some titles that might not have done nearly as well without regional support from independent booksellers. "The awards really highlight the importance of independents."

The Declaration of IndieBound is prominently displayed at the entrance of the Red Balloon Bookshop.

In "Local First Initiatives," ABA's Teicher facilitated a discussion between Michele Cromer-Poire of The Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul and Chris Livingston of The Book Shelf in Winona, Minnesota, about their local business alliances.

Eileen Fesco of the Book Mouse in Ottawa, Illinois, said the session gave her some good suggestions for involving customers in the Buy Local movement. These include giving customers copies of the IndieBound flier that lists 10 benefits of shopping locally and producing the list with the logo of other local businesses, so they can post it in their windows. "We already have a business alliance, but these ideas will help move it along," she added.

Fesco found the whole show to be filled with actionable ideas that she could implement at the Book Mouse. "It's always so useful and energizing to attend these local shows. I can meet with other booksellers, hear from the publishing houses and finds gems to add to the holiday list, find sidelines, and get goodies to give to the staff.... It's a great way to keep track of what's going on in the industry." --Karen Schechner