SIBA Show Earns Positive Reviews

Posted Tuesday, Sep 30, 2008

Though the gas shortage in the South somewhat dampened attendance, the 2008 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Fall Trade Show, which was held from Friday, September 26, through Sunday, September 28, at the Marriott Renaissance and the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center in Mobile, Alabama, earned high praise from booksellers who spoke to Bookselling This Week. Among the highlights mentioned were the Fire & Brimstone Barbecue, a busy trade show floor, and ABA's IndieBound session.

"It was a relaxed, but energized show," said SIBA Executive Director Wanda Jewell. "When the show moves to the western part of the region, we expect attendance to dip." And the gas shortage, she said, impacted onsite registration. "We only had five stores register onsite -- the lowest ever. [The shortage] also caused some people to leave early because they were anxious about getting home. But the show floor looked like everybody was energized.... The education programs were good and were very well received."

SIBA President Karin Wilson of Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama, said, "Booksellers found the education extremely helpful, and feedback about the overall show was positive. The schedule was packed with wonderful authors and events. Some were not able to come due to the gas shortage, but the ones who did found that the show exceeded their expectations."


ABA booth at the
SIBA Fall Trade Show.

Kelly Justice of the Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, thought that, overall, the trade show went very well. At ABA's IndieBound session, Justice said, she learned about "all of the customizable PDFs online" and, she added, "The session handout was very helpful."

"It was a great show," said Sally Brewster of Park Road Books in Charlotte, North Carolina. "The convention center was one of the best we've worked with."

Among the events earning high marks from attendees was the "Author to Author Interviews With Katherine Neville and Steve Berry" on Saturday. Wilson noted to BTW, "I really enjoyed the two authors, Katherine Neville and Steve Berry, interviewing each other Saturday night. It was casual, natural, and we learned a great deal about both of them."

Jewell echoed Wilson's sentiments. "They were obviously friends for a long time -- it felt like Old Home Week!"

Another trade show hit was the Fire & Brimstone SIBA Barbecue featuring Diane Wilson, author of Holy Roller (Chelsea Green) and Frank Durham, author of Cain's Version (Turner Publishing). "The barbecue was stupendous!" Brewster said.

Said Justice, "The barbecue was a super format.... I really enjoyed listening to them read."

Both Justice and Brewster also gave thumbs-up to all of the show's participating authors. "I thought all the authors went above and beyond," said Brewster. "They were all wonderful. The Rep Around Breakfast was superb, and at the end everybody had such a good time. That was a big highlight for me." She added: "Rick Bragg was hysterical."

"All the meal sessions were better than normal," Justice said. "I really enjoyed myself. There was a nice area outside the convention center that lent itself to booksellers talking one-on-one. I did a lot of that."

During the show, SIBA introduced the 100,001 Book Project, an incentive program to entice members to insert the SIBA holiday catalog in local newspapers. SIBA will reimburse booksellers 50 percent of their insertion costs up to $500. In return, stores will provide SIBA with aggregate sales data. "We want to sell 100,001 books," Jewell explained. SIBA's holiday catalog will also include a consumer survey. Customers who complete the survey are being asked to drop it off at a participating member store, where they will be entered into a drawing for a free book (courtesy of SIBA). Booksellers will then send the surveys to SIBA for a second drawing to choose a grand prize-winner, who will be rewarded with a $100 ABA Gift Card. --David Grogan

Categories: