Over Hill and Dale: ABA & MPBA Booksellers Meet in Denver

From February 23 to 25, at the Denver Marriott Tech Center in Denver, in conjunction with the Third Annual Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) Spring Meeting, the American Booksellers Association held a Booksellers Forum and Education Program. ABA's educational offerings focused on how to use e-mail newsletters more effectively and how to manage non-book products. Other highlights of the Spring Meeting included an author lunch, the MPBA Membership Meeting, and the Regional Book Awards Banquet.

Representing ABA at the meetings were ABA CEO Avin Domnitz, COO Oren Teicher, and Board members Cathy Langer of Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore and Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona.

MPBA, which now includes some members of the former Mid-South Booksellers Association, covers a vast region and many attendees have few opportunities to network with other booksellers or to host author events. Several booksellers told BTW about the insight they gained from hearing authors talk about their books and themselves.

"Meeting authors," Nancy Munier told BTW, "really helps you sell their books. There's something about seeing them face-to-face and hearing them talk about their books that makes the books mean more."

Munier is general manager of the Wheatland Mercantile in Wheatland, Wyoming, a 103-year-old building housing a gunsmith; supplies for beading, needlework, and quilting; handmade crafts; assorted dry goods; and a book store. Torrie Rice, Munier's daughter and corporate president of the Mercantile, also attended the show.

Both had previously attended MPBA fall shows. The Spring Show, Munier said, "is wonderful, such a help for small, growing stores like ours. There is a little less pressure ... I had more time to attend the seminars."

ABA's educational session entitled "Buying, Selling, and Managing Gifts, Sidelines, and Other Non-Book Products," presented by Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands, appealed to Munier. "Since our store sells many things other than books," she explained, "there was a lot for us to think about."

Domnitz, who extended an offer to meet with booksellers individually, gave Munier and Rice very specific and useful answers to their questions about running the store, according to Munier.

Robby Smith of 75-year-old Sheridan Stationery, Books & Gallery in Sheridan, Wyoming, has owned the store with her husband John for the past 13 years. She was very enthusiastic about the show and the forum. "I thought [the programming] was really great," she said. "I appreciate everything that ABA does for us. It's very member-friendly. After attending the ABA meeting, it's clear how much they fight for us and stay on top of all the current issues that affect booksellers."

Smith told BTW that she was particularly interested in the session "Creating Effective Newsletters."

"This is something that I've always wanted to do, but I'm not a very techie person," she explained. "But after learning about Constant Contact, it seems really possible for us to do it in the future. We've started collecting e-mail addresses."

Andy Nettell from Arches Book Company in Moab, Utah, was similarly pleased with the event and the programming. "I've always been impressed with the availability and knowledge of ABA staff members," he said. "Back when I owned a CD/music store, our professional organization charged a lot in dues, but I never felt like I received much in return, and certainly never, ever met one staff person. ABA is always a positive presence at the MPBA meetings," he continued, "and its Winter Institute in January was an amazing collection of professionals working toward a common goal."

About the Booksellers Forum, Nettell told BTW, "It was great to hear about the progress in amending the Patriot Act and [about] the opportunity to attend the Legislative Day before BEA. I also appreciate ABA working with Above the Treeline to waive the set-up fees; it's an amazing program that will help all booksellers."

Sheridan Stationery's Smith also mentioned the discussion of Above the Treeline. "I was very interested in Above the Treeline and seeing how much ABA believes in it. [ABA will] even help booksellers pay to set it up. I'll definitely want to learn more about it in the fall."

Noting that she attended all of the Spring Show's author events, Smith said, "We don't see major authors in our town so it's especially nice to have a chance to meet them this way." --Nomi Schwartz