PNBA Show Continues a Proud Tradition

By Scott Foley of Grass Roots Books & Music in Corvallis, Oregon

On a day rumored to be the last truly warm day of the summer, members of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association gathered at Portland, Oregon's Convention Center to begin three days of networking, education, and business, from September 8 to 10.

PNBA's trade show was launched with the fall meeting of the association's Board of Directors. Reported by President Pat Rutledge, of A Book for All Seasons in Leavenworth, Washington, the bulk of the Board's discussion centered on PNBA's continued support of Portland's fledgling Wordstock Festival of the Book. Also addressed was a proposal to relocate the spring and fall PNBA trade shows in response to space availability and budget concerns. A discussion of the implications of membership attrition and plans for a new spring catalog rounded out a full afternoon meeting.

PNBA's proud tradition of providing a stellar bookseller education program continued at the fall show. For many, the lessons learned during this full day of classes help justify show attendance. Over 100 attendees took advantage of more than a bookseller's dozen of educational offerings, which also catered to publishers, authors, and reps. In addition to the traditional sales reps' "Pick of the Lists," workshops ranged from "the basics" to issues for owners and managers. Greg Millard, of Jackson's Books in Salem, Oregon, directed a panel discussion,"Making It in Cybersace," focusing on creating and maintaining e-mail newsletters.

Offering a diversity of experience, the panel fronting "Who Moved My Books?" addressed several small store issues, including inventory control, author events, and advertising (guerrilla and otherwise). In a continuing dedication to bringing up the next generation of booksellers, PNBA offered several workshops focused on the "Basics of Bookselling." Kathi Kirby, of Powell's in Portland, Oregon, and I presented "The Basics of Customer Service and Handselling" to beginning frontline booksellers and store trainers, while Chuck Robinson, of Village Books in Bellingham, Washington), led frontline folks through the labyrinthine world of bookstore finances at "Where the Money Goes."

Thursday's lunchtime keynote address was delivered by John Mutter, editor-in-chief of Shelf Awareness, a free daily e-mail newsletter about bookselling. Mutter highlighted several evolving trends in the industry and argued that independent bookstores harbor an advantage over their more institutionalized competitors in the indies' ability to react and more readily adapt to change. Mutter supported his "more optimistic view of this book world" with stories of several independent stores deploying innovation in their favor. "The book world," concluded Mutter, "really does need independents."

The American Booksellers Association offered a track of Thursday educational workshops as well, including two extremely popular sessions on bookstore finances. BookSense.com director Len Vlahos offered "It's in the Payroll," equipping attendees with a flood of invaluable information and tools for understanding "the single largest component on the expense side of the ledger." ABA Board Vice President Russ Lawrence, of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, packed 90 minutes full of insight into "Increasing Sales." Also present were ABA COO Oren Teicher and Associate Director of Book Sense Marketing Meg Smith.

Thursday saw the sun set on a very successful "Celebration of Authors." Introduced by Paul Hanson, of Eagle Harbor Book Company on Bainbridge Island, Washington, the 10 presenters spotlighted up-and-coming authors including Jim Lynch (The Highest Tide, Bloomsbury USA), Michael de Guzman (The Bamboozlers, FSG) and Doug Peacock (Walking It Off, EWU Press).

Friday morning dawned with a packed Book and Author Breakfast, featuring award winning YA author Deb Caletti (Wild Roses, S&S Children's), the beloved Tomie DePaola (Angels, Angels Everywhere, Putnam Juvenile) and three-time PNBA Book Award winner Craig Lesley (Burning Fence, St. Martin's).

Attendance on the trade show floor reflected recent year's downward trend in the number of both publishers and booksellers. Nevertheless, the business of networking created a buzz as usual, with readily accessible reps eager to chat. While there was no single must-have galley, the usual retinue of resourceful attendees still wandered the floor belabored by bags and bags of free stuff. However, more booksellers than ever expressed a determination to leave with only one canvas bag of galleys, confident in publishers' recent trend of sending stores a plethora of ARC mailings.

The show highlight for many booksellers was the unveiling of this year's PNBA Holiday Catalog cover and contents. Following several years of very impressive performance, a million copies of 2005's Holiday Catalog are being printed and distributed to Northwest bookstores and their local newspapers. First-year PNBA Publications Manager Brian Juenemann capitalized on past years' success to create a catalog with a distinctly Northwest look and worked with publishers to select titles reflecting a Northwest sensibility. For many stores, PNBA's Holiday Catalog is the keystone in their seasonal marketing structure. Building on the Holiday Catalog popularity, PNBA announced a recent partnership with the Southeast Booksellers Association and Ingram to produce a Spring Catalog beginning in 2006, with income dedicated to the support and expansion of the "Spoken Word" radio program.

Friday evening marked the second very successful PNBA Feast of Authors, modeled in part after a similar program offered by the Southern California Booksellers Association. A remarkably diverse team of 20 authors rotated among several tables of dining booksellers throughout the evening. Highlights included children's authors Marissa Moss (Amelia's Most Unforgettable Embarrassing Moments, S&S/Paula Wiseman Books), Laura Numeroff (If You Give a Pig a Party, Laura Geringer) and R.L. Stine (The Big Blueberry Barf-Off, HarperCollins), as well as Michael Collins (Lost Souls, Viking) and PNBA 'buzz' author Karen Fisher (A Sudden Country, Random House).

Saturday's Book and Author Breakfast featured a stellar panel of writers, including Sisters in Crime President Libby Fischer Hellmann (A Shot to Die For, Berkley), BEA 'buzz' boy J.R. Moehringer (The Tender Bar, Hyperion) and illustrator Jerry Pinkney (The Old African, Dial). Pinkney silenced the room and left attendees humbled by slides of gorgeous and unsentimentalized artwork from his new collaboration with Julius Lester.

PNBA's fall trade show concluded with another half day of exhibits.

On a personal note, I left PNBA's fall trade show proud to be a member of an association with such generous programs for fellow booksellers. The strength of PNBA's full day of educational offerings is almost unprecedented among regional bookselling groups, and I look forward very much to this year's Holiday Catalog, which truly does help our store recruit new shoppers while providing longtime friends with a reason to return. I am also pleased by the numbers of first-time attendees and new Northwest booksellers eager to join PNBA. For several years Northwest independents have gathered twice yearly in a show of mutual support, discussing how to survive in times of economic downturn and increasing competition. I hope in seasons to come we're able to move on from talk of how to merely survive, and consider a future where we share stories of how we are able to thrive.

Related PNBA Trade Show News: As part of its presence at this year's fall regional trade shows, ABA is awarding a scholarship to its inaugural Winter Education Institute to one bookseller from each region who drops off a business card at the ABA booth. Mandi Peterson Richmond of Inkling's Bookshop in Yakima, Washington, was the winner at last week's PNBA trade show. The scholarship includes airfare and hotel accommodations to attend the Institute, which will be held on Thursday, January 26, and Friday, January 27, 2006, in Long Beach, California.

Also awarded at the ABA booth at the show was an inkjet printer to Patti Siberz, the manager of Bob's Beach Books in Lincoln City, Oregon.