Southern Booksellers Renew Bonds at Fall Show

By Kelly Justice of The Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

The mood at this year's Southeastern Booksellers Association Trade Show was decidedly sober compared to the last few years. I felt the distressing echo of the show that had immediately followed September 11, 2001. The same haunted "there but for the grace of God go I" gratitude was evident in the faces of many of my colleagues, as well as in the mirror in my hotel room.

But also present in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and a very soft sales year for most was a stronger sense of community and cooperation. The vast majority of the publishers and booksellers I encountered this past weekend seemed most interested in working together to help boost our entire industry in order to ensure a viable future.

I enjoyed sleepy Winston-Salem. Having the hotels and the convention center in such close proximity is always a bonus. The small town had a surprising array of high quality, original dining options, which were enjoyed by all. However, the lack of access to decent coffee made some a little cranky. Well, okay, it made me a little cranky.

The addition of a speaker to the Breakfast & Annual Meeting was welcome. Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason (Sasquatch Books), was a perfect choice, and her passion was shared by an enthusiastic audience.

I then attended ABA's panel "Independent Retailing in the U.S.," which gave me a great perspective on the place of the book industry with regard to other retail businesses. The panel was moderated by ABA COO Oren Teicher, and it featured Jim Bland of Plan 9 Music in Richmond, Virginia; Sibyle Hager of Tri-City Electronics in Conover, North Carolina; and Sara Foster of Foster's Market, in Durham, North Carolina. Foster is the author of Fresh Every Day: More Great Recipes From Foster's Market (Clarkson N. Potter). Particularly interesting to me was the survival techniques employed by the music industry and the parallels to the trend of proprietary publishing in the book business. The other panel sponsored by ABA was "It's in the Payroll!," which was presented by Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com. This panel looked at ways to control a key component on the expense side of the ledger.

The panel "How to Merchandise & Sell Graphic Novels" gave me some interesting insight into that topic. The suggestion of shelving graphic novels in with regular fiction is something that we will start to employ at our store. And I was relieved to notice that I'm still enough of a book nerd that sitting in the same room with Chip Kidd made me all wiggly inside.

Another highlight for me was the SEBA supper speech given by Nikki Giovanni, who set a show record for both brevity and impact. I was surprised when we didn't all leave the room en masse to start the next revolution. Perhaps it was only because we knew Michael Connelly was scheduled to speak last, and who wanted to miss that?

While I didn't attend the Moveable Feast of Authors, those I spoke with who did attend mentioned that it is still a favorite SEBA tradition. Our assistant manager, Anna Cloninger was tickled to meet Jeff MacGregor, author of Sunday Money (HarperCollins), and to pick up a few choice tidbits on her favorite NASCAR drivers.

As for the trade show floor, the current slump in the book business was reflected in the absence of some vendors. My discussions with publishing house representatives on the floor were focused on ways to work together to make it a more profitable year for them and for us.

Of course, while the show is about the business of bookselling, it's also about the books. One of the oddest titles that I saw (and, of course, I came home and ordered it in immediately), was a Distributed Art Publishers (DAP) title that I somehow missed from the spring. Catholic No.1: Cats (pronounced "cat-holic," as in addiction) is an art book with the slightly demented cat lover in mind.

The book that was generating the most buzz was, hands down, The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier, a Pantheon title due to be released on February 14, 2006. I must say that I have to add my voice to the choir on this one, as it's the best book I've read in a while. If you picked up a copy at the show, I suggest you move it to the top of your pile.

Speaking of picking up books, one of the comments I heard most from both publishers and legitimate booksellers was abject disgust with the greed of some of the attendants who were clearly intending to leave the show and sell the books that they had accumulated. A few have managed to get out of the "no carts" rule by producing "medical excuses," which are difficult to refute. This is a problem at BookExpo and all the other trade shows of which I am aware. I think it is finally time to address this issue in a serious manner because it hurts us all, particularly the authors.

Whether we like to admit it or not, gossip is a standing tradition at the shows, and this one was no exception. I'll defend this late night banter by saying that I've picked up a lot of early warning signals about upcoming shifts in the industry by keeping an ear peeled, so to speak. And if anyone has any bad gossip about yours truly, I only request that you make it really bad as it makes me appear more interesting.

Finally, several booksellers mentioned that Curious George seemed "different" since production wrapped on his international film debut. Has Hollywood ruined the beloved monkey? The Man in the Yellow Hat could not be reached for comment.

Related Trade Show News

ABA awarded a scholarship to its inaugural Winter Education Institute to Anna Hall of Yellow Dog Books in Madison, Mississippi, at the SEBA 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 Linda Pate of Precious Memories Readings & Collectibles in Richmond, Virginia.

The winners were chosen at random from booksellers who stopped by the ABA booth at the show and dropped off a business card.