News - Regional

Chris Bohjalian, Howard Zinn, Leonard Everett Fisher, and University Press of New England were named as the 2002 winners of the New England Book Awards, announced Rusty Drugan, executive director of the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA). Drugan said that the awards will be presented on Sunday, September 29, at the Breakfast with New England Book Award Winners during the NEBA trade show in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) 2002 Trade Show, September 19 - 22, held again at the Marriott Denver Tech Center in Denver, Colorado, is notable for its stellar line up of Book Sense 76 authors, convenient scheduling, and panoply of free seminars for booksellers from novice to experienced. The first two days of the show are reserved for educational programming; on those days, the show floor will not be open.

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) fall trade show will be held on September 13 - 15 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. A full slate of workshops and panels for booksellers, publishers, and authors, as well as breakfast, lunch, and dinner events, is planned.

One of the notable "only in New York" events that occurred during this year’s BookExpo America was a Circle Line boat trip around Manhattan. The cruise included an emotional view of the Statue of Liberty and the site of the World Trade Center attack. The boat trip was co-hosted by the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) and the American Booksellers Association, with many co-sponsors. NAIBA immediate past president Fern Jaffe, of Paperbacks Plus in the Bronx, New York, played a major role in organizing the event.

This fall, when ABA joins independent booksellers attending the regional trade associations' shows, there will be a special emphasis on education and on showcasing two major ABA initiatives, the online ABA Book Buyer's Handbook and the enhanced options for reporting to the Book Sense Bestseller List. The educational programming that will be offered by ABA at regionals this fall features:

The 2002 Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association (MSIBA) Fall Trade Show will be held September 5 - 8 at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans. "I am extremely excited about this trade show," said Andy Jackson, MSIBA's new executive director. (Jackson replaced Joe Holmes as executive director in January.) "This year … we are in a new hotel facility, the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. This is quite an upgrade for us.

The first Midwest Independent Bestseller List, published in a cooperative effort between the Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA), the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA), and Book Sense, has made its debut. The Midwest bestseller list is the fourth regional Book Sense bestseller list, joining lists published in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, New England Booksellers Association, and Southeast Booksellers Association.

Twice a year since July 1999, Paz & Associates Bookstore Training & Consulting Group, in conjunction with the American Booksellers Association, has been conducting weeklong intensive workshops designed to teach potential booksellers the ins and outs of the bookstore business. The next program, "Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials," will take place in Portland, Oregon, on September 9 - 15, in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association convention and trade show, held September 13 - 15.

When Jean McGean, the long-time book buyer for Sam Weller's Zion Book Store in Salt Lake City, died recently, colleagues throughout the industry mourned her passing. McGean was a favorite among publishers' representatives, including the author of this piece, Bruce Roberts, who called on her for many years representing regional book wholesalers. Roberts is currently an account manager for Books West, a regional wholesaler in Boulder, Colorado.