NEIBA News
January 1, 2020
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A Note from NEIBA
Beth Ineson, Executive Director of NEIBA

Dear Booksellers,

Happy New Year from the NEIBA office, where we’re already off and running toward what promises to be a very busy 2020.  I wanted to give you a preview of what we’ve got cooking this year, but I can’t resist a brief pause to enthuse about our very successful 2019. Thanks to all of you—your participation in NEIBA events, your energy and ideas for all we’re trying to accomplish—we had a productive year.  From more state-specific ShopTalks, to our first-ever Owner’s Retreat, to a bang-up Fall Conference (that included an increase in both stores attending and booth space sold…and Awards Banquet that we may never live down), it was a wonderful calendar year for education and community building. 

2019 was also a significant year of change in the NEIBA office—we welcomed Ali Schmelzle as NEIBA’s new Marketing Coordinator, along with her abundant energy, wonderful ideas, and crackerjack organizational skills, we moved the office to a more flexible, accessible, and inexpensive location, and we made significant strides toward the implementation of our new website and operating system that will allow more NEIBA business to be transacted online (including Fall Conference badges and meal tickets, membership dues, and event registration…but don’t worry, the fax number remains and we’re still  delighted  to get them). The end of the calendar year brings NEIBA mid-way through our ‘19/20 fiscal year, and I’m pleased to report that the Holiday Catalog (our largest revenue driver) came in over budget, setting us up for a year ahead where we can spend that money on more educational programming designed not only to make a material difference in the bottom line of your stores, but to allow us to spend more fun, collaborative time together. 

On to 2020—here’s what’s currently on tap. Many more details to come, of course, and we need to fill in a bunch of state-specific ShopTalk dates, but mark your calendars, and watch this space for specifics:

January 15th: Our first-ever KidLit All About the Books, Beacon Press, Boston MA
February 12th: NEIBA Board/AC meeting…NEIBA’s new office housewarming party to follow, One Beacon Street, Boston MA
March 3-4: Children’s Buyer’s Retreat (in conjunction with NAIBA), Rhinebeck, NY
March 11-12: Owner’s Retreat, Wentworth-by-the-Sea, New Castle, NH
April 7-8: NEW NEIBA SPRING FORUM (including All About the Books, ABA Education/Town Hall, Frontline Bookseller Bootcamp, and Owner/Manager HR Intensive), Portland, ME
May 6: NECBA Meeting, location TK
May 13-14: NEIBA Board/AC meeting, Westerly, RI…bookseller party to follow, Westerly, RI
June 10: All About the Books, The Barn and Wight Farm, Sturbridge, MA
August 5-6: NEIBA Board/AC meeting, S. Hadley, MA…bookseller party to follow
August 12: NECBA Meeting, location TK
September 22-24: Fall Conference, Providence, RI
October 7-8: NEIBA Board/AC meeting, Beverly, MA…bookseller party to follow

Can’t wait for each and every one of these events—and if you have ideas for more, you know where to find us. Please be in touch!

Cheers,
Beth
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Attend an All-Kid Lit All About the Books
Deadline to purchase tickets is tomorrow: January 2
Attending Authors
Cynthia L. Copeland, author & illustrator of  Cub
Isaac Fitzgerald, author of  How to be a Pirate
Iona Hobai, author of  A Whale of a Mistake
Janae Marks, author of  From the Desk of Zoe Washington
Cammie McGovern, author of  Just Breathe
Oge Mora, illustrator of  The Oldest Student
Lesléa Newman, author of  Welcoming Elijah
Maria Padian, author of  How to Build a Heart
Diana Urban, author of   All Your Twisted Secrets
Maris Wicks, illustrator of  Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier

Afternoon Education: “How to Write Next-Level Blurbs"
Writing effective blurbs is a necessary part of every bookseller’s toolkit. Blurbs can not only move books forward—by convincing a buyer to bring a book into your store, or motivate a customer to purchase—but can serve to move a bookseller’s career forward by bringing them to the attention of the industry as a whole. But we can all agree that writing blurbs is STRESSFUL. How do you craft a high-quality, intriguing blurb in 150 words? (…or sometimes less!) What is the hook you need? What words or phrases should you avoid? In this education session, taught by both publisher staff and blurb-master booksellers, learn what publishers look for when seeking the right blurb to promote their books, and how booksellers can write interesting and concise recommendations that work both in-store and out. Please bring a review you’re working on (either a hard copy or on your phone) to workshop with the goal of improving/expanding it…and reducing anxiety about the process as a whole. 

Schedule of Events
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM — Author Readings
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM — Lunch with Authors
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM — Education Program

This meeting will take place at the Beacon Press offices
(24 Farnsworth Street) in Boston on Wednesday, January 15.

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Publishers: Are you on our "Call for Authors" List?
Would you like to receive notices when NEIBA is seeking authors
for its events? Is the person who received these notices for your publisher no longer the in-house contact?

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Brookline Booksmith to Expand
Per an article in the Boston Globe , Brookline Booksmith is set to expand by 4,000 feet! The bookstore will take over the space (currently occupied by a Verizon store) this summer and is schedule to open in the fall. This expansion will not only include more books, but a restaurant with a full liquor license. Said president Jed Smith, “We’re a bookstore first, a place for social discourse, conversation, discovery.” The hope is that this expanded space will “...continue the conversation and provide a comfortable place to talk.” Congrats, Brookline Booksmith!
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Nominate your peers for Publishers Weekly 's
Bookstore and Sales Rep of the Year Awards
Deadline for submissions is January 6, 2020
Those ties to the book industry are invited to nominate their favorite bookstores and sales representatives for the Bookstore and Sales Rep of the Year Awards. (Please note that candidates cannot nominate themselves, nor can family members nominate them.) Finalists will be named at Winter Institute 15 in Baltimore in January 2020. Winners will receive a write-up in the pre-BookExpo issue of Publishers Weekly ’s print magazine in May 2020 and will be honored at an awards ceremony in New York City at BookExpo. 

For Bookstore of the Year: PW will honor an independently owned brick-and-mortar bookstore in the U.S. that has been in operation for at least four years. In your nomination, please note what makes the bookstore special and provide contact information, including your name and industry affiliation. Bookstores that have previously received the award cannot be considered, nor can their sister stores.

For Sales Rep of the Year: We welcome nominations for outstanding telephone and house reps as well as independent sales representatives. Please include an example of the rep’s commitment to excellence, as well as contact information, including your name and industry affiliation. Sales representatives can only win the award once.

Please e-mail nominations Judith Rosen at PWawards@publishersweekly.com by January 6.
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Join the Windows & Mirrors Committee
Deadline to apply is January 10
The Windows & Mirrors Committee is looking for dedicated and passionate booksellers throughout New England to join us in curating a list of diverse, and well-crafted children’s books across all genres. Our goal is to create a list that follows  Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop's   ethos that all children should be able to “find representations of their own experiences and identities (“mirrors”), and be exposed to many experiences and identities of people unlike themselves (“windows”).” We use a broad definition of diversity which includes, but is not limited to: LGBTQIA, Native and Indigenous, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.  (Read our full mission statement.)

If you are interested, please fill out  this   application . Questions? E-mail Read Davidson ( rdavidson@harvard.com ) and Tildy Banker-Johnson ( tildy@belmontbooks.com ). 

Don't forget!  Submissions for the 2020 list are open . All NEIBA members and publishers may submit titles which fit our mission statement. Please feel free to share the link to the submissions page with other booksellers and publishers:  bit.ly/wm2020submissions . 
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Food for Thought
A round-up of pieces across publications
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Social Media Spotlight
Blue Hill Books (Blue Hill, ME)
@bluehillbooks: Here until ✨4:00✨ on this last day of 2019.
See you on the second day of 2020! 🎉
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NEIBA 
Best Sellers   
for the week ended
Sunday December 29, 2019

Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of
NEIBA and IndieBound  

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens, Putnam, $26, 9780735219090
2. The Dutch House
Ann Patchett, Harper, $27.99, 9780062963673
3. Olive, Again
Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $27, 9780812996548
4. The Testaments
Margaret Atwood, Nan A. Talese, $28.95, 9780385543781
5. The Starless Sea
Erin Morgenstern, Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385541213
6. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong, Penguin Press, $26, 9780525562023
7. The Water Dancer
Ta-Nehisi Coates, One World, $28, 9780399590597
8. Nothing to See Here
Kevin Wilson, Ecco, $26.99, 9780062913463
9. The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead, Doubleday, $24.95, 9780385537070
10. Agent Running in the Field
John le Carré, Viking, $29, 9781984878878
11. The Topeka School New!
Ben Lerner, FSG, $27, 9780374277789
12. The Giver of Stars
Jojo Moyes, Pamela Dorman Books, $28, 9780399562488
13. The Institute New!
Stephen King, Scribner, $30, 9781982110567
14. The Guardians
John Grisham, Doubleday, $29.95, 9780385544184
15. Disappearing Earth
Julia Phillips, Knopf, $26.95, 9780525520412

HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. The Body
Bill Bryson, Doubleday, $30, 9780385539302
2. Talking to Strangers
Malcolm Gladwell, Little Brown, $30, 9780316478526
3. Educated
Tara Westover, Random House, $28, 9780399590504
4. Blowout
Rachel Maddow, Crown, $30, 9780525575474
5. Becoming New!
Michelle Obama, Crown, $32.50, 9781524763138
6. Say Nothing
Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385521314
7. How To
Randall Munroe, Riverhead Books, $28, 9780525537090
8. The Yellow House: A Memoir
Sarah M. Broom, Grove Press, $26, 9780802125088
9. The Book of Gutsy Women
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, S&S, $35, 9781501178412
10. Catch and Kill New!
Ronan Farrow, Little Brown, $30, 9780316486637
11. The Pioneers
David McCullough, S&S, $30, 9781501168680
12. Guinness World Records 2020 New!
Guinness World Records, $28.95, 9781912286836
13. Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse
John Lithgow, Chronicle Prism, $19.95, 9781452182759
14. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat New!
Samin Nosrat, Wendy MacNaughton (Illus.), S&S, $35, 9781476753836
15. The Education of an Idealist New!
Samantha Power, Dey Street Books, $29.99, 9780062820693

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
1. The Overstory
Richard Powers, Norton, $18.95, 9780393356687
2. A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles, Penguin, $17, 9780143110439
3. Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng, Penguin, $17, 9780735224315
4. The Great Alone
Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's Griffin, $17.99, 9781250229533
5. The Best American Short Stories 2019
Anthony Doerr, Heidi Pitlor (Eds.), Mariner, $15.99, 9781328484246
6. Unsheltered
Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial, $17.99, 9780062684738
7. There There
Tommy Orange, Vintage, $16, 9780525436140
8. The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris, Harper, $16.99, 9780062797155
9. The Handmaid's Tale New!
Margaret Atwood, Anchor, $15.95, 9780525435006
10. Nine Perfect Strangers
Liane Moriarty, Flatiron Books, $17.99, 9781250069832
11. Olive Kitteridge
Elizabeth Strout, Random House, $17, 9780812971835
12. Girl, Woman, Other
Bernardine Evaristo, Grove Press/Black Cat, $17, 9780802156983
13. The Woman in the Window
A.J. Finn, Morrow, $16.99, 9780062678423
14. Before We Were Yours
Lisa Wingate, Ballantine, $17, 9780425284704
15. Killing Commendatore
Haruki Murakami, Vintage, $17, 9780525435761

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference
Greta Thunberg, Penguin, $10, 9780143133568
2. Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari, Harper Perennial, $24.99, 9780062316110
3. The Old Farmer's Almanac 2020
Old Farmer's Almanac, $8.95, 9781571988102
4. Born a Crime
Trevor Noah, Spiegel & Grau, $18, 9780399588198
5. The Fifth Risk
Michael Lewis, Norton, $16.95, 9780393357455
6. The Library Book
Susan Orlean, S&S, $16.99, 9781476740195
7. Calypso
David Sedaris, Back Bay, $17.99, 9780316392426
8. Just Mercy
Bryan Stevenson, Spiegel & Grau, $17, 9780593133934
9. Leadership: In Turbulent Times
Doris Kearns Goodwin, S&S, $18, 9781476795935
10. Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk
Jon Krakauer, Anchor, $15, 9781984897695
11. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Spiegel & Grau, $18, 9780525512196
12. Upstream: Selected Essays
Mary Oliver, Penguin, $17, 9780143130086
13. The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America
Matt Kracht, Chronicle, $15.95, 9781452174037
14. How to Change Your Mind New!
Michael Pollan, Penguin, $18, 9780735224155
15. In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington... New!
Nathaniel Philbrick, Penguin, $18, 9780143111450

MASS MARKET
1. Dune
Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99, 9780441172719
2. Good Omens
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Morrow, $9.99, 9780062836977
3. The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $9.99, 9780756404741
4. Elevation
Stephen King, Scribner, $9.99, 9781982102326
5. Animal Farm New!
George Orwell, Signet, $9.99, 9780451526342
6. A Game of Thrones New!
George R.R. Martin, Bantam, $9.99, 9780553593716
7. Doctor Sleep New!
Stephen King, Pocket, $10.99, 9781982138868
8. The Left Hand of Darkness
Ursula K. Le Guin, Ace, $9.99, 9780441478125
9. Past Tense New!
Lee Child, Dell, $9.99, 9780399593536
10. The Last Wish New!
Andrzej Sapkowski, Orbit, $8.99, 9780316029186

CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED
1. The Polar Express
Chris Van Allsburg, HMH Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780544580145
2. The Serious Goose
Jimmy Kimmel, Random House Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780525707752
3. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost, Susan Jeffers (Illus.), Dutton, $16.99, 9780525467342
4. The Crayons' Christmas
Drew Daywalt, Oliver Jeffers (Illus.), Penguin Workshop, $19.99, 9780525515746
5. The Snowy Day
Ezra Jack Keats, Viking Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780670012701
6. Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever
Matt Tavares, Candlewick, $17.99, 9781536201376
7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Dr. Seuss, Random House Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 9780394800790
8. Make Way for Ducklings New!
Robert McCloskey, Puffin, $7.99, 9780140564341
9. The Snowy Nap New!
Jan Brett, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780399170737
10. The Mitten
Jan Brett, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, $8.99, 9780399231094

CHILDREN'S INTEREST
1. Guts
Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $12.99, 9780545852500
2. Best Friends
Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), First Second, $12.99, 9781250317469
3. White Bird: A Wonder Story
R.J. Palacio, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $24.99, 9780525645535
4. Little Women
Louisa May Alcott, Puffin, $8.99, 9780142408766
5. A Tale of Magic...
Chris Colfer, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316523479
6. Drama New!
Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $10.99, 9780545326995
7. My Book with No Pictures
B.J. Novak, Dial Books, $9.99, 9780593111017
8. Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
Jason Reynolds, Alexander Nabaum (Illus.), Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, $17.99, 9781481438285
9. Smile New!
Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $10.99, 9780545132060
10. Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal New!
Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $13.99, 9781419740275

CHILDREN'S SERIES TITLES
1. Dog Man: Fetch-22
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99, 9781338323214
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball
Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $14.99, 9781419739033
3. Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99, 9781338236590
4. Sofia Valdez, Future Prez (The Questioneers)
Andrea Beaty, David Roberts (Illus.), Abrams, $18.99, 9781419737046
5. His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (Book 1)
Philip Pullman, Laurel-Leaf, $8.99, 9780440238133
6. Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha, #1)
Tomi Adeyemi, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), $18.99, 9781250170972
7. Major Impossible (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, #9) New!
Nathan Hale, Abrams, $13.99, 9781419737084
8. The Secret Commonwealth (Book of Dust, Volume 2)
Philip Pullman, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $22.99, 9780553510669
9. Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orisha, #2)
Tomi Adeyemi, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), $19.99, 9781250170996
10. The Toll (Arc of a Scythe, #3) New!
Neal Shusterman, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781481497060
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