GLBA Show Features Pirates of the Great Lakes 'Hoisting Sales'

The pirate-themed 2006 Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA) Fall Trade Show will be held from Friday, October 6, through Sunday, October 8, at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn, in Dearborn, Michigan. Program highlights include author events with many Book Sense favorites, including Chris Bohjalian, Katrina Kittle, Ron McLarty, Gloria Whelan, and Michael Perry, and a GLBA Quiz Bowl with special guest, Ken Jennings, champion of television's Jeopardy.

Three popular education sessions will be presented by the American Booksellers Association: "Creating Killer Events," "Introduction to Above the Treeline," and "Know Your Customers: Increase Sales." Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com and of ABA's education program, and Dan Cullen, ABA information director and Book Sense Picks editor-in-chief, will represent the ABA in Dearborn. ABA Board member Becky Anderson of Anderson Bookshops in Naperville, Illinois, will also attend.

Jim Dana, GLBA executive director, told BTW that this year's show includes an element of whimsy, as evidenced by session titles such as "Plundering Each Other's Treasure," also know as "Ideas that Work," and "Keeping Your Sword in Its Sheath" aka "Dealing With Difficult Customers."

Dana said that once the GLBA trade show planning committee started thinking about a pirate theme, "the idea blossomed into something full grown ... and a way to have a lot of fun while conducting business. We were kind of prescient with the pirate theme -- and we encouraged exhibitors to feature any pirate books or products." Dana explained that the programming is divided into four different planks -- alluding to those you walk, rather than those that comprise a party platform -- ABA educational programming, sessions for staff, sessions for managers and buyers, and sessions for bookstore owners.

GLBA's show floor will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. "We're opening the show floor a half-hour earlier and closing it a half-hour later," noted Dana.

In addition to its educational offerings, at its booth on the trade show floor, ABA will provide demonstrations of Above The Treeline, Constant Contact, and BookSense.com. Booksellers will also have the opportunity to meet with ABA staff to learn about the association's other products and services. Information will also be available about the 2007 Winter Institute, the Book Sense marketing program, and more.

ABA member booksellers who stop by the booth and drop off a business card will be eligible to win prizes. In a random drawing, ABA will award a color inkjet printer. The printer winner will then be entered into a grand prize drawing with the eight printer winners from the other fall trade shows. The grand prize winner will be awarded airfare to, and up to a three-night hotel stay at, the association's 2007 Winter Institute.

ABA members will also have a chance to win up to a four-night stay at Hotel ABA in Brooklyn for BookExpo America 2007 in New York City, compliments of BEA. Booksellers can enter the drawing for the BEA prize at the ABA booth.

ABA is asking all member booksellers at this year's shows to participate in the formulation of the association's next Five-Year Strategic Plan by filling out a strategic planning survey. Surveys will be available in the ABA booth.

ABA programming, offered on Friday, October 6, includes:

• Creating Killer Events, 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.
  Moderated by Dan Cullen, ABA information director and Book Sense Picks editor-in-chief, and featuring panelists Amy Gillard of McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petosky, Michigan, and Meagen Kucaj of Shaman Drum in Ann Arbor, Michigan
  With books sold in more and more outlets each year, independent booksellers are finding new and innovative ways to distinguish themselves from the competition. One of their most effective tools is to offer a schedule of compelling events. In this session, a panel of experienced booksellers will review an event prep checklist and describe what makes a killer event.
  
  
• Know Your Customer: Increase Sales, 2:30 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.
  Presented by Len Vlahos, BookSense.com director and ABA education director
  According to Gartner Research, businesses "that fail to establish strong relationships with their customers will see their position eroded by up to 20 percent per year." A bookseller's single greatest asset is not a lease, a computer, or even inventory -- it's a store's list of customers. Attendees will learn how individual contact, surveys, market research, and use of a store's database can combine to form an effective strategy for communicating with customers. Effective communication will help booksellers identify and achieve objectives that will grow a business and make a store more profitable.
  
  
• Above The Treeline: An Introduction, 3:30 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
  Presented by John Rubin, creator of Above The Treeline
  Above the Treeline is an online software product designed to help bookstores improve finances by optimizing inventory selection. This introductory session will include a demonstration of the product and information about the special discount for ABA member booksellers. This session is designed for booksellers who are not current Above The Treeline users.

Friday's GLBA programming includes "Weigh Anchor! A First Timers Meeting," "Great Grub -- The GLBA Book Awards Luncheon," and "What's the Buzz From Store Buyers." A sampling of sessions in the different "planks" includes "Double Your Doubloons With Sidelines," "Hooking Them in with Handselling," "Discover a Hidden Treasure Chest -- School Sales," and "View from the Crow's Nest -- ISBN-13 on the Horizon," among many others.

Friday events will conclude with autographing, the Authors' Moveable Feast, and an Authors' Reception. The keynote speaker for the Moveable Feast is Ridley Pearson, co-author with Dave Barry of Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Part 2 of the trilogy, and Escape From the Carnivale, Part 1, both from Disney.

Saturday morning programming will begin with a "Hearty Ahoy for Breakfast," with the GLBA Board and the annual meeting. The Reading Room will feature Laura Kasischke (Be Mine, Harcourt), Melanie Hauser (Confessions of a Supe, Penguin), and Dave Case (Out of Cabrini, Five Star).

Saturday evening, the Booksellers Banquet, with Danny Meyer (Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business, HarperCollins), Steve Hamilton (A Stolen Season, St. Martin's/Holtzbrinck), and Malika Oufkir (Freedom, Miramax), will nourish body and soul, and beginning at 9:30 p.m., the Quiz Bowl will determine who is the true Brainiac (Ken Jennings, Villard).

On Sunday morning, the scheduled speakers for the Children's Book and Author Breakfast are Jennifer Armstrong (Once Upon a Banana, S&S), Nikki Grimes (The Road to Paris, Penguin Putnam), Jon J Muth (I Will Hold You 'Til You Sleep, Scholastic), Buck Wilder (Animal Rules, Mackinac Island Press), and Paul Zelinsky (Toys Go Out, Schwartz & Wade/Random House).

Politics will take center stage at 10:00 a.m. at a session featuring Amy Goodman (Static, Hyperion), Andy Borowitz (The Republican Playbook, Hyperion), and David Callahan (The Moral Center, Harcourt). This will be followed by one last round of panel discussions, focusing on authors for teens, mystery authors, emerging leaders, and a ISBN-13. A final autographing session will end the show.

Registration materials, including ticket information and a full schedule of events with times and locations, as well as full lists of participating authors, are available on the GLBA website, www.books-glba.org . Questions about GLBA programming should be addressed to Jim Dana at [email protected], or Joan Jandernoa at [email protected].

Questions and requests for information about ABA's participation at GLBA's trade show may be directed to ABA's Kristen Gilligan, associate director of programming and constituent groups liaison, at [email protected]. -- Nomi Schwartz