NEBA Show to Provide a Plethora of Programming in Providence

The New England Booksellers Association's (NEBA) 33rd Annual Trade Show will be held on Friday, September 15, through Sunday, September 17, at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island. This year's special events include the NEBA Awards Luncheon, a Children's Books Author/Illustrator Dinner, and NEBA's Dinner With Authors. The American Booksellers Association will offer education sessions at the show focusing on forming independent business alliances and marketing to customers, as well as demonstrations of Above The Treeline and Constant Contact.

ABA's CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, COO Oren Teicher, Book Sense Marketing Director Mark Nichols, and Marketing Director Jill Perlstein will be attending the show. At the ABA booth, booksellers will find details about the association's products and services. Information will also be available about the Winter Institute, to be held in Portland, Oregon, on February 1 - February 2, 2007, the Book Sense marketing program, and much more. In addition, there will be in-booth demonstrations of the Above The Treeline and Constant Contact. ABA Board member Linda Ramsdell of Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vermont, will also be available to discuss any issues of concern to members.

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.

In addition, ABA members will 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 either the ABA booth or the BEA booth on the trade show floor.

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's education sessions are free to all show attendees:

• Shop Local: Forming Business Alliances in Your Community, on Friday from 2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
  Moderated by ABA COO Oren Teicher. Panelists: Betsy Burton of The King's English, Salt Lake City, Utah; Stacy Mitchell, Senior Researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance; Laury Hammel, Board Co-chair of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE); Frank Kramer of Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Chris Morrow of Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont; Susan Porter of Maine Coast Book Shop & Cafe in Damariscotta, Maine; and Allan Schmid of Books Etc. in Falmouth and Portland, Maine.
  Not only do locally owned businesses have far greater economic impact on their communities than do national chains, there is growing evidence that by working with other independently owned businesses, retailers can become more profitable. At this panel, booksellers will learn about the important role that bookstores can play in the creation of independent business alliances and how they can organize local merchants and concerned citizenry to convince communities to institute zoning and other policies to support businesses owned and operated locally.
  

• Know Your Customer: Increase Sales, on Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
  Presented by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz
  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 the store's list of customers. Attendees will learn how individual contact, surveys, market research, and use of the store database can combine to form an effective strategy for communicating with customers. Effective communication will help a bookseller identify and achieve objectives that will grow the business and make the store more profitable.
  

• Above the Treeline: An Introduction, on Saturday, from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., and on Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
  Presented by John Rubin, Creator/Owner, 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 provide booksellers with a demonstration of the product and basic information, including details of the special discount for ABA member booksellers. This session is designed for booksellers who are not current Above The Treeline users.
  

• Constant Contact Demonstration, on Saturday, from 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
  Presented by Jill Perlstein, ABA's Director of Marketing
  Booksellers are increasingly using new technologies such as websites, blogs, and e-mail to communicate with their customers, further their marketing goals, and drive traffic to their stores. This session will demonstrate Constant Contact, a service facilitating the creation, mailing, and tracking of e-mail marketing campaigns. Booksellers will get an overview of what the service offers, how to create an actual e-newsletter, how to manage subscriber lists, and how to check the status reports, including how many people opened the e-mail, and much, much more.
  

• Above the Treeline 201, on Sunday, from 10:45 a.m. - Noon
  Moderated by John Rubin. Panelists: Chris Morrow of Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vermont, and John Hugo of Andover Bookstore, Andover, Massachusetts
  This advanced session will demonstrate how to get the most out of the Above the Treeline software, to maximize a bookseller's return on investment and to provide better control of inventory.
  

NEBA's education sessions over the trade show weekend include "Independent Booksellers As Mavericks," presented by William C. Taylor and Polly La Barre (Mavericks at Work, William Morrow), who will help bookstore managers and owners look beyond best practices to "next practices"; "Valuing, Marketing and Selling Your Store," with business broker Phil Steckler, of Country Business, Inc., who will provide a comprehensive look at the issues booksellers need to address in terms of selling the store; and "Capitalizing on Your Children's Department" (organized by the New England Children's Booksellers Advisory Council), featuring a panel of master children's booksellers, who will share their expertise and ideas with attendees.

At the end of the educational programming on Friday, there will be an Emerging Leaders reception, hosted by Karen Corvello of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut, and John Hugo of Andover Bookstore in Andover, Massachusetts. Anyone who considers himself or herself to be a member of the next generation of leaders in the book industry is invited to meet their peers, exchange notes, and expand their network of connections.

Following the Emerging Leaders reception will be the Children's Books Author/Illustrator Dinner, featuring Jennifer Armstrong (The American Story, Alfred A. Knopf), T.A. Barron (The Great Tree of Avalon: The Eternal Flame, Philomel), and Judy Schachner (Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble, Dutton).

On Saturday, the day will kick off with the Saturday Breakfast With Authors, featuring William Cohen (Dragon Fire, Forge), Barbara Delinsky (Family Tree, Doubleday), and Ward Just (Forgetfulness, Houghton Mifflin). NEBA Vice President Penny McConnel, Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vermont, will host the event.

Following the breakfast, the trade show exhibit opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m. The afternoon will feature a series of NECBA and NEBA meetings, followed by NEBA's Annual Reception, which is open to all convention attendees.

Following the reception will be the Dinner With Authors. Ten authors will move from table to table as each course is served. This event provides an opportunity for conversations, which are not possible at breakfasts and autographings.

Sunday morning will get underway with the Sunday Breakfast With Authors, hosted by NEBA Treasurer Mitch Gaslin, and featuring Susan Cheever (American Bloomsbury, Simon & Schuster), Barry Lopez (Home Ground, Trinity University Press), and Christopher Moore (You Suck: A Love Story, William Morrow).

Following the breakfast the trade show exhibit opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 2:00 p.m.

For a full listing of educational programming and events at the NEBA Annual Trade Show, as well as registration and ticket information, visit NEBA's website, www.newenglandbooks.org.

Questions and requests for information about ABA's participation at NEBA may be directed to ABA's Kristen Gilligan, associate director of programming and constituent groups liaison, at [email protected]. --David Grogan