The 2003 PNBA Trade Show

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) trade show promises to bring together some stellar authors, constructive educational sessions, celebrations, and a host of new titles.

The event will be held from Thursday, September 18, through Saturday, September 20, in Portland, Oregon. The educational events and banquets, beginning Thursday, will take place at the Doubletree Columbia River Hotel in Portland. The trade show and all exhibits will be held at Portland’s Metro Expo Center. A free bus will shuttle attendees between the two sites for both show days.

Thursday’s schedule is chock full of useful and informative strategies for booksellers. At 9:00 a.m. Thursday, Jeff Wexler, ABA’s information systems director, will present "Technology as a Bookselling Tool." This in-depth presentation -- with live demonstrations -- will address the technological needs of today’s bookseller. Special focus will be given to getting the most out of ABA's online resources. Topics will include basic computer techniques (downloading attachments, virus scans, etc.), bookseller online discussion forums, the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online, reporting to the Book Sense Bestseller List, and the e-commerce solution for independent booksellers, BookSense.com.

From 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m., Mark Nichols, Book Sense marketing director, will lead a session on "BookSense.com Co-op Reimbursement Program, Reduce Your Web Site Costs." Nichols and other ABA representatives will be on hand to explain the new BookSense.com co-op program, which allows booksellers with BookSense.com Web sites to earn newsletter co-op dollars from participating publishers for featuring titles, both online and in-store, and helps publishers to promote their books. This can help offset the cost of operating a Web site. There will be a brief presentation followed by Q&A.

Also on Thursday morning, beginning at 8:00 a.m., will be two simultaneous sessions on "How to Make the Most of the Trade Show." One, led by DeDe Teeters, owner of Armchair Books in Port Orchard, Washington, will be geared to the needs of novice booksellers; the second, led by industry professional Cynthia Frank, will review tricks of the trade show for authors and publishers.

At 9:00 a.m., booksellers can attend the ABA technology workshop (described above); hear sales representatives present their "Pick of the Lists;" or learn about "Taking Advantage of Audio Book Opportunities," with the Audio Publishers Association. The "Pick of the Lists" session will continue until 2:45 p.m. after the lunch break. Publishers can spend the morning with Sharon Castlen and Cynthia Frank discussing "Distribution and Marketing for Independent Presses," followed by an authors’ workshop on "Publicity and Promotion," led by Joanne McCall. From 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 p.m., bookseller panels include "Supporting Ourselves: Book Scan," with Book Scan representatives and participating bookstores; or "Our Best Promo of the Year," at which a panel of booksellers will reveal the success of PNBA’s holiday catalog.

Thursday afternoon’s sessions include BookSense.com co-op (described above); a panel of booksellers, teachers, and librarians moderated by author Clare Meeker on "School Work: Cooperation Between Booksellers and Teachers can Pay off for Both!"; and, for publishers, "What a Book Editor Can Do For You," and "Seeing the Audio Market."

"A Celebration of Authors," hosted by Russ Lawrence, co-owner of Chapter One Bookstore in Hamilton, Montana, and ABA Board member, will cap off the afternoon. The annual celebration highlights 10 authors whose books have been chosen as great regional handsellers. Each of the authors, including Jack Nisbet (Visible Bones, Sasquatch), Daniel Coyle (Waking Samuel, Bloomsbury), and Terry Trueman (Inside Out, HarperCollins) will attend an autographing and dessert party at 8:00 p.m. Several other authors are also scheduled to attend.

Friday morning at the Doubletree, Ivan Doig (Prairie Nocturne, Scribners), Richard Peck (The River Between Us, Dial), and Laura Kalpakian (The Memoir Club, St. Martin’s) will speak at the "Book and Author Breakfast," emceed by Dee Robinson, co-owner of Village Books in Bellingham, Washington.

The show floor, at the Metro Expo Center, will be open from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on Friday, with author autographing on the convention floor. Popular authors, including Dan Savage (Skipping Towards Gomorrah, Plume), Tananarive Due (The Good House, Atria), and Zoe Trope (Please Don’t Kill the Freshman, HarperCollins), are among those scheduled to autograph over the two days.

Booksellers may spend their lunchtime in one of the five roundtable discussions about the business of bookselling. Several PNBA committee meetings will be held during the day and its general membership meeting will begin at 4:45 p.m.

The evening banquet will be a special treat with appearances by authors Esmé Codell (How To Get Your Child To Love Reading, Algonquin) and David Guterson (Our Lady of the Forest, Knopf), and by illustrator Steven Kellogg (Jimmy’s Boa and the Bungee Jump Slam Dunk, Dial). Holly Myers, president of PNBA’s Board of Directors and buyer at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, will host the event.

Saturday morning, the show will kick off at the Doubletree with the "Book and Author Breakfast." Chris Satterlund, co-owner of Snowgoose Bookstore in Stanwood, Washington will emcee the event, which will feature Pete Fromm (As Cool As I Am, Picador), Nancy Pearl (Book Lust, Sasquatch), and Doug Wood (Old Turtle and the Broken Truth, Scholastic).

The show floor will be open from 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, when the show concludes. Autographing will take place between 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Booksellers at the banquet and breakfasts will receive one signed copy of each speaker’s book, according to PNBA executive director Thom Chambliss. When quantities are limited, PNBA may limit the books to one copy per member store.

This schedule is subject to change. For registration and other show information, click on http://www.pnba.org/show.htm or e-mail: [email protected].