PNBA Fall Show Emphasizes Education and Authors

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Fall Trade Show will be held September 8 - 10 at the Oregon Convention Center and Red Lion Hotel in Portland, Oregon. This year's trade show promises a plethora of educational programs for booksellers, publishers, and authors, as well as Book & Author Breakfasts on Friday and Saturday morning.

Thom Chambliss, executive director of PNBA, told BTW, "Last year, for the first time, we did our Annual Feast of Authors and it was a big hit, so we're re-doing it." He noted this year the show would begin on a Thursday and end on Saturday. "We've done it before, but we're going to try to make it more regular." He said it was important because it allows sales reps to attend the show without losing their entire weekend. "This allows them to have a Sunday to relax."

Chambliss noted that the PNBA trade shows "always emphasize education -- there are 18 different educational sessions, all day Thursday, and they will provide a lot of choices for people to consider no matter what their specialty."

ABA will present two education sessions at the show, "Increasing Sales" and "It's in the Payroll." The association will also have a booth on the trade show floor, where the focus will be on the number one goal of ABA's strategic plan, "to provide independent professional booksellers with access to the education, information, and business services they need to succeed in a changing world." Booksellers are encouraged to stop by the booth to meet with ABA staff. Visitors to the booth can drop off their business card for a chance to win airfare and hotel accommodations for ABA's Winter Institute or an inkjet printer.

On Thursday, PNBA has scheduled a full day of panels and workshops. The first ABA education offering of the day is "It's in the Payroll!" which will be held from 10:30 a.m. - noon in Room A-106. The focus of this session, which will be presented by BookSense.com Director Len Vlahos, is payroll control. Payroll, the single largest component on the expense side of the ledger, is arguably the most difficult issue for booksellers to handle successfully. From an examination of what is included in the payroll line (total compensation) to providing practical, usable tools for budgeting, scheduling, and controlling payroll, this seminar will provide invaluable tools and information, regardless of the size of a bookseller's store.

From 1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m., in Room A-106, ABA Vice President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, will lead the seminar "Increasing Sales." This nuts-and-bolts session will focus on strategies for increasing sales. Attendees will be exposed to ideas for bringing more customers into the store by utilizing co-op, websites, and e-mail. Booksellers will also learn how to sell more to customers once they come through the door. Topics will include improving traffic flow, best merchandising practices, and loyalty programs. The value of increasing sales outside the store will also be explored.

Also attending the regional show on behalf of ABA will be ABA COO Oren Teicher and Meg Smith, ABA's associate director of Book Sense marketing. The association is encouraging booksellers to contact ABA staff and ABA Board representative, Lawrence, prior to the show if they have questions, suggestions, or would just like to offer a comment. Questions and requests for information about ABA's participation at the PNBA may also be directed to Kristen Gilligan, associate director of programming and constituent groups liaison, at [email protected].

PNBA sessions on Thursday include a Bookseller Workshop, where publisher reps will present their Pick of the Lists, and a number of panels, including "Hosting Successful Events for Your Store"; "E-mail Newsletters"; "Small Store Issues, Including Advertising, Co-op, Store Events, and Returns"; "Where the Money Goes: The Basics of Bookstore Finances, for Employees"; "Becoming a BookSensible Employee: The Basics of Book Sense"; "Basics of Customer Service"; and "Buyers Spotlight the Fall Children's List."

There will also be a full day of workshops for publishers and authors. Workshop topics include "The Alpha and Omega of Writing, Selling, and Promoting Nonfiction"; "Prepping the Pitch"; and "Building Successful Networks With Media and Bookstores."

Rounding out Thursday's sessions will be "A Celebration of Authors," from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. and PNBA's annual "Fall General Membership Meeting," from 5:15 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Later that evening, the celebration authors will sign their books at the Red Lion Hotel, from 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., at the opening night party.

On Friday, September 9, Deb Caletti (Wild Roses S&S); Tomi de Paola (Angels, Angels, Everywhere, Penguin); and Craig Lesley (Burning Fence, St. Martin's Press) will speak at the Book & Author Breakfast in the Grand Ballroom of the Red Lion Hotel.

The convention center trade show floor will be open from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. with author autographing from 10:30 a.m. - noon and from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Also on Friday, the PNBA Book Awards Committee will meet from 10:00 a.m. - noon, and there will be a PNBA General Membership Meeting from 4:45 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

From 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., in Ballroom 201 of the convention center, PNBA's second annual "Feast of Authors" will include authors Michael Collins (Lost Souls, Viking; Karen Fisher (A Sudden Country, Random House); Anu Garg (Another Word a Day, Wiley); R.L. Stine (The Big Blueberry Barf-Off, HarperCollins); and Shirley Tallman (The Russian Hill Murders, St. Martin's Minotaur); and many more.

Saturday morning will kick off at the Red Lion Hotel with a second "Book and Author Breakfast," featuring Libby Fischer Hellmann (A Shot to Die For, Poisoned Pen Press); J.R. Moehringer (The Tender Bar, Hyperion); and Jerry Pinkney (The Old African, Penguin). The trade show floor will be open from 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., and there will be an author autographing from 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

This schedule is subject to change. For registration and other show information, go to www.pnba.org/show or e-mail: [email protected]. --David Grogan