Upcoming SEBA Fall Trade Show: 'Strong Program' With Many Options

The Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA) Annual Fall Trade Show will be held this year at the Cobb Galleria Center, in Atlanta, Georgia, from September 10 - 12. Once again, SEBA's fall show will offer booksellers a plethora of educational programming and events. "I always look forward to our trade show," SEBA Executive Director Wanda Jewell told BTW. "I'm excited about the educational programs -- it's a strong program with lots of options. And there's an embarrassment of riches when it comes to authors!"

New to the Fall Trade Show this year, SEBA is offering its core members (retail independents with brick-and-mortar stores in the region) early access to the exhibit hall, from 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 11. And for its associate members, SEBA is providing a free "Associates Breakfast," held from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., which will feature a panel hosted by Randall Williams, with writers Connie Curry, John Egerton, Laughlin McDonald, and Susan Wiltshire (all contributors to Where We Stand: Voices of Southern Dissent, NewSouth Publishing).

Also at the show, ABA will provide educational programming, as well as an exhibit on the trade show floor. This year's exhibit will focus on "Book Sense Gift Cards: One Year Later," featuring live demonstrations. Association staffers will also be on hand seeking member input on ABA education initiatives, as well as providing general ABA information.

The Book Sense Gift Card Program, just completing its first year of operation, has already helped more than 200 bookstores dramatically increase their sales. The ABA exhibit will give booksellers the opportunity to see first hand how the gift card program works. As an incentive to try the gift card, ABA will waive the one-time $25 set-up fee for booksellers signing up at the show. (If you plan to sign up at the show, please bring your checking account info with you. For more details on the program, please visit: http://www.bookweb.org/read/6303.)

The number-one goal in ABA’s strategic plan states: Provide independent professional booksellers with access to the education, information, and business services they need to succeed in a changing world. With this in mind, ABA staffers will be on hand at the show seeking bookseller input on how best to craft the Association’s educational offerings moving forward. An "ABA Education 2005 Survey" will be distributed at the show as well as by e-mail and on BookWeb. Watch BTW in the coming weeks for more information about how you can be involved in this process.

On Friday, ABA programming will include the panel, "Focused Small Store Issues," from 10:30 a.m. - noon, which will look at how, in the world of bookselling, "small" can be both good and vexing. Stores that are small in square footage and resources may have all the same problems as their bigger brethren, but finding time and information to better their businesses can be challenging. This session will cover the common issues of inventory management, stocking, ordering, time management, choosing a POS system, plus many more. Booksellers are encouraged to come with questions. ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and ABA Board member, Carla Jimenez of Inkwood Books in Tampa, Florida, will moderate this session.

Also on Friday, Domnitz will present "The 2% Solution," from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. The 2003 ABACUS Study of independent bookshop operations showed that the average profitability of all 197 participants was -1.67%. This seminar looks at the drivers of profitability and examines how they can be worked on to move our businesses to profitability. The session suggests exactly how a bookseller can work on sales, gross margin, compensation, and occupancy expense. While moving from negative profitability to a positive 2 percent is a long journey, this seminar will help provide the roadmap.

On Saturday, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., ABA Marketing Director Jill Perlstein will be on hand to conduct a "Book Sense Gift Card Users Group." The users group is an in-depth review of the gift card program and a discussion about future growth. Booksellers will be asked to share their experiences regarding the operation of the program, as well as their marketing ideas. One-on-one meetings to discuss the Book Sense Gift Card Program may also be scheduled for any time during the SEBA show. To schedule a meeting in advance of the show, booksellers should send an e-mail to Perlstein at [email protected].

On Thursday, September 9, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. there will be the "Bookseller School: Bookselling Behind the Scenes -- An In-depth Look at the Industry's Resources & Strategies for Success With Marion Fleischman." The all-day session will go behind the scenes to discuss the inner workings of the book industry, the retail book business, and the resources booksellers can tap to help them meet customer needs with greater ease and effectiveness.

Later that day, it's the "Sales Rep Appreciation Reception," from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., where booksellers are invited to let their sales reps "know how greatly they are appreciated."

Other highlights include the "Breakfast & Annual Meeting with the SEBA Board," on Friday, September 10, from 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Like last year, the SEBA Annual Meeting will be held at this very popular breakfast. The agenda: call to order, minutes, year-end report, installation of new directors, recognition of outgoing directors, open discussion, and adjournment.

Following the breakfast, the Friday Education program kicks off with the session, "Inventory Management: Keeping Score Using Best Practices," from 9:00 a.m. - noon. Other sessions during the day include: how to make good decisions, a mystery workshop, hosting story hours to attract faithful customers, a children's author panel, and an author panel on American history.

At noon on Friday, SEBA will hold its "Kick-Off Author Luncheon," featuring Jennifer Haigh, (Baker Towers, HarperCollins); Jim Hightower, (Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush, Viking); and Sharyn McCrumb (St. Dale, Kensington).

Friday's sessions will conclude with three fun events, the "Good Eats Party," from 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.; the "SEBA Supper," from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.; followed by "Late Night Readings," from 10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

The "Good Eats Party" features Marshall Chapman, (Goodbye Little Rock 'n Roller, St. Martin's Press); Pat Conroy (The Pat Conroy Cookbook, Nan A. Talese); and Frank Stitt (Frank Stitt's Southern Table, Artisan).

The supper will feature Jill Conner Browne (Sweet Potato Queens' Field Guide To Men, Three Rivers Press); Nelson DeMille (Night Fall, Warner Books); Cassandra King (The Same Sweet Girls, Hyperion); and Randall Wallace (Love & Honor, Simon & Schuster).

The late night readings will feature Charlene Baumbich (Dearest Dorothy, Help! I've Lost Myself!, Penguin); Steve Berry (The Romanov Prophecy, Ballantine); Carter Coleman (Cage's Bend, Warner Books); Kay Day (A Poetry Break, Ocean Publishing); Judy Goldman, (Early Leaving, HarperCollins); Ron McLarty (Memory of Running, Viking); Neil McMahon (Revolution No. 9, HarperCollins); Maurice Manning (A Companion for Owls, Harcourt); Nancy Taylor Robson (Course of the Waterman, River City Publishing); and James Whorton (Frankland, The Free Press).

The trade floor will be open for all attendees from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and will be closed from noon - 1:30 p.m. for the "Saturday Book & Author Luncheon." The luncheon will feature Ron Clark (The Excellent Eleven, Hyperion); Jacquelyn Mitchard (Starring Prima, HarperCollins Children's Books); and James Patterson (Santa's Kids, Little Brown Young Readers). The day finishes with "The Moveable Feast of Authors" from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., featuring many authors.

Sunday kicks off with the "Breakfast of Champions," from 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., featuring Tim Dorsey, (Torpedo Juice, Morrow); Jeff MacGregor, (Sunday Money, HarperCollins); Claire Matturro, (Skinny-Dipping, Morrow); and Karin Slaughter, (Indelible, Morrow). The trade floor will be open from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

To see the full schedule and list of authors attending the SEBA Annual Fall Trade Show, log onto www.sebaweb.org. --David Grogan