Welcome to this month's edition of Shelf Awareness Extra!, focusing on the regional booksellers association fall shows, which begin with New Voices New Rooms this coming Sunday, August 3. As always, the shows are lively events where booksellers, publishers, and authors mix easily and learn about upcoming books, industry trends, bookselling basics, etc. Among highlights this year are timely education sessions on book bannings, community connections, dealing with harassment, retaining sanity, how to improve profitability, and much, much more.

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) will be present and hold fundraisers at all the shows. The fundraisers will vary and include heads or tails games as well as silent auctions. Attendees are urged to participate so that Binc can continue its great work helping booksellers and bookstores in need.

Representatives of the American Booksellers Association will attend all the shows, and, as is tradition, the ABA will conduct education sessions at them. One session, Navigating Attacks on Your Store, focuses on best practices and strategies for dealing with harassment, threats, vandalism, and other attacks targeting stores' curation and events. Philomena Polefrone, associate director of ABFE, will lead all these sessions except at CALIBA, where CEO Allison Hill will head the discussion.

The other ABA session this year is Measure What Matters: Five Key Numbers to Focus on During Turbulent Times, which will be led at all the shows by the ABA's newly promoted director of education, Emily Nason. At this session, booksellers will learn what five key performance indicators to track during our turbulent times so they feel empowered and confident to make data-driven business decisions.

And now, on with the shows!

New Voices New Rooms (NVNR), the joint conference hosted by the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), takes place Sunday, August 3, through Wednesday, August 6, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Ga. The show begins with bus tours of local bookstores from 12 to 5 p.m. followed by an orientation for first-time attendees, an early bird reception, and a screening of the documentary Banned Together, about three students and adult supporters trying to reinstate 97 books pulled from their school libraries. Representatives from the organization featured in the film will speak at the breakfast the next morning.

Monday begins with Opening Breakfast: Heroes on the Front Lines of Book Banning from 8 to 9:30 a.m., featuring activists, authors, and booksellers working against book bans. Education sessions begin at 10, covering sidelines, children's literacy, new marketing platforms, book clubs, Edelweiss, bookseller mental health, and more. At 11:15, there is a Horror Author Panel. The Genre Buzz Lunch, during which booksellers discuss their favorite genres or ones underrepresented in their stores, runs from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Exhibitor setup and education sessions that cover remainders, inventory turns, dealing with the stresses of running a business, and more occupy the rest of the afternoon. The Debut Author panel at 3:30 features four authors. From 5 to 6:30, attendees can mingle with debut and veteran authors published by indie presses at the Indie Press Author Reception. Capping the day, the Sip & Sizzle Romance Authors Reception runs from 9 to 10 p.m.

Tuesday begins with regional breakfasts and meetings at 8 a.m.: NAIBA will hold its annual meeting, and SIBA features a town hall. From 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., reps will highlight Picks of the List. The exhibit floor opens at 11. Question-and-answer sessions run throughout the afternoon, covering topics from bookstore newsletters and bookstore business models to pre-orders and used books. A Focus on Editors Reception takes place from 5 to 6:15, followed by the NAIBA Awards Dinner and SIBA Celebration Reception, each occurring separately from 6:30 to 8:30. Author Jason Reynolds will receive the NAIBA Legacy Award.

The Moveable Feast Breakfast, in which many free books are given out while authors and booksellers mingle, kicks off Wednesday at 8 a.m. A series of retreats run from 10:15 to 11:45, each focused on a particular bookstore role: general manager, owner, bookseller, and more. Beginning at 12:30 p.m., sideline buyers will be able to go on a guided tour of the nearby AmericasMart Atlanta, the world's single-largest collection of wholesale home, gift, and apparel showrooms.

The show marks the last at which Eileen Dengler will be executive director of NAIBA. At the end of the year, she will retire after 25 years heading the organization. The three days offer many opportunities to thank her for a job well done!

The New England Independent Booksellers Association's (NEIBA) 2025 Fall Conference takes place Tuesday, September 9, through Thursday, September 11, at the Manchester Doubletree Downtown hotel in Manchester, N.H. The registration desk opens at 7:30 a.m., and introductory sessions run from 9 to 10:30. The opening keynote begins at 11 and features Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham, whose very timely book, American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, will be published in February 2026 by Random House. A Reps Pick Lunch follows from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m. Afternoon education sessions run in two blocks, from 3 to 4 and 4:15 to 5:15, and cover topics such as wholesale ordering, marketing, and bookseller wellness. At least 20 authors will attend the evening author reception from 5:30 to 7 and include Seven Stories Press founder and publisher Dan Simon, whose debut novel, Ashland, will be published by Europa Editions in February 2026.

On Wednesday, the Adult Author Breakfast, featuring Christopher Castellani, Jenny Lawson, Cheryl W. Thompson, and T Kira Madden, runs concurrently with the Children's Author Breakfast, featuring C.L. Herman, Wunneanatsu Lamb-Carson, Kate Messner, and more, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The exhibit floor is open from 10 to 4. Adult and children's editor Buzz Panel lunches will be held from 12 to 1:15 p.m. From 4 to 5:30 p.m., Lisa Uhrik, co-owner of Franklin Fixtures and Plenty Downtown Bookshop, Cookville, Tenn., will discuss the power of visual merchandising. The New England Book Awards Banquet (6:30-8:30 p.m.), at which the winners of the 2025 awards will be announced, will be preceded by a cocktail hour from 5:30 to 6:30.

Thursday opens with separate adult and children's author breakfasts from 8:30 to 10 a.m. The adult breakfast features Edward J. Delaney, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Stefan Merrill Block, and Victoria Redel; the children's breakfast includes Annie Cardi, Brian Lies, Scott Rothman, and more. The NEIBA Annual Meeting from 11:30 to 12:45 caps a morning of education sessions that include a primer on how books are made as well as tips for DIY projects and repairs in the store. The conference ends with the Closing Keynote Lunch at 1 p.m.

The California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA) Fall Fest 2025 takes place Wednesday, September 17, and Thursday, September 18, at the South San Francisco Conference Center in South San Francisco, Calif. Day one opens with a breakfast and author panel featuring past winners and finalists of CALIBA's Golden Poppy Awards, which recognize authors and illustrators working in California. Participants include Rex Ogle, Kelly Yang, and Claire Oshetsky. Author panels and education sessions run from 9:40 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with topics that include how to measure event success and handselling for the holidays. The 9:40 Nonfiction Author Panel features Nikki Nash, Sue Aikens, and Shannon Michelle. The exhibit floor opens from 3:50 to 6 p.m., starting with an exhibit hall opening reception at 3:40, featuring Georgia Freedman.

The exhibit floor opens again on day two at 10 a.m. and runs until 5, with a lunch break 12:30-1:30. Education sessions run from 10:15 to 12:20; topics include how to work with self-published authors and managing for cultural stewardship. Author panels and author showcases also take place during the day, including an author panel at 11:30 on humor in picture books featuring Matthew Diffee, Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, and Katherine Pryor. The closing reception will be held from 4 to 5 p.m.

Authors Catriona Ward, Erin Entrada Kelly, Justinian Huang, Hiron Ennes, Oliver James, Marie Lu, JaNay Brown-Wood, and more who will be announced are expected to participate in events during both days of the conference.

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) 2025 Fall Tradeshow takes place Saturday, September 27, to Tuesday, September 30, at the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Wash. The show starts on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., with the Lilac City Welcoming Committee event, at which local authors welcome booksellers and attendees visit Spokane bookstores and other literary sites, including the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library. After a dinner break, participants reconvene at Auntie's Bookstore for an evening reception with additional guests. Local authors who will be at the library include Kelly Milner Halls, author of Cryptid Sea Monsters (Sasquatch Books); Maya Jewell Zeller, author of The Wonder of Mushrooms (AdventureKEEN); Travis Baldree, author of Brigands & Breadknives (Tor Books); and Sarah Mackenzie, author of Dear Duck, Please Come! (Waxwing Books).

The PNBA Membership Meeting starts off Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by the Keynote Kickoff Education Plenary featuring KJ Williams and AJ Williams of Rise With Us, who will present BookselLing: Conflict, Care, and Community in Bookstore Workplaces, "a healing, practical, and future-forward conversation for anyone who wants to create a more just and resilient bookstore space." Then at 11:50 are education sessions and the Big Pitch Rep's Picks. More education sessions will be held after a 1:30 p.m. lunch break and authors will be available on the exhibit floor at 4:30. The Authors on Display dinner takes place at 7:30, followed by the Nightcapper Autographing Reception at 9:30.

Monday begins with 10 regional authors at the Authors on the Map Breakfast at 7:45 a.m. Exhibits open at 9:30 and close at 4. Education sessions and member-driven small group opportunities run throughout the day with a break for lunch at noon, when Brian Parker and members of the education committee present Storytelling as Creative Therapy. Ask-the-Expert Roundtables will cover a variety of topics. A Readers Recess featuring children's authors and refreshments begins at 4. The Signature Dish Plated Dinner starts at 5:45. The 8:15 p.m. Reps Behind the Desk event includes a full bar and nonalcoholic drink options.

The final day of the show starts with the 7:45 a.m. Morning Marquee Breakfast and a keynote delivered by Sue Aikens, author of North of Ordinary: How One Woman Left It All Behind for Wilderness and Wonder in Alaska's Frozen Frontier (Sourcebooks). More education sessions run in the morning, with topics such as romance trends, hybrid store models, sidelines, taking care of LGBTQIA+ staff, author events, retail experiential design, and saving time as a buyer. The Books Around the Bend Lunch begins at 12:45 and includes more authors and a scholarship raffle. The show closes at 2 p.m. Though the exact author lineup is still being determined, writers set to appear include Maria Semple, Travis Baldree, Megan Lally, Erin Entrada Kelly, Matt Dinniman, Marissa Meyer, and Carson Ellis.

The popular PNBA tradition of BuzzBooks continues. Booksellers visit participating publishers and learn about potential buzz books by speaking with reps, who then verify the booksellers' cards. Booksellers vote for the book they consider most buzzworthy, and the winner is announced at the Signature Dish.

The Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association's (MPIBA) 2025 FallCon takes place Sunday, October 5, through Wednesday, October 8, at the Renaissance Denver Hotel & Conference Center in Denver, Colo. Registration opens Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. followed by the Success Story Open Mic event at 4 (a new addition to FallCon), at which booksellers share success tales, and the Show Kick-Off Mix and Mingle from 6 to 8 at nearby Station 26 Brewing Co., which is sponsored by Shelf Awareness.

Monday begins with the Children's Author and Illustrator Keynote Breakfast from 8:30 to 10 a.m. featuring Shannon Hale, Sara Pennypacker, Brandon Mull, Theresa Howell, Tami Charles, Bryan Collier, and more. The galley and sample room opens at 10:30, the same time as the Pick of the Lists event, during which publishing reps have eight minutes each to present their top picks. The Featured Author Lunch: Memoirs & More: Celebrating Nonfiction runs from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. and includes Philip Connors, Rick Bass, Jazmine Ulloa, Devon O'Neil, Lindsay Linton Buk, and more. Pick of the Lists and other opportunities to meet with colleagues start again at 2. The colleague roundtable sessions will rotate through topics such as pop-up bookstores, bookstores with cafes, and used bookstores. The Exhibit Hall Opening Reception runs from 4:30 to 6:30 and is followed by Coloring and Conversation at 9 p.m., a low key event using pages from the forthcoming Coloring with Coco: Rest and Reflect by Andrea Ballo (Callisto).

The Valued Voices: Editors Buzz Keynote Breakfast kicks off Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. with presentations by editors from six publishers, including Matt Weiland (W.W. Norton), Rosemary Brosnan (HarperCollins/Heartdrum), Emi Ikkanda (Tiny Reparations Books), Safon Floyd (Sourcebooks/Callisto), Emily Bell (Astra House), and Kirsten Johanna Allen (Torrey House). The exhibit hall is open from 9:30 to noon and 1 to 4. The galley room is open from 10:30 to noon and 2 to 4. Periodically throughout the day in the exhibit hall foyer, the Ask an Expert table will be staffed by experts ready to answer questions on topics such as inventory management, marketing and social media, author events, and buying. The Smorgasbord of Authors Lunch goes from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. and includes 12 children's and adult authors. Fast Fiction Author Speed Dating with 14 authors begins at 4:15. The Literary Trivia Challenge runs from 5:45 to 6:45 (trivia teams will be randomly assigned).

Wednesday begins with the Morning Stories Fiction Keynote Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. with authors Nina McConigley, Terah Shelton Harris, David R. Slayton, Rebecca Thorne, Gabriel Tallent, Johnny Compton, and more. Concurrent education sessions run throughout the morning, early afternoon and during the ABA Education Lunch from 12:45 to 2 p.m. The show closes at 3:15 with the Last Booksellers Standing Raffle. The winner receives all the books from the Holiday Gift Guide Catalog display. Each bookseller attending education sessions on Wednesday gets one ticket and must be present during the drawing to claim the prize.

The 2025 Heartland Fall Forum, hosted by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA) and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA), runs from Tuesday, October 14, to Thursday, October 16, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown in Indianapolis, Ind. The city was chosen in part because of the openings of so many indie bookstores there; three tours of local stores are part of the program. Registration opens 8 a.m. on Tuesday followed by a morning of job-focused retreats for store owners, managers, book buyers, and others. An orientation session runs from 3 to 4 p.m., followed from 4 to 5 by the awards celebration (honoring Heartland Booksellers Award titles selected by GLIBA and MIBA booksellers, hosted again this year by Isaac Fitzgerald), and from 5 to 6:30 by the opening reception. The opening night party, going from 8 to 11:55 p.m., will be held at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.

Separate GLIBA and MIBA membership meetings start off Wednesday from 8 to 8:30 a.m., followed by the Marquee Author Breakfast from 8:30 to 10. General education sessions run from 10 a.m. until 12:50 p.m. Topics include book bannings (a panel features a bookseller, librarian, student, author, publisher, and school board member, all sharing Midwest perspectives on censorship and community advocacy), publicity, mutual aid, organizing tours and crawls, used books, dealing with store harassment, and more. After that, the Rep Picks Lunch goes from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., and the trade show floor is open from 3 to 6. The day ends with a quiz bowl from 9:30 to 11:30.

Thursday begins with the Marquee Author Breakfast from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The trade show floor is open from 9:30 to 12:30. The Moveable Feast, featuring some 40 authors, goes from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and the show closes at 5.

More information on authors who will attend the show will be available soon.