The following coverage was contributed by Mark Anderson, associate sales manager of the University of California Press. Thank you, Mark!
Looking out on a bustling NCIBA exhibit floor Saturday morning, Paul
Yamazaki, book buyer of City Lights, San Francisco, commented, "What is
significant is the amount of younger booksellers, particularly at the
Friday roundtable." He was also cheered, he said, by the amount of
people "reporting a good year coming from all over the Bay Area."
The numbers backed up the sense that bookseller representation had
grown at the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
meeting held in Oakland, October 5-7. Bookseller attendance increased to 700 from 600 the previous year. The number of stores
represented stayed even at 150. Exhibitors dropped to 500 people from
100 companies compared to 600 badges from 130 companies in 2006.
One bookseller new to NCIBA, a veteran of several New England
Independent Booksellers Association shows, was Jim Baxter, buyer for
the Booksmith, San Francisco. "The show is generally a confirmation, a
chance to see some of the books," he said. Although he placed several orders, he indicated that he didn't
see as many new books on the floor as he had at other shows, largely
because there simply weren't as many books on the floor. Exhibitors
take note.
Barry Rossnick of Books Inc. said the show is important as a place to
see "finished copies, particularly in gift books. I always go back and
increase orders based on how the books came out. There's a real
difference between seeing the actual book and a page in the catalog.
Also, as we buy centrally, we send 20-25 people to the show so that
they can see what's coming."
Andy Weiner, national account manager for Harry Abrams, called it "a
good show. Everyone seemed nice and busy. Plenty of people were there
both days." He hoped the schedule could be improved so that rep picks
and other events don't coincide with one another.
Karen Lyberger, a salesperson for Nolo Press, concurred: "I heard a
humming when I first came on the floor. It was a busy show, Sunday
being the slower, of course, but the chocolates in the afternoon were a
special treat. I've never been so happy to see [trade show manager]
Joyce Ripp. Orders were certainly up."
One of the biggest surprises on the exhibit floor for booksellers was
the lack of a Random House booth. The company took a suite in the
convention hotel instead. Although he said he thought Random "did miss
something by not being on the floor," Hut Landon, executive director of
NCIBA, commented, "We certainly respect Random House's efforts to try
something new at the trade show. Most of the regionals tried something
new this year, so it isn't surprising that an exhibitor would try as
well."
On other potential experiments, such as having the exhibit floor open
only for one day, Landon said, "I've been told by every commissioned
rep that they need two days to see everyone."
Like Yamazaki, Landon thought the mood of NCIBA members was positive, saying, "People are more optimistic and business is up."
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The following awards were given out by NCIBA during the show:
Friends of Independent Bookselling Awards
- Richard May, president of the Friends of Noe Valley, for
organizing a tour of three Noe Valley Bookstores. Held over several
days, the tour featured a different author in each Noe Valley Store,
including Phoenix Books, Cover to Cover and SF Mystery Bookstore.
- Jim Carretta of Partners West for going way above and beyond the call of duty by organizing the distribution plan around Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(little indie press book, something about a wizard, didn't make the
news much) the week that the book released. Jim used the offices of
NCIBA and Partners West to get more than 2,000 books to bookstores
that otherwise wouldn't have had stock through the book's crucial
opening weekend. It wasn't the Berlin Airlift, but this is how
independent wholesalers keep bookstores in business.
Bookseller awards--Outstanding Handsellers
- Kevin Hunsanger of Green Apple Books for selling more than 2,000 copies of You Can't Win by
Jack Black. (No, not that Jack Black. As one of the people who picked
up the book on Kevin's urging, I can say that its a brilliant firsthand
account of life in the West at the end of the 19th century.)
- Clay Banes at Pegasus in downtown Berkeley for a creating a
poetry section for the store, including a blog, poetry events and
on-going promotions largely through Small Press Distribution.
Outstanding Event:
Kepler's for its Go Green Summer Series, which featured mostly
authorless events and presented topics such as ways to improve the
environment, create a healthier community and have fun in the process.
The event topics included sustainable design, innovative energy
solutions, organic farming and foods, automobile trends, preserving
open space and a presentation by local community members of Al Gore's
Climate Project with information delivered in
An Inconvenient Truth.
The Second Annual Debi Echlin Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Bookstore went to Rakestraw Books in Danville.
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