After four days jam-packed with author breakfasts and luncheons, publisher presentations, peer-to-peer discussions, and fun literary mixers, the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association FallCon wrapped up yesterday with a series of education seminars (more coverage in upcoming issues).
This year's conference was attended by some 509 registered attendees, including booksellers, librarians, authors, volunteers, staff, and other industry people. More than 235 of those were booksellers, with an estimated 50 first-timers, according to Heather Duncan, executive director of the MPIBA. The organization currently represents 301 bookstores in a territory that spans 14 western and midwestern states. The number of bookstores represented at FallCon was 104.
Shelf Awareness was among the 133 vendors, publishers, and industry service providers present in the show's exhibit hall, which MPIBA marketing manager Jeremy Ellis was very pleased to report was fully sold out. The week may have started with wet and dreary weather, but everyone dispersed from a sunny, clear-skied Denver. --Dave Wheeler, senior editor, Shelf Awareness
MPIBA marketing manager Jeremy Ellis, operations manager Kelsey Myers, and executive director Heather Duncan enjoy a quiet moment before the show begins.
Courtney Yee, indie sales manager, Sourcebooks; Kelly Brown, Magic City Books, Tulsa, Okla.; and Aly Bratkovic, Bookworks, Albuquerque, N.Mex., at the Show Kick-off Mix and Mingle, sponsored by Shelf Awareness.
The packed Children's Author and Illustrator Keynote Breakfast featured (from l.) Bryan Collier and Tami Charles (Together, United, Orchard); Brandon Mull (Guardians: Forbidden Mountain, Labyrinth Road); Sara Pennypacker (The Lion's Run, Balzer + Bray); Shannon Hale (Holly Jolly Kitty Corn, Abrams Books for Young Readers); Theresa Howell (Books on Bikes, Clarion); and Jasmine Warga (The Claiming, Scholastic Press).
Kai Burner of The Bookworm of Edwards, Edwards, Colo., and William Eakland of The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah, lead an "Expert Is In" discussion on inventory management.
Shelf Awareness partnership program manager Kristianne Huntsberger (l.) flips the coin for Binc's Heads or Tails game, which raised $765. The winner was Mollie Mitchell from HearthFire Bookstore in Evergreen, Colo., who received a $250 gift card provided by MPIBA. MPIBA also sells FallCon T-shirts and merchandise on Bonfire that support Binc.