Held this year in San Diego, Calif., the California Independent Booksellers Alliance's annual Fall Fest ran September 14-15 and saw nearly 200 booksellers from across the state of California attend, with many first-timers. The lively show featured two days' worth of book discovery, professional education, and networking. CALIBA held its annual meeting and town hall Monday morning.
Education sessions included panels on author events, creating employee handbooks, and alternative ways of working with schools; discovery sessions focused on multi-generational stories; stories told through the eyes of animals; mystery and horror novels written by California authors, nonfiction books about race and politics in the United States. The Book Industry Charitable Foundation ran its customary Heads or Tails Fundraiser, and the show closed with the first-ever Golden Poppy Awards ceremony.
Next year's Fall Fest will head north, returning to South San Francisco September 15-16.
Authors Shirin Yim Leos (Of Wind and Dust, PRH), Holly Varni (A Perfectly Reasonable Plan, Thomas Nelson), K-Ming Chang (Needlemouth, S&S), and Julie Buxbaum (All Together Now, Avid Reader Press) with moderator and bookseller Jennifer Medeiros (Through the Fold Books + Community, San Diego).
Booksellers mingled and grabbed galleys after the exhibition hall opened Monday.
Alan Barillaro (Bunns Rabbit II: The Return of the Spirit Rabbit, Candlewick), Maggie Tokuda-Hall (Bathtime for Snow Monkeys), and TJ Klune (The Stars Look Like Home, Wildthorn) discussed their upcoming books with bookseller Michelle Bucud (Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego) Monday afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon's horror and mystery panel brought together authors Tananarive Due (Mazywood, Saga Press/S&S), Joseph Fink (The Nudge, Podium Publishing), DC Frost (A Shadow of Jaguars, Canis Major Books), and Claudia Hagadus Long (Sisters at an Exhibition: A Zara and Lilly Mystery, Sibylline Press).
Shelf Awareness's Kristianne Huntsberger (left) and Binc's Kathy Bartson (right) with Amanda Klein of Bluebird Play, San Diego, the winner of the Heads or Tails fundraiser. Binc raised a total of $2,598, including a $1,000 Macmillan match for 10 new monthly donors.
CALIBA staff and board members celebrated following the inaugural Golden Poppy Awards ceremony. Left to right: Alecia Reddick, Katerina Argyres, Jhoanna Belfer, Claire Bone, Sam Robertson, Shannon Grant, Vanessa Martini, Mary Williams, Bridget Schinnerer, Valentina Mosberg, Mark O'Neal, and Hannah Walcher.