The New England Independent Booksellers Association's Fall Conference in Newton, Mass., concluded yesterday with several lively author events, the association's annual meeting, and a luncheon moveable feast. Shelf Awareness reporting continues next week.
David Grogan (left), director of American Booksellers for Free Expression, Advocacy, and Public Policy, moderated the session "Advocacy and Free Speech--What's Important Now." Kenny Brechner, Devaney Doak Garrett Booksellers, Farmington, Maine; Becca Morton, Back Cove Books, Portland, Maine; and Kathleen Crowley, Belmont Books, Belmont, Mass., discussed "three issues that have a sense of urgency about them": website ADA compliance lawsuits, the Credit Card Competition Act, and bills that limit access to books.
NEIBA reprised a popular panel from 2025, "Anatomy of a Book," about the book design process. Liz Whitelam (far r.), owner of Whitelam Books in Reading, Mass., and outgoing president of NEIBA, led a discussion with (from l.) Amy Baker, associate publisher and editorial director of Harper Perennial and Harper Paperbacks; Celeste Knudsen, senior art director for Sourcebook's Stonefruit Studio; and Nancy Siscoe, senior executive editor at Knopf Books for Young Readers.
New England Children's Bookselling Advisory Council (NECBA) members (from l.) Kristin Richland, Phoenix Books, Essex, Vt.; Laure Colodner, Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, Mass.; Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, Mass.; and Betsy Covert, the Toadstool Bookshop, Keene, N.H., held a conversation with children's and YA booksellers about fostering third spaces for kids and teens.
An Attempted Murder of Crowes?: Remlee Crowe, Storybook Cove, Hanover, Mass., met up with Penguin Random House's Emily Crowe. (photo: Benjamin Rybeck)
Maureen Karb (r.) with Como Sales flipped the coin for a lively game of Heads or Tails, won by Jarrett Frankel (c.) from Wild Meadows Books & Cafe in Williston, Vt. Frankel is a new bookseller and first-time attendee at NEIBA's Fall Conference. Thanks to HarperCollins Focus and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for sponsoring the game, which raised more than $650 for Binc. Judey Kalchik, Binc's program manager, is on the left.