MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association

The 2007 New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) show was held On October 14th and 15th at the Sheraton City Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association exhibited at the NAIBA show in conjunction with PMA.

The exhibits were set up in a ballroom on the main level of the hotel, an open space that made walking the floor easy, and was more pleasant than last year’s basement location. There were approximately 295 booksellers in attendance, representing around 100 stores in the MidAtlantic area.

This year, NAIBA decided to try something new with the conference, and structured it with an emphasis on publishers giving booksellers the tools and information to help them sell books. This emphasis did seem to create a more open and collaborative atmosphere, with many opportunities to engage booksellers in conversation. Because of this emphasis on helping booksellers to sell books, authors were encouraged to mingle with booksellers, and we had a number of authors who attended the conference in person. In addition, we were able to get two authors placed in the "Children's Authors and Illustrators Reception," a lunchtime showcase of children's authors and illustrators with an emphasis on the presentations that those authors can give.

The exhibit hall was open on Sunday evening from 6 to 7:30 for the opening reception, and then Monday from 9:30 to 4. The opening reception was basically just like the regular exhibit time, except that the atmosphere was a little more relaxed, and many of the booksellers didn’t want to pick up handouts because they were holding glasses of wine. Both Sunday evening’s and Monday morning’s exhibits were well attended, with many booksellers making more than one pass through the exhibit hall. The exhibit hall cleared out at lunchtime on Monday, and while some booksellers returned after lunch, attendance was light during the afternoon.

Several things seemed to make a big difference in the attention a book received:

1. Cover design. The importance of good cover design really stands out at a conference like this where hundreds of books are on display. Those books with attractive or attention-getting covers, both at our table and at other exhibitor tables that we observed, were the ones that were looked at the most frequently.
2. Regional topics. Books with topics relating to the MidAtlantic region seemed to attract a lot of interest from regional booksellers.
3. Personal connection. Those authors who attended the conference in person made some good connections and generated a lot of excitement about their books, just by meeting and talking to the booksellers. Some of them received invitations to speak at bookstores as a result of their attendance at the show.

Overall, I found the NAIBA show to be a very positive experience. The booksellers in attendance had a serious interest in finding good books and finding ways to sell those books.

Topics

• Marketing
• MBPA