Fall Regional Roundup: Boston's Brawn

Trade show meets Fri., Oct. 5–Sun., Oct. 7, at the World Trade Center, Boston, Mass.

The 28th annual NEBA meeting has many new programs and activities planned. A full day of programming is scheduled on Friday. First up is ABA's CEO Avin Domnitz. In his popular financial seminar, booksellers learn the ABCs of budgeting and managing cash flow. Attention will then turn to the 2002 launch of NEBA's coordinated series of author appearances and store activities called, "Read Around New England." To prepare for this grand-scale program and assist booksellers in their planning, workshops have been designed to cover topics such as securing co-op monies and establishing community outreach. Then it's off to the Industry Luncheon where Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough (John Adams) will receive the President's Award for lifetime achievement. Workshops continue in the afternoon. Friday evening, Kate DiCamillo (The Tiger Rising), Gail Gibbons (The Pumpkin, and Christmas Trees), Mary Ann Hoberman and Michael Emberley (You Read to Me, I'll Read to You) will attend the Children's Books Author and Illustrator Dinner. Cocktails and dinner are to be held in the elegant Plaza Ballroom in the Seaport Hotel.

Doors open at 8 a.m. for registration on Saturday morning. Suzanne Berne (A Perfect Arrangement), Vernon Jordan (Vernon Can Read!) and Richard Russo (Empire Falls) will greet breakfast attendees. Exhibit hours: 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; autographings: 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m. The morning's schedule includes a session on reading groups sponsored by Vintage Books. After lunch, a notable group of New England children's booksellers will present their picks of the year, as well as tips on how best to hand-sell these wonderful titles. A brand-new board will take the helm at the hour-long NEBA annual meeting scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. in the Waterfront III Room. The annual Saturday night party will get under way at 6 p.m. just a few steps from the trade center at the John Joseph Moakley United States Court House. Sponsors include Houghton Mifflin, Ingram Book Company, Koen Book Distributors, Random House and Time Warner Trade Publishing.

There are more surprises and awards to come on Sunday. For the first time, the New England Book Awards will be presented at the Sunday Breakfast with Authors. This year's recipients are Joan Bauer and Robert Finch. Exhibit hours: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; autographings: 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

Contact: Rusty Drugan, 847 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Mass 02139; (800) 466-8711 or (617) 576-3070; neba@neba.org (general inquiries) or rusty@neba.org (exhibitor inquiries); www.newenglandbooks.org.