Fall Show Preview: PNBA

by Jill Tardiff, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 8/30/2004

As the fall trade-show season approaches, PW Daily will be previewing a different show each day. Today, a look at what to expect at the gathering of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, scheduled to run from Sept. 10-12 at the Oregon Convention Center and Red Lion Hotel, Portland, Ore.

After last year's departure from its usual weekend scheme, PNBA promises a return to the tried and true with a twist: a state-of-the-art convention center, newly renovated hotel accommodations and novel author activities.

Friday is dedicated to educational programming, with more than a dozen workshops at the convention center. Sessions are offered at 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:15 p.m. and 3 p.m. First off, facilitators Scott Foley of Grass Roots & Music and Cynthia Frank of Cypress House explain the ins and outs of trade show proceedings for newcomers. Foley gets the booksellers, and Frank nabs the publishers and authors. Five concurrent sessions are slated for the 9 a.m. time slot. Panels and workshops are conducted in adjacent rooms to make it convenient for everyone to move from one program to next. Sales reps take center stage during the morning's second installment: commission and telephone sales reps talk about their evolving role in the industry, while a similar group acquaints buyers with their "picks of the lists." Make sure to catch "picks," part two, at 1:15 p.m. Meanwhile, members of the education committee instruct beginners on the basics of newsletter co-op; Bob Smith of BookPrinters Network gives tips to publishers working with printers; and Ruthanne Devlin of Bell, Book & Candle partners with Sharon Castlen to advise booksellers selling to the Christian market.

Morning sessions continue at 10:30 a.m. Third installment: a follow-up to the co-op panel. If returns are a concern, then join the discussion among booksellers, reps and publishers on managing inventory overstock. Retiring from the business? In an ABA-sponsored panel, former bookstore owners share the dos and don'ts of successful succession planning. Advertising a priority? Dawn Josephson (Putting It on Paper) conducts a workshop on effective promotional writing for authors and publishers.

After lunch, educational programming resumes at 1:15 p.m., with another set of five concurrent panels. Christy McDanold of Secret Garden Bookshop leads a show-and-tell of the fall children's lists; Judy Ness presents the annual holiday catalogue, along with suggestions on using it to increase sales. A representative from ABA heads a talk on forming local business alliances. Next door, a representative from the Northwest Association of Book Publishers teaches publishers and writers about cover design.

At 3 p.m., Sharon Castlen and Cynthia Frank don their marketing-guru hats for a presentation on niche marketing. Afterward, stroll over to the celebration of authors to meet the stars of tomorrow's bestseller lists at this two-hour long event.

The general membership meeting is at 5:15 p.m. Later, everyone is invited to an 8 p.m. dessert and autographing shindig at the hotel with assorted authors.

At Saturday's 8 a.m. book and author breakfast, former PNBA board member Scott Foley introduces novelist Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Queen of Dreams), memoirist A.J. Jacobs (The Know-It-All) and children's book team Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 5: The Wrath of Mulgarath). Booksellers at the breakfasts (tickets required) will receive one signed copy of each speaker's book. Exhibit hours: 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Autographing hours: 10 a.m.-noon and 2-3:30 p.m. A booksellers roundtable lunch is planned for 12:30 p.m. PNBA's Book Awards Committee meets at 10 a.m. and its Education Committee meets at 2 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., activity on the floor winds down. The earlier finish time gives attendees a chance to freshen up before returning to the convention center's ballroom by 7 p.m. A stellar evening is planned. PNBA presents its First Annual Feast of Authors: more than 20 authors move from table to table, chatting with booksellers and signing books. Guests will receive a gift bag full of books autographed by authors appearing at the event.

On Sunday morning, PNBA president Pat Rutledge emcees the book and author breakfast with bestselling authors Tony Hendra (Father Joe), Christopher Moore (The Stupidest Angel) and Pam Muñoz Ryan (Becoming Naomi Leon). Exhibit hours: 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Autographing hours: 10 a.m.-noon. At 2 p.m., doors close.

Contact: Thom Chambliss, 317 W. Broadway, Ste. 214, Eugene, Ore. 97401; (541) 683-4363; info@pnba.org; www.pnba.org.