Spring Show to Feature New Items

The fourth Spring Book Show, taking place March 28–30 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, will feature a mix of remaindered titles and sidelines. Larry May, director of the show, expects 550 tables of product from 100 different vendors, including 30 tables of sidelines. “We're seeing growth in nonbook products being sold on tabletops by people who usually sell books,” May said. In all, 20 vendors will be new. Among the most notable is Diamond Book Distributors, which will be offering a broad selection of comic book and graphic novel remainders.

The Southern Independent Booksellers Association is offering two days of seminars alongside the show—a move that helped boost attendance by some 18% last year. Jeff Milchen of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) will be offering the opening talk on ways independent booksellers can form local alliances. And again this year, Noel Griese, director of Anvil Publishers, has organized a writing conference that runs in conjunction with the show.

May noted that the weak U.S. dollar has attracted buyers from across the globe. “We're expecting people from India, Japan, the Philippines and Europe,” said May.