Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association

Trade show meets Fri., Sept. 14—Sun., Sept. 16, at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, Ore.

Change is in the air at this year's show. Marketing guru Carl Lennertz will jump-start Friday's programming at a breakfast dedicated to the ABA's Book Sense initiative. Breakfast is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Janet Taylor of Oregon Book Tours will share the tricks of the trade with first-time authors and publishers at 8 a.m. Educational programming begins at 9 a.m.; the agenda includes a number of different panels and workshops. Sharon Castlen of Integrated Book Marketing is up first with a panel on how to improve store recognition through better publicity tactics. Local sales reps will offer their picks of the lists in a concurrent session.

At 10:30 a.m., Kristine Kaufman of Snow Goose Bookstore will moderate a panel on reading groups, with Nancy Pearl of the Washington Center for the Book and Roberta Tichenor of Annie Bloom's Books sharing success stories. Peter Kahle and Melanie Workboven are scheduled to lead a concurrent workshop wonderfully named, "Naked at the Podium—Using Drama to Punch Up a Reading." Perhaps Peter and Melanie will surprise us! For those booksellers seeking a more formal structure to learning, PNBA will offer a series of all-day courses structured in a more traditional way, similar to those at the other trade shows. These programs—"Bookselling Behind the Scenes," and "What a Great Bookstore!"—are scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon, then again from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Advance registration is required, and seating is limited to the first 25 persons.

Between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., box lunches will be available at the registration desk. Interested booksellers can attend two different programs while they chow down on sandwich wraps and carrot sticks—an ABFEE-sponsored benefit and an Oregon Book Tours-sponsored publisher's roundtable discussion.

Another round of panels and workshops is planned for the afternoon. Is it too early for season's greetings? "It's never too early," according to Suzanne Welsh. Her presentation of season's readings is subtitled How to Put More Zing into Holiday Catalogue Merchandising. Jane Kirkpatrick will moderate a panel with Patricia Rushford on selling to the Christian market. The Northwest Association of Book Publishers will wrap up this segment with a session covering the cooperative relationship between independent bookstores and independent publishers. At 2:15 p.m., Marilyn Ross intends to rally the troops with some words about "shameless marketing," followed by a publishing workshop featuring notable independent editors talking about their craft. At 3 p.m., attendees can stroll on over to the Holiday Inn, where the Celebration of Authors is slated to begin,. featuring Alison Clement, Michael Collins, Allen Morris Jones, Jennifer Hahn, Peter Stark, David J. Strohmaier and others. Later that afternoon, buyers from several indies spotlight the season's best children's books. That evening, revelers will meet on the Windows Terrace/Holiday Inn for an autographing and dessert party.

At the Saturday morning breakfast, Valerie Ryan of the Cannon Beach Book Company will welcome Ann Rule (Every Breath You Take), Kenn Kaufman (Lives of North American Birds) and Michael Hague (The Book of Pirates). The Northwest Book Travelers Association meeting starts at 8:15 a.m. Exhibit hours: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. Autographing hours: 9:45 a.m.—12:45 p.m. and 2:15—4:45 p.m. A full day of business-related activities is planned for the various PNBA committees—its Book Awards Committee meets at 10 a.m., its Education Committee gathers at 12:15 p.m., and its Literacy Committee convenes at 2 p.m. When the general membership convenes at 5 p.m., booksellers finish up at the convention center for the day. The evening begins with a 6:30 p.m. cocktail party, followed by the banquet at 7:30 p.m. Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Bookstore will act as emcee, with Douglas Coupland (All Families Are Psychotic), Gretel Ehrlich (This Cold Heaven) and T.A. Barron (A Tree Girl) at the main table.

At the Sunday book and author breakfast, Ken Davis (Don't Know Much About the Universe), Bill Ayers (Fugitive Days) and Steven Kellogg (A Penguin Pup for Pinkerton) bid good morning to early risers. Exhibit hours: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. Autographing hours: 9:45 p.m.—1:15 p.m. and 2:15—4 p.m. Chat 'n' chew is the unspoken theme of the Meet the Authors Lunch. Booksellers will have a chance to hobnob with Peggy Orenstein (Flux: Women on Sex), Robert Morgan (This Rock), Terry Brooks (The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, Book 2: Antrax), Jill McCorkle (Creatures of Habit), Robert Ferrigno (Flinch), Debbie Macomber (16 Lighthouse Road) and Jack Prelutsky (Awful Ogre's Awful Day). Before the show closes at 4 p.m., there'll be more fun and games surrounding the Grand Finale Prize Drawing. Area sales reps have assembled a collection of exciting gifts—including baseball tickets and dinner coupons—for a few lucky booksellers. There's one hitch—winners must be present!

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

Southern California Booksellers Association

Educational programming scheduled on Fri., Nov. 2, and Sat., Nov. 3; Annual Authors Feast on Sat., Nov. 3, at the Double Tree Hotel, Plaza las Fuentes, Pasadena, Calif.

Historic Pasadena, home of the Tournament of Roses, is the city of choice for two full days of seminars and workshops and the ninth annual Authors Feast. More than 400 booksellers are expected to participate in the weekend's activities. Random House, Inc. is sponsoring the Friday morning seminar and lunch. Suzanne Welsh starts the day at 8:30 a.m. with a three-hour session on merchandising. The author lunch at 11:45 a.m. features Aimee Bender (An Invisible Sign of My Own). Avin Domnitz makes an appearance in the afternoon, with his presentation on basic bookstore finance management. This session concludes at 4 p.m.

On Saturday morning, representatives of this year's lobby-sponsor Partners/West will greet booksellers on their way to the children's author breakfast. Featured speakers at the breakfast include Wendelin Van Draanen (Flipped), Rafe Martin (Sharks), Gerard McDermott (Jabuti the Tortoise) and Jessica Harper (Nora's Room). A number of different workshop installments are slated to run throughout the day. At 9:30 a.m., there's a session on book clubs, followed by a program on marketing presented by an ABA senior staffer. Midmorning, Francesca Lia Block joins other authors to speak on censorship at an ABFFE-sponsored panel led by board member Hut Landon. At noon, host Dan Halpern of Ecco/HarperCollins welcomes guest speakers Louise Steinman (The Souvenir), Kevin Yagher (Heverly), Anne Heche (Call Me Crazy), and Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) to lunch. When it's over at 1:45 p.m., attendees get back to business with an ABA strategic-planning session, followed by an exchange on co-op. Midway through the afternoon, SCBA holds a brief general meeting, while members of the L.A. publishing community get together at a mixer down the hall.

As the evening draws near, expectant booksellers and authors gather for the typically sold-out Annual Authors Feast. As of this writing, Baker & Taylor and Ingram Book Company have confirmed their support for this event. The reception starts at 6 p.m.; publishers and distributors are invited to set up exhibit tables at that time. This new feature is one that event organizers hope booksellers will appreciate. Archer Books, B&T, Cantempos, HarperCollins, Ingram Book Company, Houghton Mifflin, Partners/ West, Penguin Putnam, Really Great Books, Simon & Schuster and Scholastic plan to participate.

The guest list for the 8 p.m. dinner is most impressive: Henry Bromell, Bo Caldwell, Joe Cepeda, Stephen Elliott, Pam Carroll, Katharine Haake, Corson Hirshfield, Lynda Madaras, Rubin Martinez, Jack Miles, Karen Roberts, Elizabeth Rosner, Mona Simpson, Victor Villasenor, and Moon Unit Zappa are among the invited authors. Partygoers will receive a bag full of autographed books to take home with them.

Many more off-site events are planned throughout the weekend—check the final schedule for details.

Contact: Jennifer Bigelow, 301 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 501, Pasadena, Calif. 91101; (626) 791-9455; scba@earthlink.net.

Southern California Children's Booksellers Association

Annual Fall Dinner and Golden Dolphin Award Presentation to be held on Sat., Sept. 8, at the California Science Center, Los Angeles

Exposition Park is the backdrop for this year's SCCBA award dinner and presentation. This much-anticipated occasion has colleagues getting together to take a closer look at the season's best books and toast independent children's bookselling. Publishers' reps are going to kick off the festivities when they deliver several "mini" tradeshow presentations at 5:30 p.m. Dinner follows at 7 p.m. It should be a real treat for everyone! Well-known and widely admired children's authors Denise Fleming (Pumpkin Eye), Pam Muñoz Ryan (Mice and Beans) and Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events; The Hostile Hospital) are the scheduled guest speakers. The Golden Dolphin Award will be presented after dinner. This lifetime achievement award is given to a regional author or illustrator. The name of this year's winner is still under wraps.

Contact: Leslie Kessel, Little Professor Book Co., 27468 Ynez Rd., Suite A-1, Temecula, Calif. 92591; (909) 677-5147; kessel@temecula.com.

Northern California Independent Booksellers Association

Trade show meets Fri., Oct. 5—Sun., Oct. 7, at the Oakland Convention Center and Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, Calif.

Oakland, once home to Jack London and Robert Louis Stevenson, has become the home away from home for NCIBA booksellers. That's where they'll gather for their annual meeting again. Baker & Taylor, F&W Publications, Ingram Book Company, and Random House, Inc. are giving their support to the activities. Things get under way on Friday at 10 a.m. in the Simmons Ballroom with Doug Hall's presentation on how to "jump start your business brain." Then Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore steps up to the podium to advise on choosing effective sidelines. A.J. Toppers is the place to go for the annual author box lunch featuring speakers Ken Davis (Don't Know Much About the Universe) and Ross Laird (Grain of Truth). Sign up in advance to guarantee a seat. Educational programming continues in the afternoon back in the ballroom. At 1:45 p.m., Allison Hill of Book Soup and Matt Astrella from UCI Bookstore, Irvine will share success stories and ideas on selling books off-site—a great way to increase sales. In a concurrent session, ABA's COO Oren Teicher will introduce the new ABA marketing initiative called Local Marketing Intelligence, or LMI, to an eager audience. The afternoon program's second installment begins at 3:30 p.m. with a panel on the future of bookstore ownership. Representatives from the bookselling and legal communities, as well as local government officials discuss "passing the torch" to the next generation of booksellers, especially keeping financial and transitional issues in mind. In a workshop designed for the writer-bookseller in mind, Hal Zina Bennett, author of Write from the Heart, offers tips on how to "unleash the power of creativity." The day closes with a reception at 5 p.m., followed by a series of author readings featuring Moon Unit Zappa (America the Beautiful), Louise Steinman (The Souvenir: A Daughter Discovers Her Father's War), and Jennifer Egan (Look at Me).

On Saturday morning at 8 a.m., Glen David Gold (Carter Beats the Devil), Gretel Ehrlich (This Cold Heaven), and Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay) will speak at breakfast. Exhibit hours: 10 a.m.—4 p.m.; autographings: 10:30 a.m.—3:30 p.m. No educational programming is scheduled. NCIBA holds its hour-long annual general membership meeting at 4 p.m. Oren Teicher will be on hand to deliver a brief report on the progress of this year's ABA initiatives. Sore feet? Hoarse voice? Refreshments and hors d' oeuvres await tired show-goers at Café Centre across the street from the convention center—the cocktail party gets under way at 5 p.m.

At the Sunday morning children's author breakfast, Pam Muñoz Ryan (Mice and Beans), Rosemary Wells (Bunny Party) and creative team Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin (Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type) receive top billing. Exhibit and autographing hours are the same as on Saturday. The "cookbook celebration," back by popular demand. Everything served is prepared from recipes taken from recipes in this year's new cookbooks. Then there's one last item—swing around to the NCIBA booth at 3:30 p.m. to find out which bookstores have won the "place-an-order-at-the-show" raffle. The recipient of the $500 grand prize could be—you! Bonne chance!

Contact: Hut Landon, 5643 Paradise Dr., Suite 12, Corte Madera, Calif. 94925; (415) 927-3937; office@nciba.com.