Madly March Madness! Bookseller Series Receives High Marks

It was a madly busy month for SIBA booksellers attending any of the ten different March Madness Bookseller Series events throughout the SIBA region.

139 individual booksellers from 73 different bookstores participated. The total number of attendees for all events was 164, an 11% increase over 2025. 25 booksellers attended more than one event, and the average attendance rate was 16 booksellers per event.

The smaller, more intimate format of MMBS, with its focus on bookseller-led programming and emphasis on bookseller-to-bookseller connections, is one of the reasons March Madness is so popular with members. Attendees frequently say that the chance to share ideas with their colleagues, or ask them for advice on specific questions, is the most valuable part of the event.

What booksellers had to say about MMBS:

"Wonderful! love hearing from all the different stores about the ideas they are using to make customers feel special during events." (Auburn Oil Co.)

"I shared some concerns about how I am at a loss reaching more male shoppers/readers - others also shared that they too don't see as many male to female customers. There were some good ideas shared that I felt could be included into my normal programming. "
(The Country Bookshop)

"It's always a treat to get together with other booksellers, and the idea share was no exception. I walked away with many great ideas for the bookstore and with new resources other bookstores shared with us." (Underbrush Books)

"We learned so much from Novel's presentation on events. That is a great topic that we all need to cover yearly! They gave a thorough talk about events that have worked well for them — how they planned and how the events turned out. There were a lot of takeaways that could work at the attendees' different stores." (novel. and Burke's Bookstore)

"It was good. Because we were a small group it also became like an idea exchange too. We all had a lot to talk about and there was good back-and-forth." (Main Street Reads)

"As a brand new store owner, I really enjoyed meeting a lot of the booksellers and owners in my area and figuring out ways to collaborate with them. I would love for this group (meaning the booksellers in our general area) to get together every 6 months or so to continue the discussions!" (Octavia)

"Excellent. Learned a ton and took many notes home for my own store." (Resist)

"I am new, my bookstore is not even open yet. So my perspective may be different than seasoned booksellers. But I was in awe. I was impressed by how they explained all of the nuts and bolts, and tricks of the trade, inviting us to copy their program. Each presenter/staff member was a superstar in what she did, but explained it in a way that suggested we could do it. And Ann explained how First Edition works from the inside out. Brilliant." (Parnassus)