NVNR: Booksellers in Community

Booksellers love to be in community. Beyond the education sessions, author keynotes, and receptions, it’s those moments when booksellers connect, network, and have fun hanging out together that receive the most attention in our event surveys. As one member said about a recent gathering during SIBA’s March Madness, “We all are going through such similar daily experiences. Being able to get advice and knowledge from different perspectives is always helpful. Love a literary think tank full of implemental ideas!” 

At New Voices New Rooms (NVNR), we purposely sprinkle bookseller networking opportunities throughout the schedule. Some offer chances to make new acquaintances, like the bus tours on Sunday, the author receptions and therapist-moderated sessions on Monday, and the mindful moments tables for coloring and puzzles by our registration/info throughout the conference. Others offer the potential to discover new mentors and ideas at our bookseller-led education sessions on Monday, the Ask Me Anything tables on Tuesday, and the bookseller retreats on Wednesday. Booksellers can spend time with colleagues from their own region during the regional breakfasts on Tuesday, and come together as one NVNR community during our NVNR Awards Dinner that evening. 

Attending NVNR is an investment in many ways, but most importantly, it’s an investment in you. Booksellers last year said they attended to “tap into the hive mind,” find leads and new ideas for their author event programming, discover debut authors, and learn about trends and best practices in the education sessions. The word that came up again and again was “connect.” That’s our goal for you: to make those connections that feed your spirit and spark ideas on how to improve your business. If you’re feeling burned out, to help you rediscover the joy and passion that led you to start your journey as a bookseller. You’ll be among folks who do the work you do day in and day out, connecting readers with books, and authors with readers, changing lives one book at a time. We hope you’ll join us in August in Baltimore for another wonderful and worthy life experience with our special bookselling community. We’re building this conference for you!

Bookseller Registration: SIBA
Exhibitor Registration: Exhibits

Linda-Marie Barrett
Executive Director
Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance