A couple of weeks ago I attended the New England Independent Booksellers Association’s annual fall conference.
At this event geared toward bookstore employees, the mix of programming includes authors, editors, and sales reps introducing forthcoming books, and educational panels from experienced booksellers sharing their knowledge with other booksellers.
The educational sessions represent, to me, the thing I have come to most admire about this community: booksellers helping booksellers. This is an incredibly generous population. Especially for those of us working in small stores with only a few other staff members, our day-to-day lives don’t often afford the opportunity to converse with peers about the vagaries of our business. Here was a chance not just to learn how to make our own stores better, but a reminder that the work we do is a part of a larger effort to share ideas, entertainment, and community.
But what about the books? On the trade show floor, publishers manned booths with hundreds of books displayed and stacks of advance reading copies to give away. “It’s like Christmas,” one of my booksellers said, and then she set out in one direction, and I went in the other and I didn’t see her for two hours. When we reconvened, we had about six tote bags full of books we couldn’t wait to go home and read and share with our colleagues and — eventually — our customers.
There were also 70 authors in attendance, spread out across different events. At the opening keynote, Jon Meacham gave a hopeful, rousing, and hilarious speech based on his forthcoming book, “American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union.” (Sorry, you’ll have to wait until February to get it.) He compared our current moment to other moments in history, particularly the early 1920s, but what stuck with me was this: “The stories you curate, the stories you sell, the stories you tell, will be part of any reclamation of or a recovery of the democratic experiment.” A powerful idea for those of us who have committed our lives to storytelling.
The Author Reception was held in a ballroom filled with tables and at each table an author sat next to a stack of their books. Booksellers got to wander from table to table, picking up a signed copy and talking to the author. A wide variety of genres were represented, from cookbooks (look for “Sweet & Salty! King Arthur Baking Company’s Cookbook for Young Bakers” this September 30 and “My Harvest Kitchen” by Gesine Bullock-Prado on October 14) to picture books (I am a sucker for Astrid Sheckels’ illustrations and was thrilled to pick up a copy of “Flora and the Jazzers” (coming October 7)) to nonfiction (“Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All” by Mel Allen is just out!) to new fiction to discover (I’m looking forward to trying “Ashland” by Dan Simon, a novel set in Ashland, New Hampshire publishing February 17).
At one breakfast featuring children’s book authors, Brian Lies wowed us by bringing along a painting he made for his new picture book, “Cat Nap.” In “Cat Nap,” a cat dreams of chasing a mouse through an art gallery. On each spread the two animals streak past 3-D artwork that Brian Lies has meticulously created matching the style of masterful works from history. It’s truly stunning (and publishes September 30). At one breakfast featuring authors of books for adults, Jenny Lawson made us all cry — with laughter — talking about her future release, “How to Be Okay When Nothing is Okay,” a collection of 100 tools and tricks she uses to keep going when she doesn’t feel like keeping going. While some of us feel we could really use this book now, we have to wait until March 31, 2026 to have it in our hands.
Now the only physical reminder of the conference is a towering stack of galleys sitting nearby, a promise of good things to come. I can’t wait to tell you all about them.
Hannah Harlow is owner of The Book Shop, an independent bookstore in Beverly Farms. Harlow writes biweekly recommendations for us. See more of what she recommends reading at thecricket.com.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here