NAIBAhood NewsMay 7, 2020

Join Us Friday for Rep Pick of the Lists

NAIBA will host Friday morning sales rep pick of the listsand editors buzz programs. First up is Parson Weemstomorrow, Friday, May 8 from 11am to noon. Registerin advance for this meeting.

Next up: HarperCollins on Friday, May 22. Register inadvance for this meeting.

Publishers: If you'd like schedule one, contact NAIBA.

Weekly NAIBA Social Hour

The NAIBA board is hosting a social hour for ourbooksellers and reps every Wednesday at 7pm via zoom.(Information below) We hope you and your store'sbooksellers will join us any week it is possible. Just to visit,share some good news, see some new faces and socialize alittle bit at the end of a strange day of bookselling.Wednesdays at 7:00 PM Eastern Time through July 8. Drop

this meeting into your weekly calendar so you don't forget.

Register in advance for this meeting:https://us04web.zoom.us/meeting/register/vJIld-yprjgr5qWUTiSwfjfszJQP4L9O-w

This week we had 17 in attendance plus a quick log-in "hello!"We are surviving! Another week has passed and we are still here, still networking,still supporting one another!We shared stories about what we are doing with any spare time we may have :reading, streaming shows, tuning in for situation and mayoral/gubernatorialupdates, walking, gardening, organizing home/work spaces, and writing letters forsnail mail!Speaking of, it was also encouraged to support the USPS, the primary deliverychoice for many of our regional stores' book order deliveries. Don't need stamps?Check out their website for other merchandise - they even have really cool t-shirtsfor sale!Returns were again discussed. New thoughts included a return in place with a creditto account, extensions for returns, and what to do about running out of boxes. Withso little shipment coming in, we are facing a deficit of boxes to recycle by usingthem for returns.A significant topic was what is happening in each area of the region. MD - cautious

optimism and re-opening of beaches and possibly "safe playgrounds," that will bere-closed if people do not follow safety protocols; NJ - extended closure dates forcentral and northern areas, southern is seeing an increase in activity; NY -possibility for certain stores to open soon (including bookstores, hopefully!); PA -certain businesses are re-opening, but Philly may extend stay at home whilePittsburgh may begin opening with safety protocols in place; VA - stay at home isbeing extended until possibly mid-June. MULTIPLE states reported the possibilityof schools not reopening their physical spaces in the fall.And CHEERS! We toasted to all our bookstore and their amazing staffs. We trulyare blessed by the tenacity, integrity, and courage of our bookselling family.

Join us for next week's social hour!

#SaveIndieBookstoresThanks to so many amazing people working together,the #SaveIndieBookstores campaign raised a total of$1,239,595 to support independent booksellers acrossthe country with immediate funding to offset businesslost due to the COVID-19 crisis!

Best of the BestTough times brings out the best in most of us, and we get to see people in a newlight. If there is a bookseller or publisher sales rep who has really risen to theoccasion, now is the time to recognize that and nominate them for DrabyakHandseller of the Year or Keith Sales Rep of the Year.

To better address the way the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting memberbookstores, the American Booksellers Association is asking booksellers tofill out a form to indicate whether their store is open or closed, as well aswhat services they may still be offering. Booksellers can fill out the formhere. If your store is already on the list but your status needs to beupdated, please re-submit the form. The ABA team will be updating thedocument daily. Results from the form will be displayed in thisdocument. Note: this form is available for viewing by the public.

Spotlight on Social Media

The stores in our NAIBAhood are doing great things! Each week we'll share some of them here.

Otto Bookstore combined quotes about gardening and books about gardening in one of theirlatest posts.

Boogie Down Books is encouraging their followers to tell them why they love their teacher, andthree lucky teachers will win a free Boogie Down Books gift set. See all the details here.

Hockessin BookShelf has a fun way of celebrating a book release with a graphic that looks like aparty!

The Dog Eared Book shared a sticker (with a graphic from A Little Bookish)reminding theirfollowers that they can be the hero of this story by shopping local. Talk about emotional appeal:everyone wants to be the hero!

A week ago Uncle Bobbies encouraged their followers to post a picture of themselves in a maskand tag them, and on Instagram they've been showing solidarity by reposting each one!

In the latest episode of Crafting with Charlie and Julie with Caprichos Books, they made paperflowers perfect for Mother's Day. Check it out if you want a nice handmade gift!

City Books shared an appreciation note from a customer and it reminded me that everything weshare online has the potential to affect someone's reading life and life in general.

White Whale Bookstore has a great thread on twitter featuring "stuff our staff says about books."

Schomburg Shop shared their bestsellers in their stories (don't worry, there's a highlight of themtoo!) Reminder: if you share awesome stuff in stories, make highlights on Instagram so peoplewho don't see the story day of can see it later!

The Green Toad Bookstore showcased their customizable gift boxes and I want one. I dare you tolook at this photo and NOT want to get one!

NAIBA NOTES: COVID-19 Important Updates and Resources

Thanks to our industry for their support of indie stores!

ABA's website has up-to-date information. Be sure to read Allison Hill'sdaily Covid19 emails.

We want to draw your attention to two of the daily emails that are FULL ofresources. This one talks about best practices/considerations when re-opening your store, and this one has links to places to source things youmade need to open up.

Publisher's Weekly has created a running list of publication date changes due to COVID-19. Thelist is searchable and sortable. Publishers can submit publication date changes here. Allsubmissions will be immediately published as submitted.

FRAUD ALERT: Beware the Signs of a Fraudulent Order

As the volume of online sales has increased,IndieCommerce and IndieLite stores are alsoseeing a significant increase in fraudulentorders being placed. We need your assistance to stop the orders from going through. Here aresome of the red flags to watch out for:

Orders for large boxed sets retailing for around $400 being shipped to addresses inCalifornia. The shipping and billing address have the same first and last name, but theaddresses are different and no one answers the phone numbers that were submitted withthe orders. The IP addresses that the orders are placed from are not in the vicinity of eitherthe shipping or the billing address.Single titles with different billing and shipping addresses and an IP address that is not inthe vicinity of either address. The buyer(s) of these books are using stolen credit cardnumbers to fulfill orders they have received for these books on Amazon, eBay, and otheronline marketplaces. Essentially, they buy the books from your store using a stolen creditcard number and you are then shipping it to their buyer, who thinks they are getting itfrom a legitimate seller. We found out about this last year when one of these Amazonbuyers called the number on the invoice that was included in the packaging of their bookorder and the store knew nothing about the purchase. Eventually, the buyer and the storefigured out what happened, contacted us, and we got Amazon to remove the seller.Out-of-state orders for a large number of expensive books (including textbooks). Thisusually starts with a phone call or an email from a person you are not familiar with. If anorder looks too good to be true, proceed with EXTREME caution. Check them outthoroughly. Don’t accept a credit card as payment; insist on a bank transfer.

If you have an indiecommerce site and want an additional opinion on the validity of an order,write to staff@bookweb.org. Please include “Fraudulent / Suspicious Order” in the subject line,and they’ll check it out for you. Please also check all CDF orders carefully before sending them toIngram. Ingram does NOT review orders for fraud before processing them. When you share afraud incident with indiecommerce, it gives them the opportunity to check the entireIndieCommerce and IndieLite system to make sure no one else has similar orders pending.

Fall Conference Update:NAIBA's Fall Conference will be a virtual event.

It will be fun, it will be different, it will be bigger, and you and

your staff can do it from home or in the store at all different

times. More details coming soon.

Author Submissions Are Open! Publishers! We inviteyou to submit your authors for consideration to be featured atour annual Fall Virtual ConferenceWe want to have some fun with this virtual event, so bring yourA-Game!Submit your authors here!

NAIBAhood Review

The Switchby Beth O'Leary(Flatiron Books/Macmillan)9781250769862

THE SWITCH is an absolute sweetheart of a novel. Like THEFLATSHARE, this will do well both with "women's fiction" readers

and romance readers. Feels like the very best of Sophie Kinsella - allthe heart, all the wit.

With the narrative toggling back and forth between the scenicYorkshire Dales and London's trendy Shoreditch neighborhood,

Eileen (grandmother) and Leena (granddaughter) swap lives for twomonths: Eileen hoping to find love outside her small town, Leena in

desperate need of a moment to slow down after a panic attack duringa work presentation.

I'd liken the setup to Sophie Kinsella's THE UNDOMESTICGODDESS - it's delightful to watch these characters outside their

normal, growing and stretching themselves while also finding peacewhere they don't expect it. Delightfully, both Leena and Eileen have

romantic and work-related story lines. I found myself absolutelymelting over Leena's (just! you! wait!), and Eileen's was particularly

refreshing.

I haven't encountered many novels that treat senior women's romantic lives or professional goalswith so much respect and enthusiasm. Eileen's desire to date is met with zero condescension, and

I ADORED that.THE SWITCH also centers wonderfully around female relationships - mothers and daughters

and sisters and grandmothers, coworkers and girlfriends. Our author really did the work; none ofthese characters feel flat or undeveloped.

TL;DR: Beth O'Leary has written another instant classic.Reviewed by Anna Bright, One More Page Books

Take Moment and Enjoy a Couple of Smiles!

Around the NAIBAhood

Visit our NAIBA Jobs Bank to see full listings for each position below.

Booksellers needed at Powerhouse Arena. Contactsusanne@powerhousearena.com

What We Are Reading

Eileen Kathy Ellen Kit

I'll be reading bedtime storiesagain! Here's my brand newgrandson, Beau.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians5 Book Paperback Boxed Set

(she's on book 4 soon to be book5)

Rick Riordan, John Rocco(Disney-Hyperion)

9781484707234

Master of SorrowsJustin T. Call

(Blackstone Publishing)9781982591786

Eileen DenglerExecutive Director

Kit LittleExecutive Administrator

Keep Your Staff In The Know!Encourage everyone on your staff to sign up for our NAIBAhood News as well as our Booksellersnewsletters. They will be up to date on industry developments, upcoming events, and new/future

release titles and programs that the publishers are excited about!

New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association516-333-0681| 2667 Hyacinth Street, Westbury, NY 11590| NAIBA.com