Editors' Note: Because it is so unusual, answers all questions and
is so delightfully written, we're running in its entirety this announcement from SIBA
and one of our favorite regional directors (although they're all
wonderful).
Wanda Jewell is dieting for dollars. The executive director of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) promised herself she would lose 45 pounds in 45 weeks. And because it never hurts to have a little incentive, Ms. Jewell is turning her goal into an opportunity to raise support for SIBA.
According to her new blog Fat So? for SIBA, Ms. Jewell is seeking pledges of $10 to SIBA for each pound she loses from publishers and supporters of independent booksellers. Since she began the initiative on July 1, she has already lost 8 pounds.
Anyone who wants to support both SIBA and Jewell's effort to get fit can participate by donating $10 to SIBA for every pound that she loses. Pledges can be sent to:
FAT SO? For SIBA
3806 Yale Ave.
Columbia, S.C. 29205
Checks can be made out to SIBA, and credit cards are accepted. Jewell adds that any publisher, author or bookseller that supports the effort can then send books or other motivational fitness items and she will use them, review them, try them and talk about them in her blog. It will cost $80 to join (for the 8 pounds lost to date plus $10 per pound after that). Jewell is especially hoping to attract the support of publishers who specialize in health and wellness topics. One of the first books she mentions in her blog is Rodale's The Abs Diet: The Six Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life.
But her interests go beyond dieting and weight loss. "I'm interested in living a better life," she says.
"This is really brave of me. I have struggled with my weight all of my adult life either in my head or in my body," adds Jewell. "I hope to be able to post some pictures [on my blog] but I will wait until there is a call for them."
Jewell also plans to have a "Guess My Weight" contest at the upcoming SIBA Fall Trade Show being held in Orlando, Fla., September 8-10. What will you win if you guess Ms. Jewell's weight correctly? "A whole cheesecake!" says Jewell wistfully. And if your guess is off by a few pounds? Well, then it will cost $10 for each pound you miss.
In order to keep people apprised of her progress Jewell has created a blog, where she records the ups and downs of her life on a diet, along with discussions of meals and dieting advice that has been particularly beneficial.
Jewell's ultimate goal? "A better, healthier me," she says, "and a better, healthier SIBA."
Wanda Jewell is dieting for dollars. The executive director of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) promised herself she would lose 45 pounds in 45 weeks. And because it never hurts to have a little incentive, Ms. Jewell is turning her goal into an opportunity to raise support for SIBA.
According to her new blog Fat So? for SIBA, Ms. Jewell is seeking pledges of $10 to SIBA for each pound she loses from publishers and supporters of independent booksellers. Since she began the initiative on July 1, she has already lost 8 pounds.
Anyone who wants to support both SIBA and Jewell's effort to get fit can participate by donating $10 to SIBA for every pound that she loses. Pledges can be sent to:
FAT SO? For SIBA
3806 Yale Ave.
Columbia, S.C. 29205
Checks can be made out to SIBA, and credit cards are accepted. Jewell adds that any publisher, author or bookseller that supports the effort can then send books or other motivational fitness items and she will use them, review them, try them and talk about them in her blog. It will cost $80 to join (for the 8 pounds lost to date plus $10 per pound after that). Jewell is especially hoping to attract the support of publishers who specialize in health and wellness topics. One of the first books she mentions in her blog is Rodale's The Abs Diet: The Six Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life.
But her interests go beyond dieting and weight loss. "I'm interested in living a better life," she says.
"This is really brave of me. I have struggled with my weight all of my adult life either in my head or in my body," adds Jewell. "I hope to be able to post some pictures [on my blog] but I will wait until there is a call for them."
Jewell also plans to have a "Guess My Weight" contest at the upcoming SIBA Fall Trade Show being held in Orlando, Fla., September 8-10. What will you win if you guess Ms. Jewell's weight correctly? "A whole cheesecake!" says Jewell wistfully. And if your guess is off by a few pounds? Well, then it will cost $10 for each pound you miss.
In order to keep people apprised of her progress Jewell has created a blog, where she records the ups and downs of her life on a diet, along with discussions of meals and dieting advice that has been particularly beneficial.
Jewell's ultimate goal? "A better, healthier me," she says, "and a better, healthier SIBA."