Every year the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association ends the regional trade show season. This weekend at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, with bookstore and bookseller attendance up and publisher and author attendance slightly down, SCIBA did the same--with what seemed like an even greater appreciation for the need and value of community in this digital age.
Luncheon speaker Scott Westerfield, known for his Uglies books, likened addressing independent booksellers about his new illustrated children's novel, Leviathan (Simon Spotlight), to giving a wedding toast. "Even a corny joke gets a warm reception," he told Shelf Awareness. He used his time to talk about the history of illustrated books and introduce what he called the "Victorian Manga" illustrations that help tell the story of Prince Alec, son of the slain Archduke Ferdinand and Sophia, and the fantasy fight for the future of the world between the Clankers vs. Darwinists.
SCIBA members always enjoy the glow of Hollywood, and Joe Kanon provided some in his discussion of Stardust (Atria). Set in 1945, Stardust follows some of the refugees from Nazi Germany who descended upon Hollywood at its zenith and on the cusp of McCarthyism. The protagonist aims to see beyond the stardust that is blinding an industry consumed in its own success and oblivious to the forces that will bring the studio system down as well as create the black list.
Sharon Robinson and illustrator Kadir Nelson talked about Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson (Scholastic). Robinson treated the booksellers to a glimpse of family snapshots juxtaposed with Nelson's illustrations of real places and events that are featured in Testing the Ice. In the story, Sharon's famous father--who can't swim and would rather sit by the fire and read his paper anyway--nonetheless steps out onto untested frozen waters to make sure it is safe for his children.
Norman Ollestad read from his memoir, Crazy for the Storm (HarperCollins), and noted that the life lessons he learned from his adventurer father--who died in a plane crash Ollestad survived--were coming back in the lessons the author was now passing on to his son.
In an afternoon session on selling to Generation Z, Kristen McLean, executive director of the Association of Booksellers for Children, urged booksellers to engage teen customers and be ready to provide all customers books in whatever format they want. She maintained that Gen Z is not illiterate--and in fact is teaching older generations about technology--but it is also hungry for dialogue and community, which independent booksellers are well-suited to provide. She echoed the message of an earlier session with American Booksellers Association COO Len Vlahos: that booksellers be open to having a seat at the e-book table.
This year the SCIBA condensed its table-top trade show to two hours directly preceding the Authors' Feast and Awards. Emcee Paul Cimusz, retail territory manager at Baker & Taylor, opened by comparing the condensed trade show to "speed dating and then dinner." Booksellers and reps seemed to like the set-up. As Terry Gillman, SCIBA board member and past president, said: "These things have to keep evolving."
For the first time, the SCIBA featured a keynote speaker at its book awards: Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian, who introduced her forthcoming novel, The Swan Thieves (Little, Brown). She said that the new novel tried to convey the brilliance of Impressionist paintings and painters. "I wanted to capture a book about paint, the way Emily Dickenson captures the truth," she explained.
The centerpiece of SCIBA is always the awards and this year's event seemed more emotional than ever, partly because it included several new awards honoring beloved Book Soup owner Glenn Goldman, who died in January.
Adrian Newell, Goldman's partner and manager of Warwick's, said there were far too many people to thank for their support but singled out the staff of Book Soup for keeping things not just going but thriving after Goldman's death. (Everyone at SCIBA seemed in favor of the pending sale of Book Soup to Vroman's.)
Along with John Evans from Diesel, Newell presented the first Glenn Goldman bookseller and scholarship awards to Judy Kruger from Once Upon a Time and Catherine Linka from Flintridge Books & Coffee House.
Later in accepting the Glenn Goldman Art & Architecture Award (which he shared with Annie Leibowitz, who was not in attendance), Paul Eccesline said: "To be coming in under [Goldman's] umbrella is very special." Eccesline won for Faces of Sunset Boulevard (Santa Monica Press).
The nonfiction award went to Susan Campoy for Celebrating with Julienne (Prospect Park Books). When her daughter accepted the award, she brought people to tears as she explained that her deceased mother finished the book in her hospital bed and that winning this award from the Southern California booksellers was a life-long dream.
Even Lisa See choked up when she thanked the booksellers who "put me where I am" for honoring Shanghai Girls (Random House), a novel that captures, among many things, See's heritage in Los Angeles's Chinatown.
As usual, the SCIBA unofficially culminated in the Biltmore bar, with Newell continuing Goldman's tradition of calling as many attendees for drinks as possible. It wasn't the same without Goldman, but in this indie community so deeply affected by the Book Soup legend, it didn't exactly go on without him either.--Bridget Kinsella