With the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association set to dissolve at the end of the year, the (Northern) California Independent Booksellers Association has filled its available board seats as it expands to cover the entire state.
Mary Williams, general manager of Skylight Books in Los Angeles; Mimi Hannan, assistant manager and book buyer at La Playa Books in San Diego; and Bridget Schinnerer of Vroman's Hastings Ranch were added to the board as voting members, with Schinnerer assuming the role of treasurer. Mark O'Neal of Karel/Dutton Group, meanwhile, has been added as a non-voting member and is the first to fill the position of Southern California sales rep.
In other changes to the existing board, Melinda Powers, head book buyer at Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, is the new incoming president, which will be made official in May 2020. Wendy Pearl of Penguin Random House is now the Northern California sales rep, while Leslie Jobson of Ingram Publisher Services will continue as publishing professional.