Eileen Dengler, executive director of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association and president of the Professional Booksellers School, will retire from NAIBA in December 2026 and from the School in 2027.
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| Eileen Dengler | |
Dengler started in the industry in 1984, at the American Booksellers Association, where she was director of meetings & conventions, in charge of the ABA Annual Convention as well as the ABA's extensive education calendar. She was responsible for the growth of what was called simply "the ABA," the biggest book industry event in North America.
After the association sold full interest in the convention in 1995 to Reed Exhibitions, which renamed it BookExpo America (BEA), Dengler became director of convention services at the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau, and then founded Reading Enterprises, an association and meetings management firm. In that role, she worked with NAIBA, the Southern California Children's Booksellers Association, the Sleepy Hollow Book Festival on its inaugural book festival, and the Harvard Square Book Festival on its inaugural book festival. She also managed many associations and conventions outside of the book industry.
In 1999, she was named executive director of NAIBA. As NAIBA noted, "Her 10 years with ABA and 26 years with NAIBA have been her most fulfilling. At both associations, she has creatively solved problems, built strong relationships, and was instrumental in their growth. Her passion for improving the lives of booksellers inspired her to create the Professional Booksellers School in 2020 with the full support of NAIBA."
Dengler commented, "I can't believe I got paid to do what I love."
NAIBA added that "Dengler's next projects include finishing the many manuscripts and stories that call to her from notebooks and Google Drives; reading novels in the morning; and continuing to help the book industry if called upon. She also plans to lose track of time, get lost in thought, and play with her grandbabies every single day."
NAIBA is beginning a search for a new executive director and plans to have a new person in place in January. During 2026, that person will be trained by the entire NAIBA team in every aspect of NAIBA operations to be ready take the lead at the end of 2026. For more information about the position, click here.
Some of us at Shelf Awareness have known Eileen since the days she headed the old ABA show, and we will miss her greatly. She has always been helpful, cheerful, thoughtful, funny, smart--and she has the best laugh. Luckily we have a year and a half to take in the news and make sure it won't be goodbye.