The 2025 Heartland Fall Forum, hosted by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA) and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA), runs from Tuesday, October 14, to Thursday, October 16, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown in Indianapolis, Ind. The city was chosen in part because of the openings of so many indie bookstores there; three tours of local stores are part of the program. Registration opens 8 a.m. on Tuesday followed by a morning of job-focused retreats for store owners, managers, book buyers, and others. An orientation session runs from 3 to 4 p.m., followed from 4 to 5 by the awards celebration (honoring Heartland Booksellers Award titles selected by GLIBA and MIBA booksellers, hosted again this year by Isaac Fitzgerald), and from 5 to 6:30 by the opening reception. The opening night party, going from 8 to 11:55 p.m., will be held at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
Separate GLIBA and MIBA membership meetings start off Wednesday from 8 to 8:30 a.m., followed by the Marquee Author Breakfast from 8:30 to 10. General education sessions run from 10 a.m. until 12:50 p.m. Topics include book bannings (a panel features a bookseller, librarian, student, author, publisher, and school board member, all sharing Midwest perspectives on censorship and community advocacy), publicity, mutual aid, organizing tours and crawls, used books, dealing with store harassment, and more. After that, the Rep Picks Lunch goes from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., and the trade show floor is open from 3 to 6. The day ends with a quiz bowl from 9:30 to 11:30.
Thursday begins with the Marquee Author Breakfast from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The trade show floor is open from 9:30 to 12:30. The Moveable Feast, featuring some 40 authors, goes from 12:30 to 2 p.m. and the show closes at 5.
More information on authors who will attend the show will be available soon.