The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) 2025 Fall Tradeshow takes place Saturday, September 27, to Tuesday, September 30, at the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Wash. The show starts on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., with the Lilac City Welcoming Committee event, at which local authors welcome booksellers and attendees visit Spokane bookstores and other literary sites, including the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library. After a dinner break, participants reconvene at Auntie's Bookstore for an evening reception with additional guests. Local authors who will be at the library include Kelly Milner Halls, author of Cryptid Sea Monsters (Sasquatch Books); Maya Jewell Zeller, author of The Wonder of Mushrooms (AdventureKEEN); Travis Baldree, author of Brigands & Breadknives (Tor Books); and Sarah Mackenzie, author of Dear Duck, Please Come! (Waxwing Books).
The PNBA Membership Meeting starts off Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by the Keynote Kickoff Education Plenary featuring KJ Williams and AJ Williams of Rise With Us, who will present BookselLing: Conflict, Care, and Community in Bookstore Workplaces, "a healing, practical, and future-forward conversation for anyone who wants to create a more just and resilient bookstore space." Then at 11:50 are education sessions and the Big Pitch Rep's Picks. More education sessions will be held after a 1:30 p.m. lunch break and authors will be available on the exhibit floor at 4:30. The Authors on Display dinner takes place at 7:30, followed by the Nightcapper Autographing Reception at 9:30.
Monday begins with 10 regional authors at the Authors on the Map Breakfast at 7:45 a.m. Exhibits open at 9:30 and close at 4. Education sessions and member-driven small group opportunities run throughout the day with a break for lunch at noon, when Brian Parker and members of the education committee present Storytelling as Creative Therapy. Ask-the-Expert Roundtables will cover a variety of topics. A Readers Recess featuring children's authors and refreshments begins at 4. The Signature Dish Plated Dinner starts at 5:45. The 8:15 p.m. Reps Behind the Desk event includes a full bar and nonalcoholic drink options.
The final day of the show starts with the 7:45 a.m. Morning Marquee Breakfast and a keynote delivered by Sue Aikens, author of North of Ordinary: How One Woman Left It All Behind for Wilderness and Wonder in Alaska's Frozen Frontier (Sourcebooks). More education sessions run in the morning, with topics such as romance trends, hybrid store models, sidelines, taking care of LGBTQIA+ staff, author events, retail experiential design, and saving time as a buyer. The Books Around the Bend Lunch begins at 12:45 and includes more authors and a scholarship raffle. The show closes at 2 p.m. Though the exact author lineup is still being determined, writers set to appear include Maria Semple, Travis Baldree, Megan Lally, Erin Entrada Kelly, Matt Dinniman, Marissa Meyer, and Carson Ellis.
The popular PNBA tradition of BuzzBooks continues. Booksellers visit participating publishers and learn about potential buzz books by speaking with reps, who then verify the booksellers' cards. Booksellers vote for the book they consider most buzzworthy, and the winner is announced at the Signature Dish.