New Voices New Rooms continued Tuesday in Atlanta, Ga., with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Town Hall and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association's Annual Meeting kicking off the second day. Where Monday's schedule was packed with education sessions, Tuesday saw the opening of the exhibition floor, rep pick sessions, and an editors' reception. The NAIBA Awards Dinner and the SIBA Celebration Reception brought the day to a close.
Booksellers mingle and meet authors at the Indie Press Author Reception Monday night.
Holly Ruck, director of field sales, Macmillan; Valerie Pierce, v-p, independent sales and retail marketing, Sourcebooks; and Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo, owner and events manager, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y., hosted a lively panel on Building Relationships with Publishers. Stockton-Bagnulo summed up: "When approaching publishers for author events, one-sheets pitching your store, informative websites, creativity in pitches, and experience with past events are all important and helpful. When you need help or aren’t getting the events you want, reaching out for a conversation with the publisher can be the most important item in your toolkit."
NAIBA and SIBA booksellers peruse the exhibition hall Tuesday morning.
NAIBA president Hannah Oliver Depp, co-owner of Loyalty Bookstores, washington, D.C., addresses NAIBA members during the association’s annual meeting Tuesday morning. (photo: Ryan Grover, NAIBA)
At SIBA's Town Hall on Tuesday, board members Julia Davis, The Book Worm Bookshop, Powder Springs, Ga., and Bunnie Hilliard, Brave + Kind Bookshop, Decatur, Ga., addressed member concerns. (photo: SP Rankin, SIBA)
Michael Triebwasser, sales rep for Penguin Random House, introduced the four editors taking part in the Focus on Editors reception. From left: Robin Miura, Blair; Maya Marshall, Haymarket Books; Triebwasser; Kate McMullen, Ingram Content Group; and Andy Ward, Penguin Random House.
During the NAIBA awards dinner Tuesday night, author Jason Reynolds, recipient of both the 2025 NAIBA Legacy Award and the award for Best YA Novel, appeared in conversation with NAIBA president Hannah Oliver Depp to discuss his book Twenty-four Seconds from Now (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum).