MIBA & Beyond: Book Trade Shows and What They Do

As many of you faithful literature lovers may know, especially you booksellers, the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA) Trade Show happened last Thursday and Friday, September 22-23, at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis. And what a great show, and a great venue it was! Claire Kirch, of Publisher's Weekly, reported on the conference, describing the venue as upstaging "everything and everybody at the Midwest Independent Booksellers' annual Conference..." And at Scarletta Press, we'd have to agree: This year's show was in a top-notch location, and brought some top-notch booksellers over to the Scarletta Press table!
Scarletta Press has been strongly emphasizing their new children's line, Junior Bookwormz, since early February of this year. The cornerstone books: The Lexicon Adventure Series by Pendred Noyce. The first book in the series, Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers, debuted on August 9, and has been making a splash in every aspect. The book itself has won over 8 awards, including an IBPA Ben Franklin for 1-2 Color Interior Design, and Honorable Mention from ForeWord Reviews' BOTYAs for Juvenile Fiction, and a Parents' Choice Recommended. ForeWord calls it "...an adventure story for the digital generation...," and School Library Journal says "...readers will be rewarded with a good adventure, affecting lyrical passages, and thought-provoking questions..." With all this buzz, we thought: Let's give Penny Noyce and her books the main focus at the MIBA conference this year.

Penny began her trip to Minneapolis with a visit to KFAI's Write on Radio! program on Tuesday, September 20, where she discussed the new initiatives for the book, and we discussed what would be happening at MIBA. (To read about the KFAI show, check out this post by Ashley.) Penny then prepped herself for the show itself. Starting off on the right foot, Penny made quite the splash at the Moveable Feast Author's Lunch on Thursday. From 12 pm to 2 pm, Penny made her rounds to different tables, where she talked with many independent booksellers about her book, the series, and Scarletta Press. The unique thing about this luncheon is that only authors are allowed to talk to the booksellers. Our publisher, Ian Graham Leask, sat patiently on the side while Penny did her thing. And whatever it was that she said, sure did work. Friday morning came, and we set up our table, just ready for those booksellers to stop on by. The show floor opened at 9:15 am, and it wasn't long before many of those booksellers stopped by our table to check out the giant display of Lost in Lexicon books and to meet Pendred Noyce. Word had got out about Penny's great repartee, and the lovely new series from Scarletta Press. Booksellers came with business cards, compliments, and the desire to host an event with Penny Noyce. I talked to so many people, my throat soon became dry and my lips chapped. It was one of the busiest shows I've ever had! I can't thank those bookseller's enough for making it such a success. The show floor closed at 4:30 pm, and the Scarletta Press employees left with a phenomenal feeling in the pits of their stomachs.
If you missed Penny at this year's MIBA conference, be sure to stop by at Rain Taxi's Twin Cities Book Festival on Saturday, October 15, at MCTC in downtown Minneapolis. Penny will be hosting a Lexicon Villages event in the Children's Pavilion from 10 am to 1 pm. Her books will be for sale at the pavilion, and also at the Scarletta Press table on the show floor. So grab the kids, hop in the car, and join us for a day of fun activities, tasty treats, and lovely words with Penny Noyce.
To learn more about Penny and her books, check out the website. If you're interested in having an author event, please visit the Scarletta Press site to contact me, Desiree Bussiere.