MIDWEST CONNECTIONS
REGIONAL MARKETING PROGRAM
FALL 2007
Sell More Books with MBA’s New MIDWEST CONNECTIONS REGIONAL MARKETING PROGRAM
Click here to see the many ways the Midwest Booksellers Association supports YOU -- our member bookstores and publishers -- with our MIDWEST CONNECTIONS regional marketing program. Midwest Connections marketing information at a glance will give you a quick overview of our program, too.
MBA Booksellers, please login now to the Members Area and go to the members Midwest Connections page for complete details and updates on…
- NEW MIDWEST CONNECTIONS PICKS titles and authors for Fall 200
- NEW marketing opportunities
- NEW promo and display materials – signs, bookmarks, shelf-talkers
- NEW cash rebates for Fall, and more!
MBA members, please login now to the Members Area and then go to the members Midwest Connections page for additional details.
Midwest Connections Titles & Authors
September - December 2007
These MIDWEST CONNECTIONS PICKS are hand-selling favorites in MBA bookstores this fall. We’ve read all of them, and every one has a special quality that makes it entertaining or informative and well worth your time. All of these books have strong Midwest regional appeal, too.
While these books are being published between September and November, all of them will be promoted through the upcoming holiday season and into the winter months ahead.
To purchase these books, please visit or shop online at your favorite MBA member independent bookstore. Use our Bookstore Locator for more information.
New September 2007 Picks
- THIS I BELIEVE: THE PERSONAL PHILOSOPHIES OF REMARKABLE MEN AND WOMEN edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman (Henry Holt) – adult -- essays/inspiration
- HOME OF THE BRAVE by Katherine Applegate (Feiwel and Friends) – children -- fiction
- THE CHICKEN DANCE by Jacques Couvillon (Bloomsbury USA) – young adult -- fiction
- GIMME CRACKED CORN AND I WILL SHARE by Kevin O’Malley (Walker) – children – picture book
New October 2007 Picks
- THE FLORIST’S DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR by Patricia Hampl (Harcourt) – adult -- memoir
- BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA by Roland Merullo (Algonquin) – adult -- fiction
- KIKI’S HATS: OUR GIFTS LIVE ON AND ON by Warren Hanson (Tristan Publishing) – children – picture book
New November 2007 Picks
THE MELANCHOLY FATE OF CAPT. LEWIS: A NOVEL OF LEWIS AND CLARK by Michael Pritchett (Unbridled Books) -- adult -- fiction
THE GREAT BIG BUTTER COOKBOOK by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (Running Press) – adult -- cookbook
A CRAZY LITTLE SERIES – SNOW CRAZY, TREE CRAZY, STONE CRAZY, and SHELL CRAZY by Tracy Gallup (Mackinac Island Press) – adult and children – gift books/picture books
On-going Midwest Connections Picks
April – August 2007
There are many ways MBA booksellers will promote Midwest Connections this Fall:
- Two Midwest Connections Picks are 2007 Midwest Booksellers’
Choice Award or Honor Book winners:
TRUCK: A LOVE STORY by Michael Perry (HarperCollins) – Nonfiction Award
IN SEARCH OF MOCKINGBIRD by Loretta Ellsworth (Henry Holt) – Children’s Literature Honor Book - Many Midwest Connections Picks titles will be advertised in the MBA
Catalog this fall and winter:
THIS I BELIEVE edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman (Henry Holt) – September Pick
HOME OF THE BRAVE by Katherine Applegate (Feiwel and Friends) – September Pick
BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA by Roland Merullo (Algonquin) – October Pick
THE FLORIST’S DAUGHTER by Patricia Hampl (Harcourt) – October Pick
KIKI’S HATS by Warren Hanson (Tristan Publishing) – October Pick
THE GREAT BIG BUTTER COOKBOOK by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board – November Pick
SNOW CRAZY, TREE CRAZY, STONE CRAZY and SHELL CRAZY by Tracy Gallup (Mackinac Island Press) – November Picks
THE REST OF HER LIFE by Laura Moriarty (Hyperion) – August Pick
THE NIGHT BIRDS by Thomas Maltman (Soho Press) – August Pick
LITTLE HEATHENS by Mildred Armstrong Kalish (Bantam) – May Pick
WHISTLING IN THE DARK by Lesley Kagen (NAL) – May Pick
HICK by Andrea Portes (Unbridled Books) – April Pick
DEVILS IN THE SUGAR SHOP by Timothy Schaffert (Unbridled Books) – April Pick
TRUCK: A LOVE STORY by Michael Perry (HarperCollins) – Fall 2006 Pick - Several of our Midwest Connections authors will be featured guests
at the MBA Trade Show this fall. [Please note:
The MBA Trade Show is a members-only meeting and is not open to the
general public.]
Patricia Hampl, THE FLORIST’S DAUGHTER – Book & Author Dinner speaker
Laura Moriarty, THE REST OF HER LIFE – Authors Lunch keynote speaker
Katherine Applegate, HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel and Friends) – Authors Lunch participant
Ellen Baker, KEEPING THE HOUSE (Random House) – Authors Lunch participant
Lesley Kagen, WHISTLING IN THE DARK (NAL) – Authors Lunch participant
Mildred Armstrong Kalish, LITTLE HEATHENS (Bantam) – Authors Lunch participant
Thomas Maltman, THE NIGHT BIRDS (Soho Press) – Authors Lunch participant
Roland Merullo, BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA (Algonquin) – Authors Lunch participant
Michael Pritchett, THE MELANCHOLY FATE OF CAPT. LEWIS (Unbridled Books)
--Authors Lunch participant
Loretta Ellsworth, IN SEARCH OF MOCKINGBIRD (Henry Holt) – Book Awards Reception speaker
Warren Hanson, KIKI’S HATS – formal autographing session
Tracy Gallup, SNOW CRAZY, TREE CRAZY, STONE CRAZY and SHELL CRAZY (Mackinac Island Press) – appearing at publisher’s booth
September Midwest Connections Picks
THIS
I BELIEVE
THE PERSONAL PHILOSOPHIES OF REMARKABLE MEN AND WOMEN
edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
Foreword by Studs Terkel
Holt Paperbacks / Henry Holt and Company / Holtzbrinck Publishers
Essays / Inspiration / Philosophy
Trade Paperback, $14.00
ISBN-13 978-0-8050-8087-2; ISBN-10 0 8050-8658-7
On sale now!
"We
love this treasury of very diverse personal core beliefs, and we have
sold it easily for graduation and other gift occasions. Our high school
English department is using this as a jump-off for a writing project this
fall. This is a very powerful book to read, and each essay lingers in
your mind. Take your time to enjoy this gem."
- Patricia Worth, River Reader, Lexington, MO
THIS
I BELIEVE is a national media project in association with National Public
Radio that provides your community with exciting opportunities to strengthen
civil discourse that is honest and respectful, authentic and intimate.
And what better place to launch free and far-reaching discussions than
your independent bookstore?
More than 25,000 individuals have submitted their own short statements of belief to this project. A selection of these essays has aired on NPR once a week since April 2005. In addition, this book – now in an affordable paperback edition– collects 80 of these essays (both contemporary and from the 1950s), including 7 by Midwesterners with ties to our MBA region.
And this is just the beginning. By working with bookstores
and communities around the country, the THIS I BELIEVE project hopes to
create real and virtual spaces where people can come together to discuss
the core values that guide our daily lives.
HOME
OF THE BRAVE
by Katherine Applegate
Feiwel and Friends / Holtzbrinck Publishers
Middle-Grade Fiction/Ages 10-14/Grades 5 and up
Hardcover, $16.95
ISBN-13 978-0-312-36765-7; ISBN-10 0 312-36765-1
On sale now!
“The immigrant experience is not one
that we all have to live through, but everyone should read about it. There
are certainly lots of different points of view and cultures we need to
explore to understand our world today. HOME OF THE BRAVE is told from
the viewpoint of a young Sudanese boy who has come to this country to
live in Minnesota with his aunt and cousin, who also are refugees. He
is for the most part positive about his new situation, but his thoughts
about the rest of his family and the destructive violence in his homeland
are heart-wrenching. Told in spare blank verse that’s both compelling
and accessible, HOME OF THE BRAVE will appeal to a wide range of readers,
children and adults.”
- Ellen Scott, The Bookworm, Omaha, NE
“I
became interested in the future of the characters in this book immediately.
It's the story of Kek, an African immigrant to the cold climate of Minnesota.
We learn of his problems in and out of school, how he copes with his new
life, his old fears, and his hopes for a better future where his mother
will be with him again here in America. It's fascinating how he finds
ways to translate his past life in Africa to his new one in Minnesota.
It's a quick read, but the story will stay with you a long time.”
- Carl Wichman, NDSU Bookstore, Fargo, ND
THE
CHICKEN DANCE
by Jacques Couvillon
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books / Holtzbrinck Publishers
Middle-Grade and YA Fiction/Ages 10 and up/Grades 5 and up
Hardcover, $16.95
ISBN-13 978-1-59990-043-8; ISBN-10 1-59990-043-2
On sale now!
“I
thoroughly loved it! I became enamored with Don’s voice. He is a
wonderful protagonist: quirky, deadpan funny, and self aware...THE CHICKEN
DANCE is a great story for young boys, as there are too few books with
boy protagonists that ring as true as this one does.”
- Michele Lonergon, Treehouse Books, Holland, MI
“THE CHICKEN DANCE is one of those
debut novels that buyers love. It is a story that children and adults
of all ages can enjoy and it leaves you impatiently waiting for the author’s
next novel. I instantly fell in love with the novel’s southern charm
and the innocence of the main character, Don. You can immediately picture
a small shy child trying to find his way in the world... With THE CHICKEN
DANCE, Jacques Couvillon has made his mark as one of the new young adult
authors to watch.”
- Lauren Lanza, Square Books, Oxford, MS
GIMME
CRACKED CORN & I WILL SHARE
by Kevin O’Malley
Walker & Company / Holtzbrinck Publishers
Picture Book/Ages 5-8/Grades K to 3
Hardcover, $16.95
ISBN-13 978-0-8027-9684-4; ISBN-10 0-8027-9684-2
On sale now!
“Every silly joke about chickens,
eggs and flying pigs is included in this new picture book. GIMME CRACKED
CORN AND I WILL SHARE is 'egg-secuted' by Kevin O'Malley with startlingly
bold illustrations. The plot may be a little thin. It begins with a chicken
who dreams of a treasure of cracked corn, located in a barn, under a sleeping
pig. The author can be forgiven for this thread of a story because it
is only there as a string on which to hang an endless supply of jokes,
sight gags and riddles. Older kids will laugh out loud to hear this story.
Go ahead, indulge your inner jokester!”
- Ellen Scott, The Bookworm, Omaha, NE
October Midwest Connections Picks
THE
FLORIST’S DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR
By Patricia Hampl
Harcourt
Memoir / Midwest Regional Interest
Hardcover, $24.00
ISBN-13 978-0-15-101257-2; ISBN-10 0-15-101257-1
Available by late September
“This
memoir of a mother is told by a daughter with honesty and openness. It
shows us how a real and intimate relationship can develop between family
members if we will embrace each other for who we are. A good book for
mothers and grown daughters to share.”
- Susan Paddock, Brown Street Books, Rhinelander, WI
Widely recognized as one of our finest memoirists,
Hampl has written her most intimate, yet most universal, work to date.
The Florist’s Daughter is a tribute to her parents, her Midwestern
girlhood, and the ardor of supposedly ordinary people.
BREAKFAST
WITH BUDDHA
By Roland Merullo
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill / Workman Publishing Company
Fiction / Midwest Regional Interest
Hardcover, $23.95
ISBN-13 978-1-56512-552-0
Pub date October 2
Otto
Ringling is a straightlaced publishing executive with two kids, a lovely
wife, a fine home in a fancy New York suburb, and a nagging suspicion
that something's missing. How, then, does he end up traveling across the
Midwest to North Dakota with a berobed Mongolian monk? Ah. The real question
to ask is, Why?
“Merullo writes such a graceful, compassionate
and fluid prose that you cannot resist the characters' very real struggles
and concerns. His prose is as wonderfully down-to-earth as his tale is
heaven-sent…Do I think Merullo is a fine, perceptive writer who can
make you believe just about anything? Absolutely.”
- Providence (RI) Sunday Journal
KIKI’S
HATS -- OUR GIFTS LIVE ON AND ON
By Warren Hanson
Tristan Publishing
Children’s Picture Book / Ages 4-8
Hardcover, $16.95
ISBN-13 978-0-931674-94-5
Available in September
“A
wonderful book about the joy of sharing. Clever rhymes make it fun to
read out loud!”
- Sara Beahler, Prairie Moon Books, Sheldon, Iowa
KIKI’S HATS is a lively story of a lovable woman who knits hats and gives them away. Kiki teaches an invaluable lesson about the good we can do and the fun we can have doing it. She reminds us that we each have special gifts we can use to do something wonderful for someone else. Our contributions don’t have to be complicated or difficult either. They can be as simple as knitting a hat, raking a neighbor’s leaves, sharing a special book with a child – or building a house for someone who needs it, or raising money and donating it to help others.
November Midwest Connections Picks
THE MELANCHOLY FATE OF CAPT. LEWIS:
A NOVEL OF LEWIS AND CLARK
Michael Pritchett
Unbridled Books [Abraham Associates]
Fiction / First Novel / Midwest Regional Interest
Hardcover, $24.95
ISBN-13 978-1-932961-41-6
Publication Date October 30
"This is an engrossing read that
draws the reader more deeply into the already well-documented life of
Meriwether Lewis than any straight history, and uses this adventure to shed
light on the contemporary issues men face. This is an increasingly
rare book, a literary adventure of both action and introspection."
-- Rich Rennicks, Malaprop's Bookstore & Cafe
THE
GREAT BIG BUTTER COOKBOOK
BECAUSE EVERYTHING’S BETTER WITH BUTTER
Foreword by James Robson, CEO Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board
Running Press / Perseus Books Group
Cookbook / Midwest Regional Interest
Hardcover, $19.95
ISBN-13 978-0-7624-3169-4; ISBN-10 0-7624-3169-5
Coming in November
“One look at the lush photographs
and luscious recipes will have you tying on an apron and heading into
the kitchen. THE GREAT BIG BUTTER COOKBOOK serves up helpings of butter
history, usage and trivia and whips it all together with tantalizing recipes
ranging from rustic to gourmet.”
- Bev Denor, LaDeDa books & beans, Manitowoc, WI
A “Crazy Little Series” by Tracy Gallup!
SNOW CRAZY
ISBN-13 978-1-934133-26-2, ISBN-10 1-934133-26-4
TREE CRAZY
ISBN-13 978-1-934133-27-9, ISBN-10 1-934133-27-2
STONE CRAZY
ISBN-13 978-1-934133-13-2, ISBN-10 1-934133-13-2
SHELL CRAZY
ISBN-13 978-1-934133-14-9, ISBN-10 1-934133-14-0
Mackinac Island Press
Gift books for all ages / children’s picture books
Hardcover, $9.95 each
Artist Tracy Gallup’s whimsical dolls will capture
your heart and imagination. If you love snow, trees, stones, and shells
as much as they do, you’ll be crazy about these books! Perfect for
gift giving all year ‘round.
The Midwest Connections Program At A Glance
Click here to see the many ways the Midwest Booksellers Association supports YOU -- our member bookstores and publishers -- with our MIDWEST CONNECTIONS regional marketing program.
A more detailed and illustrated introduction to our MIDWEST CONNECTIONS program is included in a new full color brochure. Click here to download the brochure.
MIDWEST CONNECTIONS is a turn-key program that is both comprehensive AND customized for each book and author. MBA works closely with the publisher to develop and execute the program for a specific title.
The types of books featured in the MIDWEST CONNECTIONS program are adult fiction and non-fiction (particularly memoirs, history, or current affairs); cookbooks; and children’s books. Other subjects may be considered, too.
MIDWEST CONNECTIONS is not limited to titles of Midwest regional interest or authors who live in our region (see maps). However, it is particularly well suited to promoting books with ties to our region.
MIDWEST CONNECTIONS gives featured titles high visibility, and it sells books –
- Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen (NAL/Penguin), one of our Spring 2007 MIDWEST CONNECTIONS Picks, was published on May 1, and it appeared on the Heartland (Midwest regional) Independent Bestseller List for the week of May 13. It has been on the list and rising ever since!
- Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry (HarperCollins), one of our two MIDWEST CONNECTIONS Picks for fall 2006/winter 2007, was on our Heartland Independent Bestseller List for 11 weeks. Population: 485, Perry’s backlist title, was on our bestseller list for 4 weeks – and would have stayed on longer if it hadn’t gone out of stock temporarily.
MIDWEST CONNECTIONS gives featured titles high visibility, and it sells books – Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry (HarperCollins), one of our two MIDWEST CONNECTIONS title for fall 2006/winter 2007, was on our Heartland (Midwest regional) Independent Bestseller List for 11 weeks. Population: 485, Perry’s backlist title, was on our bestseller list for 4 weeks – and would have stayed on longer if the publisher hadn’t gone out of stock!
The Midwest Booksellers Association itself helps to pay for MIDWEST CONNECTIONS. We provide up to $75 per store in rebates that stores can earn by running ads for a MIDWEST CONNECTIONS book, featuring it on their websites and in their newsletters, and displaying it and sending in photos to document their displays. We produce ad formats and shelf-talkers for our stores to use. We also can provide additional money that we decide is needed to support author events, other special events, promotional materials, etc.
There is NO participation fee for a publisher to promote a book with MBA in our MIDWEST CONNECTIONS program. This program can enhance the promotion and sales of a book in the MBA region, while costing the publisher no more – or very little more – money than the publisher would typically plan to spend on that book.
MBA supports our MIDWEST CONNECTIONS regional marketing program in these ways:
We customize an Excel spreadsheet of MBA bookstores best suited to promoting a book, hosting events for the author, etc. This information is given to the publisher free of charge.
MBA’s Advance Access program gets reading copies to selected booksellers and collects written recommendations and quotes from those booksellers to use in promoting the book.
MBA assists in coordinating author events, book club and other events, informal author visits with booksellers at MBA stores. MBA also can help arrange for authors to sign stock at our office to be shipped to MBA bookstores.
MBA’s Excel format “Bookstore Events & Media Guide” is available to the publisher to help publicize the book. Local assistance from bookstores helps publicize the book and events in stores.
MBA store events are featured on MBA’s new Bookstore Events website, www.midwestbooksellers.org/events.
Free banner ads for MIDWEST CONNECTIONS books are featured on the MBA website and events website, www.midwestbooksellers.org and www.midwestbooksellers.org/events. Midwest Connections web pages feature the chosen books and authors.
Sell sheets, shelf-talkers, ads, and other materials are produced by MBA for stores to use. Click here for the Midwest Connections shelf-talker PDF. This black & white shelf-talker is generic and has space for the store to add personal comments; it’s ready to print out and use.
In the Fall, MIDWEST CONNECTIONS titles can be advertised by their publishers in the MBA Catalog for the lower regional title rate. MIDWEST CONNECTIONS titles appear on the front cover of the MBA Catalog for maximum visibility, without paying the cover rate.
In the Fall, MIDWEST CONNECTIONS authors are featured at the MBA Trade Show as prominent participants or speakers, and their books are highlighted as MIDWEST CONNECTIONS Picks.
In the Spring, MIDWEST CONNECTIONS authors and titles are featured at MBA’s Spring Meetings for booksellers.
MIDWEST CONNECTIONS can lead to books being nominated for the Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Awards – and winning!
This Midwest Connections information will be updated on an on-going basis. Be sure to check back frequently for new details!
Questions? Comments? Ideas to contribute?
Please contact us. Thanks in advance for your
interest and participation!
MBA members, please login now to the Members Area and then go to the members Midwest Connections page for additional details.
