On April 29, we posed a Bookstore Day challenge to readers in the Twin Cities area. 

• Visit 5 bookstores and get a Twin Cities indie bookstore poster created by the artist Kevin Cannon
• Visit 10 bookstores and be entered to win one of 20 prize literary
• Visit all 18 bookstores and be entered to win one grand prize literary pack

The results are fantastic!

• 25 people visited all 18 stores
• 108 people visited at least 10 stores
• How many people visited at least 5 stores? We don't know this figure for sure, but we can say that 530 posters were given out into the world, so between booksellers and customers, that's a lot of bookstore love!

Thank you!! We will be shipping the prize packs to you within the next week. (For a reminder of what's in the prize packs, visit our website.)

1 grand prize literary pack

1. Chelsea Bearfoot, St Paul MN

20 first prize literary packs
The names below set in bold also visited all 18 stores, but weren't selected randomly for the grand prize pack.

1. Madeson Brown, Minneapolis MN
2. Debra J. Hobbs, New Hope MN
3. Shawna Traver, Roseville MN
4. Linda Langham, Brooklyn Center MN
5. Nicole Starr, St Paul MN
6. Ashley Olson, Minneapolis MN
7. Jen Pierce, Minneapolis MN
8. Erin Carter, Roseville MN
9. Christopher Moon, Minneapolis MN
10. Mohamad Salat, Minneapolis MN
11. Melissa Zierden, St Paul MN
12. Linda White, Maplewood MN
13. Sarah Waller, Minneapolis MN
14. Micah Dalluge, Burnsville MN
15. Lonnie M. Ebertowski, Minneapolis MN
16. Andrea Porter-Smith, Minneapolis MN
17. Dennis Sylte, River Falls WI
18. Scott Mulinix, St Paul MN
19. Margie Wherritt, Rochester MN 
20. Susan Koefod, West St Paul, MN

A​“Find Waldo Local celebrates the uniqueness, fun, and strength of community. Search for Waldo, support your neighbors, sell lots of books, and have a great time putting the spotlight on local and indie!”
​— Becky Anderson, former president of the American Booksellers Association and owner of Anderson’s Bookshop

For five summers running, American Booksellers Association member bookstores have rolled out Shop Local campaigns in their towns using Waldo as their Local First ambassador. Since 2012, more than twelve thousand local merchants have participated in Find Waldo Local, from Annapolis to Asheville, Sarasota to Santa Cruz, and Woodstock to Wichita. Candlewick extends a huge thank-you to the 475+ indie bookstores that have enlivened their Main Streets  with Waldo scavenger hunts in downtowns across America.

And now, by popular demand, Candlewick and the American Booksellers Association are bringing Find Waldo Local back for a sixth year to coincide with Waldo’s thirtieth anniversary.
Announcing FIND WALDO LOCAL 2017 — bigger and better than ever!

• New Character Search: In July, Waldo seekers will have their eyes peeled for Waldo’s friend Wenda (in addition to Waldo, of course). Wenda’s lost somewhere in your store. Where can she be?
• New Minimum Order Quantity: In celebration of Waldo’s thirtieth, the minimum required supporting order of Waldo books is . . . you guessed it, thirty.
• New and Improved Swag: For Waldo’s anniversary, we’ll be sending host bookstores the following drool-worthy items (in addition to our usual collateral): a forty-inch-tall Waldo standee perfect for photo ops with kids, full-color decorative bunting to hang in your store window, a pack of one hundred sticker sheets to spice up your party activities, and a special edition Waldo thirtieth anniversary tote bag. 

To learn more about it, download the informational PDF. To sign up, visit ABA's website. All participants must be current ABA members.

The Midwest Independent Booksellers Association is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the success of independent bookstores throughout the Midwest. Our winter catalog is a unique marketing piece we produce for independent bookstores every year. Working with publishers, MIBA fills the catalog with nearly 100 titles excellent for giving as gifts. Bookstores customize and distribute the catalog to their customers via direct mail and other methods to encourage holiday shopping at their stores. We have an opportunity for a skilled designer to work closely with us on this project.

Overview

• Concept and design: Working with MIBA's director, conceive of design direction and present unique cover options.   
• Interior and layout: Using InDesign, create a practical, beautiful interior that reflects the cover design. Lay out book jackets and copy, ensuring the interior meets printer specs. 
• Customization: Our stores customize the inside and outside cover, resulting in up to 80 unique files the designer must create and send to stores for approval, ensuring each file meets printer specs. Must be able to create/manage multiple unique versions for in-store, direct mail, and newspaper insert distribution. 
• Work with printer: Work with our corporate printer to ensure all files are created to spec.

Desired skills: Impeccable design skills; thorough knowledge of Adobe creative suite; experience with catalog design exterior and interior; knowledge of direct mail is a big plus, as is experience working with a corporate printer.

Catalog Specs

• 24 pages
• 6 x 10.5 inches
• Contains roughly 100 titles and front/backmatter
• Project involves maintaining the main catalog interior as well as up to 80 unique files of stores' custom versions 

​Schedule

• March – Present cover design
• April/May – Finalize cover design
• June – Work on the interior design
• July – Lay out the titles and copy
• August – Work with stores to customize
• September – Finalize files and work with the printer to approve

Browse previous catalogs

• 2016
• 2015
• 2014​

​​To apply for this position, please email your cover letter, resume, and links to design samples to Carrie Obry at carrie@midwestbooksellers.org. This position will remain posted until it is filled. Hourly rate or flat fee will be negotiated. 

Congratulations to Heartland 2016 scholarship winners! The booksellers listed below will receive a $400 scholarship to defray their lodging travel expenses and help contribute to a well-attended and successful show. 

Booksellers praise the show in their scholarship applications. Kathleen Angelone from Bookmamas in Indianapolis, IN, said, "the interaction with other booksellers and book professionals stokes my enthusiasm. Every year, I am reminded why I love being an independent bookstore owner. I return to Indianapolis re-excited by the world of the written word."

Thank you to the following publishers and people for generously donating to our scholarship fund. Since the founding of Heartland, we've made it our goal to maintain a generous scholarship fund to help two regions of bookseller more easily travel to the show. It's your help that makes this a reality! Thank you!

​HarperCollins, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Scholastic, Macmillan, BINC, Roy & Judi Schonfeld, and the GLIBA Karl Pohrt scholarship fund

The winners are...
​
Gillette L Kempf, An Open Book, Wadena, MN
John Christensen, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI 
Melanie Green, Bluebird Books, Hutchinson KY
April Gorski, Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA
Joanna Parzakonis, Bookbug Kalamazoo, MI
Kathleen Angelone, Bookmamas  Indianapolis, IN
Chris Fairchild, Bookshelf, Batesville, IN, 
​Mary Gehring, Bookshelf, Batesville, IN
Kate Weiss, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY
Nadine Melahn, CoffeeTree Books, Morehead, KY
Ethan Hill, Craft Port Washington, WI
Kate Rattenborg, Dragonfly Books, Decorah IA
Leslie Huerta, Francie & Finch Bookshop, Lincoln, NE
Shirley Mullin, Kids Ink Indianapolis, IN
Tamzin Malone, Main Street Books, Lafayette, IN
Joanne Berg, Mystery to Me - Madison, WI
Kathy Magruder, Pageturners Bookstore, Indianola, IA
Shelley Olsen, Paperbacks and Pieces, Winona, MN
Jill Miner, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, MI
Dana Schulz, Snowbound Books Marquette, MI
Beverly Bartczak, The Fine Print, OH
Connie Reece, The Windowsill, Ludington, MI
Nathan Montoya, Village Lights Bookstore, IN
Sean FitzGerald, Village Lights Bookstore, Madison, IN
Rebecca George, Volumes Bookcafe, Chicago, IL

If you have questions about our scholarship program, please contact Deb Leonard at deb@gliba.org.

The Boards of Directors of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association take great pleasure in announcing that the Wendell Berry is the recipient of the 2016 Voice of the Heartland Award.

This award is given in recognition of a life of dedication and service to independent bookselling, and there are few writers in our region who fully embody this dedication more than Wendell Berry.  His body of work encompasses more than 50 volumes of essays, poems, and fiction, all with an eye to celebrating the local and the Independent--two values that are very dear to the hearts of our members, and central to our mission as independent booksellers.

His writing is inspired by the landscape of the Heartland, both the natural world and the people who live there. As a promoter of Localism long before the term existed, Mr. Berry has championed the both the spirit of independent bookselling and publishing.

Mr. Berry’s national honors include the National Humanities Medal, a Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities at the Kennedy Center, a Stegner Fellowship, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and in 2013 The Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, among many, many others.

​The Voice of the Heartland Award will be presented to Mr. Berry at the Book Awards Dinner at the Heartland Fall Forum on Wednesday, October 5 at 7:00 pm at The Depot in Minneapolis, MN.

We'd like to share excellent news from Kate Rattenborg, owner and founder of Dragonfly Books in Decorah, IA. (The above picture is courtesy of Driftless Magazine.) Kate recently told us about the beneficial changes of buying the building her bookstore is located in. Congratulations, Kate!

"I don't think there is anything scarier than a bookseller facing losing their lease. Since I opened Dragonfly Books five years ago, it seems like I've either read of or spoken with numerous shops/owners that have had to change their business plans due to the whims of a landlord.

This past summer, my landlord talked with me about his desire to sell the building I've been renting. Over the years, we've had some discussions about long-range plans for the building, and I knew that at some point I would need to decide if purchasing the building would be both feasible and the appropriate decision to make. After much thought and negotiation, I closed on the building in mid-November. Whoa! I'm now the proud owner (with assistance from my local bank) of a two-story, 1894 brick building located in the middle of historic downtown Decorah, Iowa. Our college-town community of 8,000, in the heart of rural northeast Iowa, is extremely supportive of shopping locally, and the security of knowing I'll be able to stay in my prime location is wonderful.

Why purchase, other than it gives me control over the use of the building? First, there are some financial benefits to ownership. Second, I now have access to a bit more space, including an apartment on the second level. The rental income from the apartment covers the higher financial costs of owning the building, such as increased liability insurance costs and property taxes. There is also an additional 800 square feet available on the main level, that can, after major renovations in the next few years, provide the store with staff space and/or a dedicated event space. I'm most excited about the opportunity to have the additional space for events! As much as I want to do a complete remodel of this back room space *immediately*, doing so will be a future project, as I don't want to get overextended.

​If you find yourself in the vicinity, stop on in!"

We'd like to share a winter catalog success story, once again proving that independent booksellers are an indispensable force in the bookselling industry. 

Last year, we offered booksellers a new form of direct mail called "saturation mailing." It allows booksellers to literally "saturate" entire zip codes with our holiday catalog chock full of gift-worthy books. Every catalog sent via saturation was customized with the bookstore's own logo and identity, bringing customers directly into those stores where displays of catalog titles were waiting. 

On the back end, we helped booksellers select zip codes to saturate by targeting neighborhoods without bookstores or by reviewing the demographic information about those areas. 

All told, in the first year alone, we had 25 bookstores saturate their areas with 90,000 catalogs!

Watermark Books targeted a neighborhoods that aren't represented well on their in-house list of customers and increased their sales by 386 percent, "definitely brining in new customers." 

Alice Meyer, owner of Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Iowa, saw a 217 percent sales increase. Here's what she says about the program.

"We had done a limited catalog mailing in the past, but saturation mailing was a very attractive and affordable option. We targeted our immediate neighborhood and a neighborhood with an upscale shopping district, but no bookstore. It was so satisfying to see customers coming into the store with their catalogs. They say our display upon entering the store and were more than happy to order a book if we didn't have it. As a result, our catalog sales were up 217 percent and we were thrilled! Many customers were new to the store and we've seen a lot of repeat business. We would definitely do this again, and I think it will only be more successful." 

This year, we're promoting this method to our stores again, and last year's success stories will help us reach even more bookstores and customers. Happy book selling!

Ten bookstores in the Twin Cities teamed up to create a passport program for Independent Bookstore Day on April 30, 2016. Featuring Kevin Cannon's wonderful artwork and hand-drawn illustrations of each of the stores, the passport awarded anyone who visited all 10 participating stores a $10 gift card to all 10 stores. Media outlets from CityPages to MPR and the Pioneer Press reported on the program leading up to the event, and the turnout and participation surpassed our expectations.

The passport was based loosely on a similar program held in Seattle in 2015 encouraging book lovers to visit 17 stores. Only one individual accomplished the task, so bookstores in the Twin Cities had modest expectations--that is, until doors opened and passports started flying off of counters. When the dust cleared, more than 100 bookstore customers had tweeted us photos of their finished passport, with the vast majority having completed the challenge of visiting all 10 stores over the course of the day. 

The responses were colorful and heartening. A mom and her two kids completed the whole passport and took colorful photos at every store. Some people bought a book or two (or three?) at every store and included photos of their loot. Others completed part or all of the passport on bike, notably Tracy Mumford, the Minnesota Public Radio reporter who shared photos of each stop and even a map of her route. 

Participating bookstores were thrilled at the success of the program. Angela of Moon Palace Books, whose store created a Twin Cities Bookstore Map that was given out alongside the passports, said, "100 winners is awesome! The more the better, as far as I'm concerned. I consider it some of the best money we could spend for advertising since it got people to walk in through the door. If we do it next year let's try for 200--that's how excited we are."

Holly of Red Balloon Books added, "Wow! That is great! We had a fantastic day. Sales were way up from last year and lots of people came in with the passports." Matt Keliher from Subtext also saw an exceptional sales increase. "The passport was a SMASHING success. It really made the day a lot of fun, and it will continue to bring people into all of our stores for the weeks and months ahead. Yes, 100 $10 gift cards sounds like a lot, but honestly, if even half of the people who succeeded in getting the reward return to all ten stores and buy another book, that is fantastic. This was a tremendous success. Subtext had our best sales day in history!"

While not every community can support a campaign like this one, MIBA is hard at work conceiving of how best to support similar efforts in other metropolitan areas in the region.

One wonderful aspect of using Twitter to track participant's completed passports was getting to see the enthusiasm for Independent Bookstore Day and for each bookstore they visited. Take a look at some of the tweets MIBA received below.