About Us
Celebrating independent bookstores since 1981
We are a nonprofit trade association that supports and celebrates locally-owned and operated independent bookstores and booksellers throughout a 9+ state portion of the Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula). We work directly with booksellers and the people who do business with them: publishers, wholesalers, distributors, sales reps, and others allied to the book industry.
We strive to do the following.
- Produce programs and events that help independent bookstores and booksellers grow their knowledge base and their bottom line
- Provide an environment for booksellers to maintain relationships and learn from one another and the greater industry throughout the year
- Facilitate an ongoing forum for our industry members (publishers, wholesalers, distributors, sales reps, and others allied to the book industry) to connect to independent booksellers in our region
- Celebrate and promote the innate value of independent bookstores, book culture, and local economies​
We are governed by a nine-member board of directors that includes seven booksellers and two representatives from the book industry. Board members serve three-year terms, while our four officers (president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary) serve two-year terms. Our paid staff includes an Executive Director, Bookstore Membership Manager, and Operations Manager.
How to contact our board: Hover over the board profiles below to access a contact form. Your message will be sent directly to the board member. Our system allows users to contact up to three people in one day. If you'd like to email the entire board, please contact Grace Hagen at grace@midwestbooksellers.org for the contact list or email our president, Melissa McAllister, as the board's representative.
Read about joining our board of directors
Our vision
We envision a Midwest filled with a diverse array of thriving independent bookstores
Our mission
We strengthen independent bookstores throughout our region by creating learning and career-building opportunities, fostering a vital and supportive bookselling community, and advocating for the essential value independent bookstores bring to society
Don Blyly of Minneapolis' Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore and Uncle Edward's Mystery Fiction Bookstore was kind enough to recount the origins of our association.
"In the summer of 1980, ABA put together a workshop in Chicago on organizing regional bookseller organizations. At that time, I owned Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore and Books Galore, a full-line shopping mall store. I was the only person from Minnesota who went. When I came back from the workshop, I called other local bookstores to get them interested, but didn’t find a lot of enthusiasm. I also talked up the idea with the local sales reps, and they were all very enthusiastic about the idea, and they suggested that it would be better if they pushed the idea on other bookstore owners, rather than having the idea come from a competitor. Cissy Tiernan (who was then the Ballantine rep), Wayne Farr (who was then the Harper rep), and Ray Jay (who was then the Pocket Book rep) talked up the idea with all the independent bookstore owners they sold to, and we had an organizational meeting in the fall of 1980 at the Lincoln Deli that used to be in St. Louis Park just across the border from Minneapolis. Bookstore owners from several local stores, one from Duluth, and one from Iowa showed up, and we all agreed to start the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association. We incorporated in 1981, filed nonprofit paperwork with IRS in 1981, and held our first trade show in the fall of 1981.
Staff
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Grace Hagen
Executive Director Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (612)217-4875Executive Director -
Melissa Oppenheimer
Digital Marketing and Outreach Specialist Midwest Independent Booksellers AssociationDigital Marketing and Outreach Specialist
Board of Directors
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Carrie Koepke
Manager Skylark Bookshop (573)777-6990Vice President / Executive Committee -
Riley Jay Davis
Sales Manager Minnesota Historical Society PressSecretary / Executive Committee -
Shane Mullen
Event Coordinator Left Bank Books (314)367-6731Treasurer / Executive Committee -
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Kristen Sandstrom
Store Manager Apostle Islands Booksellers (715)779-0200Nominating Committee -
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