Signup Underway for Spring/Fall Indies Introduce

Volunteers sought to serve on future panels

Signup is underway for the Summer/Fall 2014 Indies Introduce promotion, which highlights 10 adult debuts and 10 children’s New Voices picks chosen by independent booksellers as the best of the coming season. Nineteen bookseller panelists pored over manuscripts to give their indie colleagues a head start on finding great new talent to introduce to their customers.

“The indie debut panel was an invigorating experience,” said Bill Cusumano of Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who served on the adult selection committee. “Booksellers from disparate stores and regions combined to choose a list of books that not only represent the best of new titles but also a varied choice of books and subjects that can appeal to all tastes. It is the perfect example of how independent stores can best serve the reading public and promote the development of quality literature.”

The Summer/Fall Indies Introduce promotion opened last week, and booksellers have plenty of titles to choose from for in-store promotion. In order to receive special publisher offers on the Summer/Fall Indies Introduce selections, booksellers should sign up by May 19. The full list of titles and bookseller reviews for each is available on the Indies Introduce sign-up page (a BookWeb user name and password are required), as well as on Edelweiss. Bookstores that participated in any of the three previous Indies Introduce seasons have already been included in the program and do not need to sign up again.

To participate in the promotion, stores must select eight of the 20 Indies Introduce titles (children’s bookstores should select five of the 10 New Voices) to feature in a dedicated Indies Introduce in-store display for no less than two weeks, and through newsletters, staff picks, store websites, and social media. The titles do not need to be selected in advance, but stores must order three copies of their chosen hardcover and children’s books, and five copies of each paperback (display allowance titles may have different order requirements). To help with promotion, downloadable Indies Introduce marketing materials are available in BookWeb’s Bookseller DIY.

“It was very exciting to be part of an interesting group of booksellers to select 10 debut novels for the fall. The other panelists were lively and brought diverse perspectives to the selection process,” said Stephanie Crowe of Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama, who volunteered her time to serve on the adult debut author committee. “Although there were a daunting number of books to be evaluated, the discussions were enlightening and the elimination process flowed in an organized manner. There was general consensus in the selection of the top 10, and I believe that all of us felt satisfaction in that selection. It was a fascinating process that I really enjoyed.”

ABA members from all regions of the country are invited to volunteer to serve on the adult or children’s committees that are tasked with evaluating manuscripts and selecting the best debut titles for the upcoming Indies Introduce seasons. Booksellers interested in volunteering for the Indies Introduce promotion should contact BSI Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger for more information.

A new set of Indies Introduce Q&As with the authors of the Summer/Fall picks kicks off this week with New Voices author Tracy Holczer (The Secret Hum of a Daisy, Putnam Juvenile) and continues later this month with Smith Henderson, author of Fourth of July Creek (Ecco), and Courtney Collins, author of The Untold (Amy Einhorn Books).

Several Indies Introduce authors and panelists will also be attending a special reception on Friday, May 30, at 4:30 p.m., in ABA’s Indie Bookseller Lounge (Space #214) at the front of “200” aisle on the BookExpo America show floor.

Questions about the Indies Introduce program should be addressed to Dallanegra-Sanger.