Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association 2020 Spring Forum
SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 26th

10:00AM - 10:30AM CST
Introduction from GLIBA
We will be sharing information about the current state of our region and our upcoming plans for the future.

10:30AM - 11:30AM CST
Live Bookseller Discussion over Zoom
We will discuss and share current and vital information regarding how we are dealing with the current health crisis. GLIBA Board members will be in conversation facilitating live conversation over Zoom.

12:00PM - 2:00PM CST
Author Presentations
Hear from some of this seasons most anticipated authors. Authors will share how they are currently dealing with the current health issue, supporting bookstores and their latest titles.
Event Details for Authors and Publishers
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Out of respect for state and local mandates but more so out of concern for the safety and well being of our authors, publishing partners, and members we are shifting our plans for the GLIBA Spring Forum.

We remain positive and upbeat in this unusual time and instead of cancelling we want to do something new. We have had tremendous interest this year and this unique situation offers us the opportunity to try something fun and new. We are shifting from the traditional in-person Spring Forum to our first GLIBA Virtual Spring Forum. The entire Spring Forum will streamed online.

We are really leaning into the idea of a "Virtual Forum" and making it fun. 

Instead of traveling to Kalamzoo, MI we are asking you to join us online via Zoom. Hear from GLIBA, some of our most anticipated authors of the season, followed by a Virtual Bookstore Tour lead by Joanna Parzakonis and Derek Molitor of BookBug and this is a bookstore. More programming announced soon.

We will be shipping galleys ahead of time to booksellers in preparation of the Virtual Forum so make sure you are registered for the forum.

If you're bookstore is remaining open we encourage you to stream this event in your store for your booksellers and customers.

As well, due to the fact that many other regional Spring Forums are being cancelled or rescheduled we invite booksellers from around the country to join us for our GLIBA Virtual Forum.

Please let me know if you have any questions and register today!
FEATURED AUTHORS
We are very excited to announce our Spring Forum authors. Keep a look out for more announcements soon...
From the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors comes another , clever, deeply layered, and heartwarming romantic comedy that follows in the Jane Austen tradition—this time, with a twist on Persuasion.
Hidden desires, long-held secrets, and the sacrifices people make for family and to realize their dreams are at the heart of this powerful first novel about people in a small town. By the popular Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
A heart-tugging and gorgeously written novel based on the incredible true story of a WWI messenger pigeon and the soldiers whose lives she forever altered, from the author of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk.
​A leading cancer specialist tells the compelling stories of three adult leukemia patients and their treatments, the disease itself, and the drugs developed to treat it. (New York Times)
​The compelling story of the Flint water crisis, as told by Pulitzer Prize finalist Candy J. Cooper and Sibert Medalist Marc Aronson.
A captivating and transporting travel novel, Scorpionfish reveals how what we leave behind may be exactly what we've been looking for all along.
MEET A BOOKSTORE

New this year we are introducing programming to showcase and deep dive into the history, operations and day to day of one of our bookstores. A two-part bookstore tour will be lead by BookBug and This is a Bookstore owners Joanna Parzakonis and Derek Molitor. Please do not miss this amazing opportunity.

About BookBug & this is a bookstore
​Opened in 2008 on the heels of the landmark​ Kalamazoo Promise​, (a full college scholarship for every single Kalamazoo Public School-attending student), Bookbug was founded by a charge to nurture young readers and voices in its community. With little more than 1,000 square feet, a devastated economy, and a tireless passion for children’s books as essential sustenance, Bookbug flourished under focused care and thoughtful community-- including (in no small part) educators and schools themselves. By 2011, Bookbug doubled in physical size and broadened its scope of inventory and services to include general interest titles and events. By 2016 the growth of its market, inventory, and services, alongside the limitations of its brand, led the store to pursue another large expansion. In the fall of 2017, a space perpendicular to Bookbug’s location was opened and named ​this is a bookstore, ​a lowercase sentence indicating its humility, gratitude and right of existence. This expansion allowed Bookbug to return to its roots of celebrating and welcoming children’s literature in focus. ​With over 8,000 square feet of combined space, the stores now embrace a full service cafe/bar (​Table of Contents Cafe​), continue to nurture community partnerships, and host over 100 events a year.