Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA) http://midwestbooksellers.org Just another WordPress site Wed, 11 Dec 2013 01:58:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Amy Thielen Delivers Cookbook Gold http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/12/14468/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/12/14468/#comments Tue, 10 Dec 2013 18:01:37 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14468 MC.November.TheNewMidwesternTable.Jacket

“I get my eggs at the bookstore next to the coffee shop, and if she doesn’t have them, I buy them from the lady who runs the beauty shop,” says Amy Thielen, author of The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland

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“I get my eggs at the bookstore next to the coffee shop, and if she doesn’t have them, I buy them from the lady who runs the beauty shop,” says Amy Thielen, author of The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes (Clarkson Potter/September 2013), describing her northern Minnesota lifestyle in the video trailer for Heartland Table, her Food Network cooking show that began airing in September. Thielen lives in Park Rapids, MN; Beagle Books & Bindery is the bookstore where she buys her farm-fresh eggs; and the “she” Thielen refers to is Jennifer Wills Geraedts, manager of the store.

In The New Midwestern Table, Amy Thielen has woven her life, and the culinary lifestyle of the entire Midwest, into a remarkably gorgeous thread of hometown cooking. Whether telling the reader about her family’s meat market (“world famous” Thielen Meats, says the storefront’s sign), the wild rice her husband and father-in-law harvest by hand in their canoe, or the herbal sodas she makes with whatever herbs are sprouting from her yard, Thielen is the consummate host, sharing history, local lore, and regional recipes that fill the reader with a deep appreciation of place.

Random House believes in Thielen. The book is gorgeous, with illustrations, food styling, and photography that make “this place look as epic as I know it to be,” in Thielen’s terms. In addition, the show Heartland Table marks the first time an author’s cookbook and television show “have both been produced internally by Random House.”

“This book has been a godsend to us,” says Geraedts, who just loves the fact she’s getting two different reactions from her customers. “One,” she says, is ‘I’m making the recipes and LOVING them!’ The other is ‘I’m skipping the recipes and reading what Amy wrote in between and LOVING it.’”

It’s a win-win situation either way. The New Midwestern Table is Beagle’s third bestselling book in the history of the store, which is even more impressive when you consider the book has been out just over 2 months.

What’s it like to run the bookstore in a town an author is celebrating both locally and nationally? “It’s a bit of a double-edged sword,” says Geraedts, “because people expect I can summon Amy anytime I want to have her sign books. BUT, it’s also so exciting. She’s known nationally and that’s a pretty big deal.”

Bookseller love for The New Midwestern Table is echoed by Greg Danz, owner of  Zandbroz Variety in Fargo, North Dakota. “I’ve never sold so many copies of a cookbook in my life,” says Danz. He followed up by saying we re-launched Midwest Connections with the “perfect title.”

The New Midwestern Table is a Midwest Connections pick for the November-December promotional period. Create a display of our three food-related books selected for this period and request a rebate for your promotion. Given the beauty and regional resonance of all the chosen books, you won’t be disappointed.

–Carrie Obry 

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Midwest Connections on Edelweiss http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/12/midwest-connections-on-edelweiss/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/12/midwest-connections-on-edelweiss/#comments Tue, 10 Dec 2013 00:02:33 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14454 logo  Midwest Connections crop

Here’s great exposure and a new tool to use for Midwest Connections, our own co-op marketing program for books related to our region. As of December 9, Edelweiss will be including Midwest Connections among its Buzz Honors, along with IndieNext, …

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logo  Midwest Connections crop

Here’s great exposure and a new tool to use for Midwest Connections, our own co-op marketing program for books related to our region. As of December 9, Edelweiss will be including Midwest Connections among its Buzz Honors, along with IndieNext, Indies Introduce, and several other national awards.

The Edelweiss listing for each Midwest Connections Pick will include the Midwest Connections logo in its “Honors” line.  You can also see a full listing of Midwest Connections Picks–past, present, and future–by visiting the Buzz Honors Homepage.

Thanks to Edelweiss for helping us celebrate books that celebrate the Midwest!

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Bluebird Books’ B2B Holiday Campaign http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/11/bluebird-books-b2b-holiday-campaign/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/11/bluebird-books-b2b-holiday-campaign/#comments Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:37:25 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14432 We chatted with Melanie Green about her new B2B holiday campaign at Bluebird Books in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Green reached out to local employers with gift suggestions, and the results have been encouraging!

Can you describe your B2B gift program?

I …

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We chatted with Melanie Green about her new B2B holiday campaign at Bluebird Books in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Green reached out to local employers with gift suggestions, and the results have been encouraging!

Melanie Green shows off some of Bluebird Books' B2B choices

Melanie Green shows off some of Bluebird Books’ B2B choices

Can you describe your B2B gift program?

I wanted to highlight regional gift books I’ve fallen in love with and thought would appeal to companies looking for a Christmas gift idea. I also wanted to show the range of cool books that could make great company-wide or client-wide gifts — and I wanted companies to understand that we could be a resource for these great unique gifts. So I approached our local businesses with a direct mail piece featuring our B2B options—with additional discounts for bulk orders, wrapping, and presentation. I’ve also promoted the program with an in-store display, on my website, and in Facebook and our e-newsletter.

How long have you been offering it?

This is the first year.

What gave you the idea?

I was reading back through some notes on a B2B presentation—I think it may have been from something I attended at Winter Institute—and realized it was something I really needed to be doing. The holidays seemed like the ideal time to introduce it.

What types of companies are you hearing from?

I’ve received my first significant order from our local bank.  Manufacturing companies also have responded.

I’m not too familiar with Hutchinson.  Can you describe the local landscape in terms of businesses? Who are the ideal candidates for a promotion like this? 

Our largest employer is the local hospital.  We have a good deal of manufacturing as well.  I selected recipients of my direct mail promotion by a number of factors such as 1) size of business, 2) if I knew they had done employee or client holiday gifts in the past, 3) if they were listed in the local chamber business listings, and 4) if I had a personal connection with the owner or someone in the organization.

Is there a different process in selecting a book for this program than there is for a smaller-scale handsell? 

Absolutely, because you have to think in more broad terms and try and find something that will appeal to a number of different people.  I found the best choices (most successful) were regionally focused books.  It is tricky to not pick a book that comes across as preachy to someone who isn’t asking for it.  Many inspirational gift books can been interpreted that way.  Most owners want to steer clear of that and just picked nice pretty or informational books about Kansas and our region.

How do you advertise the program?

Since this is a new, getting the word out is going to take a lot of legwork. Direct mail, in-store, social media, web, e-newsletter, networking with local business owners. I plan to follow up my mailing with phone calls as I have time. As I begin to receive the orders and prepare them for delivery or pick up, I plan to post to social media to hopefully continue to generate some buzz that this is a good idea for businesses to do for their clients/employees and they can do so locally. As it picks up, I am hoping to generate some good word of mouth.

It strikes me that you have to reach new channels to make this sort of promotion work—are you doing anything in particular to extend beyond your already loyal customers, the folks who already like you on Facebook?  

I always promote heavily to my loyal audience and this was no exception.  My hope was they might have a connection to a local business and would reach out to those people on my behalf.  I did not come out and ask them to do that directly, but next year I think I will.  This being the first year, my best success was with people I already had a connection with.

It seems like there would be quite a workload associated with this.  Is that something to keep in mind if a store is considering following in your footsteps?

So far the workload is just my time up front to create and execute promotions. The back side work load will occur when the orders come in and need to be processed, branded, and packaged. I have cheap labor (my kids!) that make this feasible—it doesn’t take away staff time from selling books on the floor. That is definitely something to keep in mind. Also the physical space required to prepare the orders as I don’t want to take up selling footprint in the store. It may be I’ll need to take the books home to do that!

Incidentally, I am packaging the books before the company gives them to recipients so that I can add my brand and get more exposure that way. Each book will be “plated” with a book plate sticker that we will apply to the inside front cover. It will be customized w the company’s logo—saying “happy holidays from … ” and then “brought to you by Bluebird Books.”  We’ll add bookmarks and any other branding to the packaging we can get away with!

This is just a personal question, but I tend to try and preserve my books in their original condition–so stickers and nameplates would bother me.  I think it’s a brilliant idea from a branding standpoint, but are there any areas (nameplates or otherwise) where you foresee any kind of blowback? 

Actually, I found that businesses want to put their own nameplate stickers in the books rather than the co-branded ones that I offered.  I thought this was interesting and did present a challenge because I certainly wanted to put my brand on the package as well.  I had to get a little creative in some instances!

Have you heard any feedback from publishers or reps about the program?  Were they in the loop at all as you devised it?  

I placed one very large order and several smaller orders with the publisher of the best Kansas gift books on the market.  They were very pleased!  Though their books have been around for a while, the Hutchinson market was more or less untapped for their books.  Other than that, I have not heard back from publishers. I checked with the pubs of all the books I featured to make sure they had a B2B program and could fulfill larger orders.  For some businesses, I did a little more research in finding just the right book but always stuck with pubs that I had already established B2B terms.

Any surprises about this offering that you didn’t see coming?

I’ve sold several of the featured books off the display and customers who received the mailing just came in to buy the books but not to place a B2B order. So I guess that means I picked some good ones??

On one last note – While promoting this program, I also connected with quite a number of business people who didn’t purchase books outright, but they did agree to promote my store with their employees/clients.  Several others simply bought gift cards for employees rather than a book.  It was definitely a successful promotion and one on which I intend to build for next year!

 

 

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Midwest Connections Picks: February 2014 http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/11/midwest-connections-picks-february-2014/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/11/midwest-connections-picks-february-2014/#comments Wed, 20 Nov 2013 16:35:35 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14406 MC.February.MarketplaceOfTheMarvellous.Jacket

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Marketplace of the Marvelous

Nonfiction by Erika Janik. January 7, 2014. Hardcover, $28.95
Beacon Press. ISBN: 9780807022085

An entertaining introduction to the quacks, snake-oil salesmen, and charlatans, who often had a point.

“A must-read

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Marketplace of the Marvelous

Nonfiction by Erika Janik. January 7, 2014. Hardcover, $28.95
Beacon Press. ISBN: 9780807022085

An entertaining introduction to the quacks, snake-oil salesmen, and charlatans, who often had a point.

“A must-read for medical history buffs, whether mainstream or maverick.” -Publishers Weekly

“Astronomy was preceded by Astrology. Modern medical science was preceded by snake oil and homeopathy. Janik tells a compelling story, in graceful prose, of what happens when error, greed and fashion rule the marketplace of medical ideas. What Lewis Thomas called ‘The Youngest Science’-medicine based on cell and molecular biology-is young, indeed; and this fine book reminds us of how far we have come.” -Gerald Weissmann, MD, author of Epigenetics in the Age of Twitter

“Historian Janik chronicles the rise and fall and renewed popularity of alternative medicine.” -Booklist

Despite rampant scientific innovation in nineteenth-century America, traditional medicine still adhered to ancient healing methods such as induced vomiting and bleeding, blistering, and sweating patients. Facing such horrors, many patients ran with open arms to burgeoning practices promising new ways to cure their ills: Hydropaths promised cures using “healing tubs.” Franz Anton Mesmer applied magnets to a patient’s body, while Daniel David Palmer restored a man’s hearing by knocking on his vertebrae. Phrenologists emerged, claiming the topography of one’s skull could reveal the intricacies of one’s character. Bizarre as these methods may seem, many are the predecessors of today’s notions of health. We have the nineteenth-century practice of “medical gymnastics” to thank for today’s emphasis on daily exercise, and hydropathy’s various water cures gave us the notion of showers and the mantra of “eight glasses of water a day.” These early medical “deviants,” including women who had been barred from the patriarchy of “legitimate doctoring,” raised questions and posed challenges to established ideas, and though the fads faded and many were discredited by the scientific revolution, some ideas behind the quackery are staples in today’s health industry. Janik tells the colorful stories of these “quacks,” whose shams, foils, or genuine wish to heal helped shape and influence modern medicine.

MC.February.MarketplaceOfTheMarvellous.AuthorErika Janik is the producer, editor, and consulting historian of the Wisconsin Public Radio series Wisconsin Life. She is the author of four previous award-winning history books. Her work has appeared in Smithsonian,Mental Floss, and Midwest Living, among other publications. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

 

The Vanishing

MC.February.TheVanishing.JacketA novel by Wendy Webb. January 21, 2014. Paperback, $15.99
Hyperion. ISBN: 9781401341947

The latest gripping, supernatural novel from award-winning author Wendy Webb, following The Fate of Mercy Alban, featuring a reclusive horror novelist and a woman who has taken on a bit more than she bargained for when she becomes her caretaker. Another escapist bit of commercial fiction with a mysterious edge that remains popular with readers.

“A deliciously complex blend of psychological suspense and ghost story, THE VANISHING is pitch-perfect on every note, from its mansion setting in the pine-scented northern wilderness, to the secrets and specters lurking around every corner.” -Erin Hart, author of The Book of Killowen
“A brisk thriller tinged with gothic elements…. Careening through séances and ghostly encounters leaves the reader breathless.” -Kirkus Reviews

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired . . . and who the world believes is dead.

When she arrives at the Sinclairs’ enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her “too-good-to-be-true” position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

MC.February.TheVanishing.Author_Credit Steve BurmeisterMC.February.TheVanishing.Author_Credit Steve BurmeisterMC.February.TheVanishing.Author_Credit Steve Burmeisterwendy-webb-250Wendy Webb‘s first novel, The Tale of Halcyon Crane, was the 2011 winner of the Minnesota Book Award for genre fiction, and an IndieNext Pick from the Independent Booksellers’ Association, a Midwest Connections Pick from the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association and a Great Lakes, Great Reads Pick from the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association. Her second novel, The Fate of Mercy Alban, was published in February 2013. Wendy is also the editor of Duluth-Superior Magazine, celebrating the area she features in her gothic thrillers. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and her beloved Alaskan Malamutes.

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

Locally Brewed

MC.February.LocallyBrewed.JacketCraft and Regional Interest by Anna Blessing. February 11, 2014. Hardcover, $22.95
Agate Midway/ ISBN: 9781572841512

Locally Brewed celebrates the Midwest’s craft brewing movement with profiles of 20 of the area’s brewmasters and their breweries. These are entertaining and inspiring stories of the individuals who have been essential in the exponential growth of this movement, as told through vivid interviews, beautiful photography, and dynamic artwork.

“Part cookbook, part storybook, it’s an irresistible collection of feel-good anecdotes, vivid photographs, and recipes from both chefs and farmers.” -Carly Boers, Chicago magazine

“An inspirational glimpse into one vibrant area of the local food movement.” -Kirkus Reviews

“Anyone who enjoys farming stories, cooking, animals, and locally grown food will treasure this book. It’s well done, interesting, and beautiful.” -Margo Dill, News-Gazette, Champaign, IL

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In just the past 20 years, beer has been transformed from a “low-class” drink to a pluralistic, populist drink with the same stylistic diversity and caring craftsmanship as wine. One of the strongest hotbeds of this cultural shift is in the Midwest, where independently owned craft brewers focus on the creative, artisanal elements of the beer-making process. Locally Brewed explores these trends and the fun, fascinating, and unique details of each brewery, including label art, hand-pull designs, and of course the brews themselves.

This is a book that can be enjoyed by the “beer geek” and the casual imbiber alike, as it emphasizes the people behind the beer as well as the beers they brew. Special sidebars and pullouts show what makes each brewery special, weaving together the story of the indie beer movement, relevant to both small-town Midwesterners and big-city beer lovers.

Anna H. Blessing researched, wrote, and photographed 14 editions of the eat.shop book series in addition to being a regular contributor to many other print and online publications, including Lucky, for which she was an editor for six years. She lives in Chicago.

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

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Midwest Connections Rebates http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/midwest-connections-rebates/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/midwest-connections-rebates/#comments Wed, 23 Oct 2013 16:39:28 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14239 Midwest Connections provides booksellers with up to $125 per month in rebates. These rebates are awarded for utilizing the free, printed POS materials sent directly to your store, creating a visual display, and actively promoting the titles.

You can download …

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Midwest Connections provides booksellers with up to $125 per month in rebates. These rebates are awarded for utilizing the free, printed POS materials sent directly to your store, creating a visual display, and actively promoting the titles.

You can download a rebate request form by clicking the image below.

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Here’s how the rebate process works:

To be eligible for the first $50 of your rebate, follow these steps:

  1. Use the POS materials we’ve provided. This can mean creating a devoted section with the Midwest Connections logo sign, using shelf-talkers throughout your store, and/or using the stickers while displaying any or all eligible titles face-out
  2. Send us a photo of your display (via email or post), upload it to our Facebook page (facebook.com/MidwestBooksellers), or tweet the photo using the hashtag #MWConX. We’ll use these images to further promote the program, and we may feature your promotion in our national e-newsletter!
  3. Keep track of your sales for the 2-month promotion period and include it on the rebate form. We compile this data to promote the program to publishers
  4. Return the rebate request form to MIBA by the deadline (see below)

Then get out and promote! Once you’ve displayed the books in your store, you are eligible for up to three additional $25 rebates for promoting ANY OR ALL OF THE CURRENT PICKS using methods listed on our rebate request form. If you have an idea for a promotion but it isn’t listed on the form, let us know about it (we’re flexible and may award a rebate even if it isn’t listed.  Furthermore, we might add your strategy to the form!)

Rebate Deadlines
Each promotional period lasts two months.  After this period expires, we offer a 2-week grace period so you can collate your sales information and process the form.  So, you can actively promote a Midwest Connections Pick for January during January and February, and you’ll have until March 15 to submit your rebate request form.  Consult the table below for quick reference to rebate due dates.

Promotion Month  Rebate Request Form Due
January March 15
February April 15
March May 15
April June 15
May July 15
June August 15
July September 15
August October 15
September November 15
October December 15
November January 15
December February 15

Promotion Options
Not all promotion strategies work for every store — choose the ones that work for you! If you put in the effort to promote a book, Midwest Connections will reward you. Here’s a brief description of each official option:

1. Host an Author Event:  If a Midwest Connections author visits your store to promote his or her book, let us know about it.  Share your event promotions, take some pictures of the actual event, and be sure to have the books on display. If your store isn’t on the usual touring circuit, Midwest Connections can be a great way to get your foot in the door — the more you participate in the program, the more familiar publishers will become with how actively you’re selling their books.

2. Advertise a Title in a Print Ad: A classic and time-tested promotional strategy, this promotion effectively reaches readers and helps build relationships in your community, connecting your store to media outlets.

3. Actively Promote on Social Media: With more and more readers spending time on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, these avenues are an increasingly effective way to connect with customers. To make your lives easier, we’ll be tweeting and actively posting on Facebook with fun and interesting news items about current and upcoming Midwest Connections Picks.  All you have to do is follow the links and re-post to your followers.

To find the content we’ve posted, visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MidwestBooksellers. Scroll through our wall for Midwest Connections-related material.  If you use Twitter, use the search field for the hashtag #MWConX.  The results will include every Midwest Connections post we’ve made.

When you post your promotions, be sure to tag us! On Facebook, this means including “@Midwest Booksellers Association” in your post. (When you use the @ symbol and start typing, our name should automatically appear.  If it doesn’t, you may need to “like” us first.)  On Twitter, use the #MWConX hashtag, and include our handle @MidwestBooks in your tweet if possible.

4. Run a Paid Radio Ad or Discuss/Review a Title on the Radio: If you have the opportunity to visit your local radio station and talk about books, we’d love to hear about it — most radio stations archive their programs on the Internet.  If this is the case, send us a link.

5. Run a Paid Ad on a Community Website: Paid ads can be an effective way to attract new customers.  We’ll help cover the cost.

6. Recommend, Promote, and Discuss a Title with a Book Club: If your store hosts a book club or makes book club recommendations, consider choosing Midwest Connections titles.  If you are interested in starting a book club, consider a Midwest Connections Book Club. Either way, we (and publishers) would love to hear about how you’re sharing these great titles. If you let us know in advance that a Midwest Connections Pick will be a selection of your book club, we will pass this information along to the publisher and do all we can to help arrange an author visit, a Skype session with the author, or any number of fun ways to further the enjoyment of the book.

If you have any questions about these options, feel free to contact Robert Martin at Robert@MidwestBooksellers.org.  And remember, we’re open to new ideas and will consider additional promotions if you ask us.

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Midwest Connections POS Materials http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/midwest-connections-pos-materials/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/midwest-connections-pos-materials/#comments Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:36:26 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14224 Member bookstores receive a monthly mailing consisting of free POS items to use in an in-store display. These materials are available at no charge upon request, and can be downloaded and printed by clicking the images below:

8.5” x 11”

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Member bookstores receive a monthly mailing consisting of free POS items to use in an in-store display. These materials are available at no charge upon request, and can be downloaded and printed by clicking the images below:

8.5” x 11” Midwest Connections logo flyer

MC Logo Snip

Midwest Connections blank shelf talkers

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Midwest Connections bookmarks

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Midwest Connections stickers to place on current and past Picks (order by emailing us)

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In addition, the monthly mailing will include helpful sales tools for you and your staff, as well as full-color promotional one-sheets to be made available to your customers.

  • For Customers: Full-color one-sheets with information about current picks
  • For Staff: A one-sheet for booksellers with talking points, PR, and suggested copy for a shelf-talker; and a returnable, postage-paid feedback card with which you can suggest future Picks, request more of the POS items listed above, or give general feedback about Midwest Connections or any other MIBA-related news

Publishers may also elect to send title-specific POS materials or make them available for download.

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Midwest Connections Picks: January 2014 http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/midwest-connections-picks-january-2014/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/midwest-connections-picks-january-2014/#comments Mon, 14 Oct 2013 20:14:13 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14200 MC.January.RedMoon.Jacket MC.January.GirlWhoSangToTheBuffalo.Cover MC.January.Unmentionables.Jacket 

This month’s selections portray three very different relationships to the Midwest.  Benjamin Percy, author of the thrilling and bestselling Red Moon, came to the region only recently and now calls it home.  Kent Nerburn, author of The Girl

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MC.January.RedMoon.Jacket MC.January.GirlWhoSangToTheBuffalo.Cover MC.January.Unmentionables.Jacket 

This month’s selections portray three very different relationships to the Midwest.  Benjamin Percy, author of the thrilling and bestselling Red Moon, came to the region only recently and now calls it home.  Kent Nerburn, author of The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo, has been writing about the Native American diaspora of the Midwest for more than fifteen years. And Laurie Lowenstein is a native Midwesterner who re-imagines the events that spawned the women’s rights movement in the Midwest, helping to make our region the place it is today. These three paperbacks celebrate the many and varied voices that contribute to enriching the Midwest.  Download additional copies of our January Picks Customer Handout so your customers will be able to make informed purchases this holiday season.

Red Moon

A novel by Benjamin Percy. January 14, 2014. Paperback, $16.00
Grand Central Publishing. ISBN: 9781455501656

MC.January.RedMoon.JacketAward -winning author Benjamin Percy presents an explosive and deeply layered literary thriller set in the American West.


“If George Orwell had imagined a future where the werewolf population had grown to the degree that they were colonized and drugged, this terrifying novel might be it.” –John Irving

“Extraordinary. . . . An ambitious, epic novel. . . . Holds a mirror up to contemporary America to reflect its fears and biases.” – Publishers Weekly

“The prose in this page-turner is purposefully cinematic. . . . Reading Red Moon involves a personal connection with a diverse set of characters, some of whom we may recognize. Percy seems to foster this connection, hoping we relate on a grand scale of humanity. He challenges readers to acknowledge a kinship with the enemy and to ‘make yourself heard. Howl.’” – The Missourian

Minnesota resident Benjamin Percy’s short story collection and first novel were published by Minnesota-based Graywolf Press.  He spent a year as the visiting writer in residence at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, and continues to work and write in the state.

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Benjamin Percy has won a Whiting Writers Award, a Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is the author of the novel The Wilding and two short story collections,Refresh, Refresh and The Language of Elk (available as an ebook from Grand Central Publishing). He lives in Minnesota with his family.

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

 

MC.January.GirlWhoSangToTheBuffalo.CoverThe Girl who Sang to the Buffalo:
A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky

A novel by Kent Nerburn. November 12, 2013. Paperback, $15.95
New World Library. ISBN: 9781608680153

Kent Nerburn blends history, humor, and heartbreak with a gripping mystery.  A perfect entry into the Native American world revealed in Nerburn’s previous award-winning books.

“Simply riveting. Kent Nerburn has the very rare ability to gently and compassionately teach in a respectful way. I love this book. And so does the rest of our staff.” – Susan White, manager of Birchbark Books

“A touching and enlightening pursuit of spirit.”– Chris Eyre, director of Smoke Signals

“With poignant prose and a compelling story, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo demonstrates Kent Nerburn’s gift: not just to build bridges between the Native and non-Native world, but to transcend those differences with a narrative that speaks to the heart of the human experience.” – Anton Treuer, executive director of the Bemidji State University American Indian Resource Center

As with the novel Neither Wolf nor Dog, written 18 years ago, Nerburn visits the Dakota elder Dan and joins in the quest to understand the fate of Dan’s little sister, Yellow Bird, a girl with a mystical relationship to animals who disappeared into the Indian boarding school system. Delving beneath the myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes that make up so much of our understanding of Native life, Nerburn finds a world that “beats with a different and indomitable heartbeat.” Readers are swept up into a great story of the awe-inspiring communion of human, animal, and nature that underlies the many things we can learn from our land’s native people.

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Kent Nerburn is the author of thirteen books on spirituality and Native themes, including Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce (featured on the History Channel), Simple Truths, and The Wisdom of the Native Americans. He is a two-time Minnesota Book Award winner. He lives in northern Minnesota.

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

 

 

MC.January.Unmentionables.JacketUnmentionables

A historical novel by Laurie Loewenstein. January 7, 2014. Paperback Original, $15.95
Akashic Books. ISBN: 9781617751943

A powerful debut historical novel set in the Midwest in the early 1900s portrays an outspoken advocate for dress reform and women’s suffrage in the fictional small town of Emporia, IL.

“Engaging first work from a writer of evident ability.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Marian Elliot Adams’ … tale is contagiously enthusiastic.”– Publishers Weekly

“Laurie Loewenstein brings the reader into the past, to Chautauqua assemblies, World War I France, and Midwestern small-town life. But like all good historical fiction, Unmentionables uses the past as a way to illuminate large, pertinent questions—of race and gender, of love and death, of action and consequence. Meticulously researched and exquisitely written, Unmentionables is a memorable debut.” — Ann Hood, author of The Obituary Writer

Marian Elliott Adams, an outspoken advocate for sensible undergarments for women, sweeps onto the Chautauqua stage under a brown canvas tent on a sweltering August night in 1917, and shocks the gathered town of Emporia with her speech: How can women compete with men in the work place and in life if they are confined by their undergarments? During Marian’s stay in Emporia, Marian pushes prominent members of the community  to become greater, braver, and more dynamic than they ever imagined was possible. Marian is a powerful catalyst that forces nineteenth-century Emporia into the twentieth century; but while she agitates for enlightenment and justice, she has little time to consider her own motives and her extreme loneliness. Marian, in the end, must decide if she has the courage to face small-town life, and be known, or continue to be a stranger always passing through.

MC.January.Unmentionables.AuthorLaurie Loewenstein, a fifth-generation Midwesterner, grew up in the flatlands of western Ohio. She has master’s degrees in creative writing from Wilkes University and in history from Syracuse University. She now resides in Rochester, New York, where Susan B. Anthony lived and was arrested for voting in 1872.

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

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Introducing the NEW Midwest Connections http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/introducing-the-new-midwest-connections/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/10/introducing-the-new-midwest-connections/#comments Mon, 14 Oct 2013 13:32:12 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14183 We’re thrilled to announce the NEW Midwest Connections program! We talked to our bookseller and publisher members and used their feedback to enhance the program to bring it more exposure and sell more books throughout our region. Beginning in November …

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We’re thrilled to announce the NEW Midwest Connections program! We talked to our bookseller and publisher members and used their feedback to enhance the program to bring it more exposure and sell more books throughout our region. Beginning in November 2013, we’ll deliver printed, full-color point-of-sale materials directly to bookstores, just for being a member of MIBA.

These practical and eye-catching branded materials can be used to create in-store displays, and will enable participating booksellers to collect rebates in a flexible fashion–now each store can promote Midwest Connections Picks in a way that makes sense for that particular store.

Read on for details, or visit the Midwest Connections website to learn more.

Free Branded POS Materials 
All dues-paying storefronts can create instant customer familiarity
for Midwest Connections titles with monthly mailings of:
  • Shelf talkers
  • Flyers
  • Stickers
  • Bookmarks
  • Full-color one-sheets for customers
Display Driven
To qualify for a rebate, stores will create a physical display using the Midwest Connections-branded materials provided, and then earn their rebates through pictures of the display, which can be spread through social media, e-newsletters, etc.

Engaging for Stores and Publishers

Bookstores can get their entire staff involved. Publishers can follow our stores on social media (see here for a complete list of MIBA members’ social media accounts). Start conversation with about these great titles with the hashtag #MWConX.

Flexible Rebate Structure

Bookstores can collect a full rebate amount for promoting the books that make the most sense for their stores. The more promotions you perform, the more rebates you receive!

Social Media Minded
Rebates will be offered for heavy social media presence and appropriate tagging–so publishers will be aware of the conversations surrounding their titles, and booksellers can see what’s selling in other stores.
How to Participate
Simple and concise instructions are available on the Midwest Connections website:

www.MidwestBooksellers.org/Midwest-Connections

Click the image below to download a pdf of Bookseller Participation Guidelines.

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Click the image below to download a pdf of Publisher Participation Guidelines.

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We hope you enjoy the enhancements to Midwest Connections. Please be in touch if you have any feedback or ideas on how to further engage publishers, booksellers, and readers about these stand-out regional titles.

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“Response” from President Obama http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/09/response-from-president-obama/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/09/response-from-president-obama/#comments Tue, 10 Sep 2013 21:30:18 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14103 USEOPWH_img_president_small

I got an email the other day from The White House. Subject line: Response to Your Message.

This is going to be great, I thought. The White House is responding to my letter criticizing Obama’s decision to address the nation …

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I got an email the other day from The White House. Subject line: Response to Your Message.

This is going to be great, I thought. The White House is responding to my letter criticizing Obama’s decision to address the nation about the topic of job creation at Amazon, a company equally famous for job destruction, Main Street dissolution, and tax evasion.

Opening the email, my bubble burst faster than you can say “Amazon Prime.”

The email address was “no-reply@correspondence.whitehouse.gov,” and the letter was drawn out of a hat. A staffer at the White House vaguely categorized the subject of my letter as “job creation” and directed a series of canned talking points to my inbox. Thank you, but I’ve seen plenty of this on television. I wanted something real.

Here’s the letter.

Dear Carrie:

Thank you for writing.  I appreciate your perspective on the serious issues facing our Nation.

After years of grueling recession, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis.  Our businesses have created over six million new jobs.  Our housing market is healing and our stock market is rebounding.  Consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before.  We buy more American cars than we have in 5 years, and less foreign oil than we have in 20.  And after a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home.

Today, we must match our achievements with a commitment to address the challenges that remain.  It is our task as a Nation to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth:  a rising, thriving middle class.  It is our task to build ladders of opportunity into the middle class and to restore the basic bargain at the heart of the American dream—the idea that you can make it if you try, no matter where you are from, what you look like, or who you love.

In the days ahead, my Administration will work to make the United States a magnet for new jobs and manufacturing, to combat climate change while driving economic growth, and to reduce our deficit in a balanced way while keeping our promises to our seniors.  We must pass comprehensive immigration reform, and we must take commonsense steps to reduce gun violence and get weapons of war off our streets.  Government cannot solve every problem, but if we—as members of one American family—accept our obligations to one another and embrace the belief that our destiny is shared, I am confident that our country’s best days lie ahead.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to share your views.  I encourage you to explore www.WhiteHouse.gov to learn more about the ways we are moving America forward.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

I didn’t expect to get any response at all — but this pointless response was so empty it weakened his position, in my mind.

We, as readers, can do our part to sustain independent bookstores and the future of publishing by spending our reading money at independent bookstores.

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Midwest Connections Picks: December 2013 http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/08/midwest-connections-picks-december-2013/ http://midwestbooksellers.org/2013/08/midwest-connections-picks-december-2013/#comments Fri, 16 Aug 2013 14:50:00 +0000 http://midwestbooksellers.org/?p=14049 MC.December.LittleWolves.Jacket  MC.December.TheTop.Jacket  Screen Shot 2013-10-24 at 9.25.01 AM

The Midwest is a varied place, and our December selections reflect this great diversity: a haunting tale of family, loss, storytelling, and history in small town Minnesota, a humorist’s touching observations derived from life in rural Wisconsin, and a revered …

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MC.December.LittleWolves.Jacket  MC.December.TheTop.Jacket  Screen Shot 2013-10-24 at 9.25.01 AM

The Midwest is a varied place, and our December selections reflect this great diversity: a haunting tale of family, loss, storytelling, and history in small town Minnesota, a humorist’s touching observations derived from life in rural Wisconsin, and a revered thinker and naturalist exploring the Native connection to place evident in every state in our region.  Download additional copies of our December Picks Customer Handout so your customers will be able to make informed purchases this holiday season.

 

 

Little Wolves

MC.December.LittleWolves.JacketA novel by Thomas Maltman. November 26, 2013. Paperback, $15.00
Soho Press. ISBN: 9781616953430

A tragic act of violence echoes through a small Minnesota town in this paperback edition of Maltman’s sleeper hit of the season.


“A complicated portrait of a prairie town, a meditation on violence, a fantasia of myth and folklore, and a knockout murder mystery, Little Wolves is haunting, at times terrifying, a gothic cousin to Kent Haruf’s Plainsong. I loved this book.” — Benjamin Percy, author of Red Moon, The Wilding, and Refresh, Refresh

“Took my breath away…as rich in myth and metaphors as Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.” — Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

“A work of nuance, craft, and tightly plotted narrative….Little Wolves is a portrait of two individuals seeking solace through religion and the law, and finding every opportunity thwarted by that most central tenet of Americana: nostalgia.” – Rain Taxi Review of Books

Set on a barren Minnesota prairie devastated by drought, Little Wolves is a close examination of tradition, in storytelling and faith, as well as the story of a town searching for answers after a young man commits a heinous crime.  The boy’s father, now an outcast from the small community, finds an unlikely ally in his son’s former teacher, whom the boy mysteriously visited the day of the murder.

Local legends–crafted, just as in ancient times, to explain loss and change–deepen the sense of place that Maltman’s deep ties to the Minnesota prairies and Northwoods bring to the book.  Above all, this is an elegiac love letter to Maltman’s home, even its darkest parts.

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Thomas Maltman has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and lives in the Twin Cities.  His first novel, The Night Birds, won an Alex Award, a Spur Award, the Friends of American Writers Literary Award, and was also chosen by the American Library Association as an “Outstanding Book for the College Bound.”

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

MC.December.TheTop.JacketFrom the Top:
Brief Transmissions from Tent Show Radio

Nonfiction by Michael Perry. November 27, 2013. Paperback, $15.95
Wisconsin Historical Society Press. ISBN: 9780870206801

Fatherhood, wedding rings, used cars, dumpster therapy, logger clogs—in essays drawn from his appearances on the syndicated Tent Show Radio program, NYT bestselling author Michael Perry demonstrates his rare ability to touch both the funny bone and the heart.

“Bottom line is, I’m the kind of guy who’s happy to go to the opera, but I should like to be allowed to wear steel-toed boots with my evening suit. I like to read Harpers with a chaser of Varmint Hunter Magazine. Maybe that’s why I enjoy a good show under canvas. Here we sit, brain-deep in arts and culture, but we’re also just people hanging out in a tent, some of us wearing boots, a few of us wearing Birkenstocks, but best of all we’re breathing free fresh air filled with music.”

From Scandihoovian Spanglish to snickering chickens, New York Times bestselling author and humorist Michael Perry navigates a wide range of topics in this collection of brief essays drawn from his weekly appearances on the nationally syndicated Tent Show Radio program. Fatherhood, dumpster therapy, dangerous wedding rings, Christmas trees, used cars, why you should have bacon in your stock portfolio, loggers in clogs—whatever the subject, Perry has a rare ability to touch both the funny bone and the heart.

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Shelf Talker

Michael Perry is the author of numerous books, including Population 485, Truck: A Love Story, and Visiting Tom. He lives in rural Wisconsin with his wife and daughters and is privileged to serve as a first responder with the local fire department.

Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

MC.December.BraidingSweetgrass.JacketBraiding Sweetgrass:
Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Nonfiction by Robin Kimmerer. October 15, 2013. Hardcover, $24.00
Milkweed Editions. ISBN: 9781571313355

An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing.

“There are times when a simple category doesn’t do a book justice. Saying that Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass is nature writing doesn’t quite capture what she does in this treasure of a book. It’s rare to find a book that teaches you scientifically and also nurtures you philosophically–but that’s what this is. Upon finishing I read the epilogue twice just to allow her wisdom and kindness and care for this world to soak in a little more.” —Hans Weyandt, Micawbers Books
“Robin Wall Kimmerer has written an extraordinary book, showing how the factual, objective approach of science can be enriched by the ancient knowledge of the indigenous people. It is the way she captures beauty that I love the most–the images of giant cedars and wild strawberries, a forest in the rain and a meadow of fragrant sweetgrass will stay with you long after you read the last page.” —Jane Goodall, author of Seeds of Hope and My Life with the Chimpanzees
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as “the younger brothers of creation.” As she explores these themes she circles toward a central argument: the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return.

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DOWNLOADS
Flyer
Shelf Talkers


Robin Kimmerer
‘s writings have appeared in OrionWhole Terrain, and Stone Canoe amongst many others. She lives in Fabius, NY where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and where she is also the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment.


Read more about this title on Edelweiss

 

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