NCIBA Update Part 2

We wrapped up the Northern California Independent Bookseller's Association (NCIBA) trade show yesterday.

First, I almost had a heart attack in the morning! Xiaojun Li, the illustrator of Selvakumar Knew Better, was signing at 11:00, and at 10:55 he still hadn't arrived. Then he called my cell phone from Interstate 80. Traffic was, apparently horrendous. That's when I found out there was a 49-ers/Raiders game in San Francisco yesterday. Ahh! A line of people had formed for his signing already, and after another 15 minutes, most of them dispersed. I still thought he might come before the end of his half-hour slot, but at 11:25, we moved all the books to our booth for an in-booth signing. I needn't have stressed about it. Once he did arrive and an announcement was made, he signed all 60 copies of the book in about ten minutes. Most people who wanted one were not disappointed.

Throughout the day, I sensed a lot of interest in our two new titles, Selvakumar Knew Better and The Day the Dragon Danced. Having such great stories and wonderful illustrations sure makes selling books easier!

Walking around the show floor, I did pick up a few titles I was unaware of before, so there was a little success there. I also got to finally meet Rebecca Grose, publicist extraordinairre who worked on Selvakumar, and I caught up with the sales reps I get to see once a year here. All in all, another successful year at NCIBA for us, despite the seemingly lackluster attendance.