Welcome to SpringCon

We’ve made it through a tough year, and the long (cold) winter is soon to be behind us. Now it is time to GROW AGAIN! Join us for two days of authors, book buzz, professional development, and camaraderie — we can’t wait to see you in the spring.

Thursday, April 8

9AM MDT | Opening Keynote Conversation: History as Story

Two acclaimed nonfiction authors join us to present their important forthcoming books and discuss the unique experience of relating history as compelling story. We’ll save time for Q&A with the authors.

THE WOMAN THEY COULD NOT SILENCE

Kate Moore

Sourcebooks

FACING THE MOUNTAIN

Daniel James Brown

Viking

10:45AM MDT | Professional Development
Conversations with Colleagues:
Growing and Maintaining Online Sales

Did you start selling online during the pandemic? Or did you drastically increase and improve your web sales game? Has your staff mastered customer shipping? Join us to share success stories and ideas for how to keep the online sales growing.

Conversations with Colleagues:
What’s Selling?

Titles, genres, gift items, food and beverages — what’s selling best right now, and what is hard to move? Share your bestselling products, especially surprises, and hear what others are having success with. Plan to find some things you need to stock up on!

12:15PM MDT | Author Smörgåsbord

We’re having an Author Smörgåsbord for lunch! You’ll hear from a wide array of authors, writing in a variety of genres, to find forthcoming books perfect for your store! Join in a lively Zoom chat with authors and your bookselling colleagues.

MARY JANE

Jessica Anya Blau

Custom House

ESCAPE FROM A VIDEO GAME

Dustin Brady

Andrews McMeel Publishing

FULL ECOLOGY

Mary Clare & Gary Ferguson

Heyday

THE FIREBIRD SONG

Arnée Flores

Bloomsbury Children’s Books

FOOTNOTES

Caseen Gaines

Sourcebooks

THE BOOK OF OTTO AND LIAM

Paul Griner

Sarabande Books

THE OTHER BLACK GIRL

Zakiya Dalila Harris

Atria Books

JAY’S GAY AGENDA

Jason June

HarperTeen

UNDER THE MAGNOLIAS

T. I. Lowe

Tyndale House Publishers

HOT STEW

Fiona Mozley

Algonquin Books

ANGEL OF GREENWOOD

Randi Pink

Feiwel & Friends

GHOST IN A BLACK GIRL’S THROAT

Khalisa Rae

Red Hen Press

DELICATES

Brenna Thummler

Oni Press

2:00PM MDT | Three Minute Throwdown: Rep Picks

It’s going to be fast and furious! Our reps have only three minutes each, so get ready for some perfect pitches! We’ll spend the last 15 minutes of this event connecting in smaller groups to discuss the titles we’re most excited about.

 

Presenters include: Christine Foye, Simon & Schuster; Randy Hickernell & Jan Coco Day, Hachette Book Group; Jim Riggs, Macmillan; Heidi Hill, Blue Dot Kids Press; Rachel Miller, Island Press; Michelle Dotter, Dzanc Books; Jisu Kim, Feminist Press; Jenny Sheridan, HarperCollins Children’s Books; and reps for HarperCollins Adult and Penguin Random House TBA.

3:45PM MDT | Right Book, Right Hands: Books for Every Young Reader

We all know there is a perfect book for every young reader, even reluctant readers, we just need to discover them. Our guest authors today will help you do just that. We’ll have Q&A after the author presentations, time permitting! During the event, share your “Right Books, Right Hands” ideas with your colleagues in the Zoom chat.

DAISY

Jessixa Bagley

Neal Porter Books

DON’T HATE THE PLAYER

Alexis Nedd

Bloomsbury YA

CAN’T TAKE THAT AWAY

Steven Salvatore

Bloomsbury YA

WE ARE STILL HERE!

Traci Sorrell

Charlesbridge

BETWEEN PERFECT AND REAL

Ray Stoeve

Amulet Books

THE CHANCE TO FLY

Ali Stroker & Stacy Davidowitz

Amulet Books

TBA

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TBA
5:30PM MDT | Mix & Mingle Social Hour

Booksellers, authors, publishers, friends, let’s mingle! Grab a beverage, grab your SpringCon t-shirt, or show off your branded bookstore apparel, and join us for some breakout room mingling. We’ll mix the group up a couple of times and provide some fun questions to get the conversation started!

Friday, April 9

9:00AM MDT | Story Time for Booksellers

Good morning booksellers. Grab your favorite hot beverage and snuggle up for a special storytime just for you. Our very special guest authors and illustrators will tell us about themselves and read us their stories. We’ll have Q&A with our guests after the presentations.

SHARICE’S BIG VOICE

Sharice Davids

HarperCollins

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A FLOWER?

Shawn Harris

Chronicle Books

I WISH YOU KNEW

Jackie Azúa Kramer & Magdelena Mora

Roaring Brook Press

WHAT WILL YOU BE?

Yamile Saied Méndez

HarperCollins

WATERCRESS

Andrea Wang & Jason Chin

Neal Porter Books

LALA’S WORDS

Gracey Zhang

Scholastic, Inc.

TBA

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TBA

10:45AM MDT | Professional Development
Education Session:
What is Co-Op Marketing?

If your store is promoting books and author events and not collecting co-op marketing dollars from publishers, this session is for you. Join us to learn what co-op IS, and why you should be taking advantage of this available money for your store.

Conversations with Colleagues:
Pandemic Takeaways

What has your store done during the pandemic times that you plan to continue? What lessons have you learned about your systems, inventory, staffing levels, and marketing? Bring your best “pandemic takeaways” and share them with your colleagues.

12:15PM MDT | Regional Author Round-Up

Our huge region is filled with amazing authors! Colorado author Carter Wilson will host this event with quite a few of them. Join us to hear all about their new books, and get ready to work with these local authors moving forward. We’ll have a lively Zoom chat with authors and booksellers, don’t miss it!

SITE FIDELITY

Claire Boyles

W. W. Norton & Company

FAKING REALITY

Sara Fujimura

Tor Teen

GIRL IN THE WALLS

A. J. Gnuse

Ecco

EXCUSE ME WHILE I UGLY CRY

Joya Goffney

HarperTeen

GHOSTS OF WEIRDWOOD

Christian McKay Heidicker

Henry Holt and Co.

MISCHIEF & MAYHEM #1: BORN TO BE BAD

Ken Lamug

Katherine Tegan Books

NATIONAL PARKS MAPS

Abby Leighton

Gibbs Smith

A CAMERA OBSCURA

Carl Marcum

Red Hen Press

FALLING

T. J. Newman

Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster

ENDINGS

Linda L. Richards

Oceanview Publishing

SLEEPING BEAR

Connor Sullivan

Atria/Emily Bestler Books

OLYMPUS, TEXAS

Stacey Swann

Doubleday

THE ELEPHANTS COME HOME

Kim Tomsic & Hadley Hooper

Chronicle Books

RIVER, SING OUT

James Wade

Blackstone Publishing

THE DEAD HUSBAND

Carter Wilson

Poisoned Pen Press

2:00PM MDT | Professional Development
Education Session:
Introduction to Edelweiss Analytics

Edelweiss+Analytics is inventory management made easy. If you’re using Edelweiss for title research and ordering, but not using Analytics to analyze your stock, view comp data, understand sales trends, and increase turns, join us to learn more about this important tool.

Conversations with Colleagues:
Front Line Booksellers Check In

Whether you’re new to bookselling and learning the ropes during a pandemic, or have been handselling to customers for years, bookselling for the front line looks different these days. Come with questions and creative ideas for your colleagues, and share your favorite customer interactions over the past year.

3:45PM MDT | Closing Keynote Conversation: Western Thrills

We are thrilled (get it?) to present these two bestselling authors in conversation about their exciting forthcoming books, both using small western towns as the setting for their stories. We’ll have Q&A with our guests after the presentations.

MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW

Stephen Graham Jones

Gallery / Saga Press

GODSPEED

Nickolas Butler

G.P. Putnam’s Sons

5:30PM MDT | Trivia Challenge Night Cap

Virtual Trivia at FallCon was so much fun, we’re doing it again! Booksellers, authors, publishers, friends, grab a cocktail (or mocktail) and join us for this fun social hour. We’ll divide everyone into break-out room teams, and then competition will get real! The winning team will receive prizes.