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Conference

Del Mar Spring Forum 2025

Wednesday, May 7, 2025
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (PDT)
Agenda At A Glance
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Agenda

May 7
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Registration Opens
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM Keynote Breakfast Featuring Charlie Jane Anders & Annalee Newitz Join us for the kick off event featuring best-selling authors Charlie Jane Anders (Lessons in Magic and Disaster) and Annalee Newitz (Automatic Noodle) as they celebrate their new titles.
9:40 AM - 10:25 AM Education: How to Make the Most of the CALIBA Winter Catalog RAMP's Winter Catalog is an amazing marketing resource that comes with your membership. Learn the ins and outs on how to use the catalogs to your advantage.
Panelists: Claire Bone (Wild Sisters, Sacramento), Hannah Walcher (CALIBA Executive Director).
9:40 AM - 10:25 AM Education - Collaborating with Other Local Stores Identify, Connect & Innovate with neighboring businesses and your bookseller community. Thinking beyond the competition and becoming synergistic within your region. Take home ideas, resources & tools to begin collaborating today! Panelists: Jhoanna Belfer (Bel Canto Books), Amy Hesselink (La Playa Books), Jennifer Caspar (Village Well Books & Coffee).
10:35 AM - 11:20 AM Author Panel: Down the Rabbit Hole A darkly-fun panel featuring authors:
Moderator: Julie Slavinsky (Warwick's, San Diego)
Olivie Blake - Girl Dinner
Kashana Cauley - The Payback
Mona Awad - We Love You, Bunny
11:30 AM - 12:20 PM The Book Business: Then and Now A look at the Book Industry's past and how to change our futures. Presented by two industry veterans: Vicki DeArmon (Sibylline Press) and Alison Reid (Camino Books, Del Mar). The session is both educational and a celebration of Vicki's new memoir Foghorn: The Nearly True Story of a Small. Publishing Empire.
11:30 AM - 12:20 PM Education - Supporting Your Community with Mutual Aid (Panel) The “What, Why & How’s” of developing a mutual aid strategy to serve your community. Hear how to assess your store, your community & the situation - find the big project actions & the little project actions. Gather resources & share training tools to initiate action when faced with potential freeze or inaction because there's so much work to do. Panelists: Brein Lopez (Children's Book World), Dan Graham (Vroman's Bookstore), Kevin Brown (Protagonist Black).
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM Rep Picks Lunch Enjoy lunch & learn about the season's upcoming titles!
2:10 PM - 3:00 PM Author "Speed Dating" Featuring authors:
- Aisha Muharrar
- J. Penner
- Dana Elmendorf
- G. T. Karber
- Muon Thi Van
- Philip Fracassi
- Bridget Crocker
- Alex Killian
3:10 PM - 4:00 PM Roundtable - Owner Networking Breakout Session Network with other owners in a roundtable style discussion on the issues we are currently facing from payroll and staffing to leases and cost of goods. Find solidarity and engage in some group problem solving to see how we can work it out together, as a community. Roundtable led by Seth Marko (Book Catapult).
3:10 PM - 4:00 PM Roundtable - Mutual Aid for Booksellers Booksellers are threatened on multiple fronts from book bans to personal identity attacks which have far ranging impacts for our staff and businesses. Discuss and share existing resources and develop strategies to address unmet needs to create support and be ready for whatever the coming storm brings. Roundtable led by Linda Sherman-Nurick (Cellar Door Books).
4:10 PM - 5:00 PM Author Reception Meet the authors:
- Gerardo Iván Morales representing D. Esperanza
- Suzanne Enoch
- Susie Ghahremani
- Michelle Huneven
- Jennifer Safrey
- Paul Bradley Carr
Download Agenda

CALIBA is meeting at Hilton Garden Inn (Del Mar) for a day of lively conversation, education, rep picks, and networking.

Authors and education sessions will be announced as we confirm.

Collaborating with Other Stores:

Education: How to Make the Most of the CALIBA Winter Catalog

Click on the Reps' Names Below to Access Their Lists 

Rep Picks Lunch:

Keynote:

Down the Rabbit Hole Author Panel

The Book Business: Then and Now

Author "Speed Dating"

Author Reception

For our group rate, book a room at the Hilton Garden Inn San Diego/Del Mar via this link by April 7th. 

Address: 3939 Ocean Bluff Ave, San Diego, CA 92130

If you are interested in carpooling, fill out this Carpool form. Already filled out the form and want to find a carpool buddy? Click here to access the carpool buddy list.

You're coming all this way, you might as well explore our host city! 

Thank you for participating in CALIBA's Spring Forum on May 7th, 2025! 

We hope you had a fun and educational experience.

Your feedback is valuable to our team, allowing us to improve future CALIBA events. 

We know that travel is costly, so CALIBA is offering rebates for booksellers that traveled to the show! You can request assistance for traveling and hotel expenses through the link below.

Request Del Mar Spring Forum Travel Assistance

For More Information:

Hannah Walcher
Hannah Walcher
Executive Director (415)561-7686x101
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Thank you, sponsors!

Sponsorships help us keep the event affordable for booksellers and help fund bookseller grants to attend.