Fall Fest 2025

Join us for the kick off event featuring Golden Poppy Award winners and finalists:
Rex Ogle, When We Ride (Norton Young Readers)
Kelly Yang, The Take (Berkley)
Claire Oshetsky, Evil Genius (Ecco)
Carolina Ixta,  Few Blue Skies (Quill Tree Books)

Education - First-Time Trade Show Attendee

Salon A-D​

Is it your first time at a bookseller trade show? Join us to hear how you can best take advantage of your time at Fall Fest and learn about the indie bookselling world, including information on: regional and national trade organizations, trade publications and buying resources, free or low cost marketing tools, networking with your fellow booksellers and publisher representatives, and more!

Panelists: Kayla Girdner - Avid Reader Bookstore (Davis), Katerina Argyres - Noe Valley Books (San Francisco), Christie Olsen Day - Gallery Bookshop (Mendocino)

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Education - Events Beyond the P&L: Tools for Measuring Event Success

Baden A

How to establish a broader set of metrics for events that move beyond profit and loss to acknowledge the nuanced ways events support our businesses and communities.

Event P&L Example

Moderators: Jessica Hahl - Books Inc. (San Leandro), Chorel Centers - Bookshop Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz), Flo Grosskurth - Linden Tree Books (Los Altos)

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Nonfiction Author Panel: Battling Expectations & Surviving Life

Baden B

Featuring:
Nikki Nash, Collateral Stardust: Chasing Warren Beatty and Other Foolish Things (Sibylline Press)
Sue Aikens, North of Ordinary: How One Woman Left it All Behind for Wilderness and Wonder in Alaska's Frozen Frontier (Sourcebooks)
Shannon Michelle, Step into Your Miracle: Transforming Trauma into Triumph (Liberte Press)

Moderator: Mary Williams - Skylight Books (Los Angeles)

Day 1 - Rep Picks Lunch

Oyster Point

• Patricia Nelson, Princeton University Press
• Sherri Puzey, Zibby Publishing
• Lindsay Ryon, Arcadia Publishing
• David Goldberg, Steerforth / Pushkin Press
  • Request a galley
• Jill Eisenberg, Lee & Low Books
  • Request DRCs on the Lee & Low Edelweiss profile
• Will Gawronski, Columbia University Press Sales Consortium 
• Vicki DeArmon, Sibylline Press
• Angela Engel, The Collective Book Studio
• Holly Aitchison, Mad Cave Studios & Papercutz
• Andy Weiner, Abrams Books

Moderator: Seth Marko - The Book Catapult (San Diego)

Tickets are needed to attend breakfast and lunch sessions. To purchase a meal ticket, go through the registration form and select the meal ticket.

ABA Education - Measure What Matters: 5 Key #s to Focus on During Turbulent Times​

Salon A-D

Learn which five KPIs to track during turbulent times so you feel empowered and confident to make data-driven business decisions.

Led by Emily Nason (ABA)

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Horror/Thriller Author Panel: Setting the Scene for Maximum Thrills

Baden A

Featuring:
Catriona Ward, Nowhere Burning (Tor Nightfire)
Allison Mick, Humboldt Cut (Erewhon Books)
Mary Kubica, It's Not Her (Park Row Books)
Brian Asman, Man F*ck This House (And Other Disasters) (Blackstone Publishing)

Moderator: Zack Dubuc - Book Passage (San Francisco)

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YA/Middle Grade Author Panel: Mysteries from Beyond the Grave

Baden B

Featuring:
Laura Taylor Namey, If We Never End (Bloomsbury YA)
Erin Entrada Kelly, The Last Resort (Scholastic Press)
Katrina Leno, Persephone's Curse (Wednesday Books)

Moderator: Ashley Mireles-Guerrero - Judging by the Cover (Fresno)

Education - Handselling the Holidays: What You Don't Know About Kids Books

Salon A-D

Learn and apply best practices for how to sell Children’s Books for every age to the wide range of adult consumers all while balancing the wants and needs of the young reader. 

Panelists: Grace Lane - Linden Tree Books (Los Altos), Michelle Pierce - Lido Village Books/ Malibu Village Books (Newport Beach), Donna Liu - Kepler's Books (Menlo Park)

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Author Panel: The Drama of Family Life

Baden A

Featuring:
Aja Gabel, Lightbreakers (Riverhead Books)
Justinian Huang, Lucky Seed (MIRA)
Sonya Walger, Wifehouse (Union Square & Co.)

Moderator: Susan Tunis - Bookshop West Portal (San Francisco)

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Author Panel: Let's Go Monster Hunting!

Baden B

Featuring:
Hiron Ennes, The Works of Vermin (Tor Books)
Serra Swift, Kill the Beast (Tor Books)
Kalyn Josephson, The Library of Amorlin (Erewhon Books)

Moderator: Anthony Bertolini - Bloodstone Books (Sacramento)

Featuring:
Georgia Freedman, Snacking Dinners (Hardie Grant North America)

Day 2 - Rep Picks Breakfast

Oyster Point

• Dave Ehrlich, Chronicle Books 
• Shannon Grant, Simon & Schuster
• Ivy Quirk, Simon & Schuster
• Ty Wilson, Ingram Publisher Services (IPS)
• Leslie Jobson, Publishers Group West
• Suzi Hough, HarperCollins Publishers
• Kristin Rasmussen, Scholastic Press
• Brittany Greenway, Macmillan Publishers
• Julia Callahan, Hachette Book Group
• Joe Murphy, W.W. Norton
• Elyse Vincenty, Candlewick / Holiday House / Peachtree
  • Click here to view the PDF version
• Jordan Standridge, Sourcebooks
• Kevin Peters, Imprint Group West
• Dandy Conway, Penguin Random House
• Jenn Ramage, Penguin Random House
• Amy Hordes, Insight Editions / Weldon Owen / Mandala Earth

Moderator: Claire Bone - Wild Sisters Book Co. (Sacramento)

Tickets are needed to attend breakfast and lunch sessions. To purchase a meal ticket, go through the registration form and select the meal ticket.

ABA Education - Navigating Attacks on Your Store​

Salon A-D

Learn best practices and strategies for dealing with harassment, threats, vandalism, and other attacks targeting your curation and events.

Led by Allison Hill (ABA)

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Education - Working with Self-Published Authors: Softening the "No" and Finding the Win-Win

Baden A

A multidimensional approach to working with self published authors that helps you build a system that prioritizes community relationships and protects your peace of mind.

Panelists: Michelle Pierce - Lido Village Books/ Malibu Village Books (Newport Beach), Shea Robinson (author and bookseller) - A Seat at the Table Books (Elk Grove), Justin Carder - Industry Professional

Education - Managing for Cultural Stewardship: Caring for Your Institution's Cultural Health

Baden B

Management practices for cultural leadership and institutional longevity, teaching managers to live their mission through applied institutional behavior

Panelists: Camden Avery - The Booksmith (San Francisco), Eileen McCormick - Green Apple on Clement (San Francisco), Caitlyn Wild - City Lights Bookstore (San Francisco)

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Author Panel: Humor in Picture Books

Baden A

Featuring:
Matthew Diffee, Zip Zap Wickety Wack (Neal Porter Books)
Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, Zombie and Brain Are Friends (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
Katherine Pryor, Attack of the Hangries (WorthyKids)

Moderator: Raquel España - Peninsula Books (Daly City)

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Sourcebooks Education - Love Lore, and the Unknown: The Expanding Universe of Genre Fiction

Salon A-D

From romantasy to cozy horror, today’s genre fiction is reshaping the bookstore shelves—and readers are loving it. We’ll explore how authors are weaving together elements of romance, mystery, horror, science fiction, and fantasy to create fresh, emotionally rich, and commercially magnetic stories—and how booksellers can meet reader demand across genres and age groups.

Moderator: Jenni Marchisotto - Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore (San Diego)

Author Lunch: The Transformative Power of Books for Readers of All Ages

Oyster Point

Featuring:
Oliver James, Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read on TikTok (Union Square & Co.)
John Freeman, California Rewritten: A Journey Through the Golden State's New Literature
(Heyday)

Isabel Campoy, Books on Bikes (Clarion Books)

Moderator: Luisa Smith - Book Passage (Corte Madera)

Author Showcase - Adult Titles

Salon A-D

Featuring:

Grant Chemidlin, In the Middle of a Better World: Poems (Central Avenue Poetry)
Grant Ginder, So Old, So Young: A Novel (Gallery/Scout Press)
Luke Goebel, Kill Dick (Red Hen Press)
Peter Clines, God's Junk Drawer (Blackstone Publishing)
Cheri Radke, An Accident of Dragons (Erewhon Books)
Marie Lu, Red City (Tor Books)
Brian Barth, Front Street: Resistance and Rebirth in the Tent Cities of Techlandia (Astra House)
Jessica Riskin, The Power of Life: The Invention of Biology and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (Riverhead Books)
Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji, Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen (The Collective Book Studio)
Toril Orlesky, Hotblood! Vol. 1: The Land of Promise (Mad Cave Studios)

Moderator: Harriet Moss - Books Inc. (San Francisco)

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Author Showcase - Children's Titles

Baden A

Featuring:

Amy Chase, Abuzz (Maverick)
JaNay Brown-Wood, Scientists Like Me (Workman Kids)
Claribel A. Ortega, Scepter of Memories (Witchlings #4) (Scholastic Press)
Nidhi Chanani, Super Boba Café #2: Home Sea Home (Abrams Fanfare)
Lynn Smith, Just Keep Going (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)
Annabeth Bondor-Stone and Connor White, Kitty Caterpillar (Balzer + Bray)
Billy Ray, Burn the Water (Scholastic Press)
René Peña-Govea, Estela, Undrowning (Quill Tree Books)
Alan Gratz, War Games (Scholastic)
Eugene Yelchin, I Wish I Didn't Have to Tell You This: A Graphic Memoir (Candlewick)

Enjoy refreshments and bites to celebrate the close of Fall Fest. Sponsored by The Collective Book Studio.

Featuring bites from:

Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji, Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen (The Collective Book Studio)