California Independent Booksellers Alliance Logo

04.09.26 CALIBA Publisher News & Information

Date postedApril 9, 2026
Publisher Newsletter,

 
$100 Off CALIBA Banner Promotions
 
CALIBA Publisher Newsletter Banner

IN THIS ISSUE

CALIBA PROGRAMS & EVENTS

*SUBMISSIONS OPEN* 2026 Fall Fest Exhibitor Interest Form Open

*VIEW SCHEDULE* 2026 Pasadena Owners' Retreat & Spring Forum

*THANK YOU!* 2026 Oakland Owners' Retreat & Spring Forum


2026 Golden Poppy Book Submissions

PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Summer Shelf Insider: Title Submissions due May 5th

Social Media Promotions: Teacher's Day Titles (May)

*SAVE THE DATE* 2026 Winter Catalog Ad Reservations

2026 Spring Forums Sponsorship & Promotional Opportunities

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

Dates and Deadlines

Bookseller Shoutouts

In the News

Fundraisers

Scholarships & Grants

Classifieds

CALIBA's Currently Reading

Resources

Housekeeping

CALIBA Bookstore Map

CALIBA Staff

BESTSELLERS LISTS

The Los Angeles Times & Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestseller List

The San Francisco Chronicle & Northern California Independent Bookstore Bestseller List
African American Literature Book Club
Independent Press Bestsellers Top 40

REP DIRECTORY

It's that time of year again! The directory is alphabetized by publisher/rep group and remains keyword searchable. Please take a look and email Valentina if any corrections are necessary!

CALIBA PROGRAMS & EVENTS

*SUBMISSIONS OPEN* EXHIBITOR, CALL FOR AUTHORS, REP PICKS, SPONSOR, & PROMOTIONS FORMS

CALIBA is meeting at the DoubleTree by Hilton Mission Valley San Diego for two days of lively conversation, education, rep picks, and networking on Monday-Tuesday, September 14th-15th.

EXHIBIT HALL

Exhibitor Registration Deadline: Sunday, May 17th

​Exhibit Hours to Come
EXHIBITOR INTEREST FORM

*IMPORTANT* This is an interest form.

It does not guarantee participation.

CALIBA will send out confirmations to exhibitors shortly after the form closes. Priority is given to our previous exhibitors. Have questions? Contact Executive Director, Hannah Walcher.

Click here for more details

Small & Independent Press/ Publishers: 

CALIBA is dedicated to working with publishers and presses of all sizes. Reach out to Hannah to discuss Fall Fest bundling opportunities.

CALL FOR AUTHORS

Call For Authors Deadline: Sunday, May 17th

​Author invitations will be sent mid-June.

Click here for more details
SUBMIT AN AUTHOR

REP PICKS INTEREST FORM

Rep Picks Interest Form Deadline: Sunday, May 17th

​Invitations will be sent mid-June.

Please fill out the form and let us know if you are interested in participating in one of the upcoming sessions.

We plan to have two rep pick sessions (exact time limit will be determined after the schedule is finalized) and include visuals created by the CALIBA staff. Cost: $250 per slot.

*This is an interest form; we will send invitations based

on past participation and the spaces available

Click here for more details
REP PICKS INTEREST FORM

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

***New this year: Bookstore Tour!***

Sponsorship Interest Form Deadline: Friday, July 10th

Sponsorships include your logo on our website and all printed material,

acknowledgment at the Fall Fest, one welcome bag insert, eblasts/

banner promotions, and rep picks.

Click here for more details
FILL OUT THE SPONSORSHIP FORM

Promotional Opportunities

Form Deadline: Friday, July 10th

Welcome Bag Inserts: $150 for 200 inserts: flat items only, like flyers, bookmarks, etc. 

Galley Table Placement: $150, 40 books

Click here for more details
FILL OUT THE PROMOTIONS& GALLEY FORM
Pasadena Owners' Retreat & Spring Forum - 5.27-5.28.26 - Schedules in Progress

PASADENA OWNERS' RETREAT & SPRING FORUM: SCHEDULES AVAILABLE ON SITE

CALIBA is meeting at the Pasadena Hilton for a day of lively conversation, education, rep picks, and networking at the Owners' Retreat, on Wednesday, May 27th, and the Spring Forum, on Thursday, May28th.

Author and rep picks confirmations have been sent, please check your inbox.

OWNERS' RETREAT & SPRING FORUM: THANK YOU!

Thank you to all the booksellers, authors, and sales reps that attended the Oakland Spring Forum last Wednesday, April 1st and our first ever Owners' Retreat!

We've gathered some stats for all of the participants:

Owners' Retreat:

🌸 29 Booksellers representing 27 bookstores

Spring Show:

🌸 99 Booksellers representing 47 Bookstores

🌸 29 Authors from 16 Publishers

🌸 19 Sales Reps

View the website here: Owners' Retreat | Spring Forum

View all the Presenting Reps & Author Links
Golden Poppy 2026: Book Submissions

2026 GOLDEN POPPY AWARDS: SUBMIT YOUR TITLES BY CALIFORNIA AUTHORS TODAY!

We are specifically requesting the following category submissions:
GLENN GOLDMAN: CA LIFESTYLE & COOKING
MARTIN CRUZ SMITH AWARD
MYSTERY
ROMANCE

Click here for 2026 Golden Poppy Awards info.
BINC: The Susan Kamil Emerging Writers Scholarship

PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Have more promotion ideas or special events booksellers would find useful? Send in your ideas here.
Strike! by William D. Green

MAY SOCIAL MEDIA - BOOK SUBMISSIONS DUE APRIL 24TH

Booksellers have voted - and they would like to promote Teacher's Day (5/5). Submit your teaching-related titles for our social media assets by April 24th. Limit to 1 title per publisher. Spaces limited. Price: $100
BOOK YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION 
Shelf Insider Newsletter

SUMMER SHELF INSIDER:
TITLES DUE BY MAY 5TH

Want to maximize visibility for your latest titles? Our seasonal newsletters offer prime space to showcase your books to our engaged booksellers and their audiences. Your book will be included in an email listing with cover art, blurb, and a contact link for ARCs or galley requests. Reach 1k+ booksellers. Click here to purchase your spot in the May 12th Summer Shelf Insider Newsletter.

*SAVE THE DATE* 2026 WINTER CATALOG AD SPACE OPENING SOON

Thank you for submitting your summer catalog titles to our 2026 Summer Reading Guide. Save the date for our Winter Catalog Ad Spaces opening soon! Click here for more info about RAMP.
2025 Winter Catalog

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY
Proud Member of CALIBA window decal

Publishers, Sales Reps & Book Industry Professionals (Non-voting)

Individual: $150

Small House & Commission Groups: $250 (up to 3 sales reps)

Large House: $550 (up to 6 sales reps)

Membership Perks:

  • Discounted admission/exhibit space to our annual Fall Fest
  • Free or discounted rates at education and member programs
  • Subscription to our weekly e-newsletter & bestseller list
  • Stay up-to-date with industry, association and bookstore news
  • Access to our online Rep Directory
  • Post your job openings in our classifieds
JOIN CALIBA NOW

Click here for more details.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

April: Arab American Heritage Month / National Poetry Month / International Customer Loyalty Month / National Stress Awareness Month

April 25: Independent Bookstore Day

May 27 & 28: Pasadena Owners' Retreat and Spring Forum
Publishing Professionals Network

FAST FORWARD: STAYING GROUNDED IN THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF BOOK PUBLISHING

A one-day conference for publishing professionals in the Bay Area.David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley, CA. Friday, April 24th, 9am-5pm. Register here.
CALIBA Bookseller Shoutouts

Oakland Owners' Retreat and Spring Forum

  1. Our first Owners' Retreat is in the books! We had a great day of discussions, learning, and camaraderie.
  2. A special picture of Paul Yamazaki of City Lights in San Francisco and Andy Weiner from Abrams. The painting gifted to Paul is from Enchanted Lion’s Fall '26 book Bookstores Around the World.
  3. Some fun photos from Sarah George of Bookish Modesto from her author panel at Spring Forum!
  4. Look at that haul! Book Society in Berkeley shows off their galley stack from Spring Forum.

Shoutouts

  1. Once Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose wishes you a Happy International Children's Book Day!
  2. Happy 3rd anniversary to Underdog Bookstore in Monrovia!
  3. Check out these Spring picture books featured on The Reading Bug's (San Carlos) Instagram.
  4. I spy a Golden Poppy Award! Brian Selznick shares his framed Award for Run Away With Me

Don't forget to follow CALIBA (@caliba_20)!

FUNDRAISERS

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS

Have a grant or scholarship listing for booksellers? Email Alecia to be listed on our site.

CLASSIFIEDS
VIEW MORE LISTINGS

Have a classified listing for booksellers? Email Alecia to be listed on our site.

CALIBA'S CURRENTLY READING

Alecia

Supporting Staff

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

V.E. Schwab

9781250320544

Hannah

Executive Director

Queen Demon

Martha Wells

978125081250826930

Valentina

Operations Manager
Knock Knock, Open Wide Neil Sharpson 9781250785480

Knock Knock, Open Wide

Neil Sharpson

9781250785480

Check out CALIBA’s 2026 Reading List!

RESOURCES

Click here for a complete list.
 
 

HOUSEKEEPING

ADDRESS CHANGE AND BANK UPDATE

California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA), has changed our address and bank. We request that all ACH payments be deposited in our new account. For our updated W-9 and ACH instructions, please email Valentina Moberg at valentina@caliballiance.org.

CALIBA

266 Wood St Unit 404

Livermore, CA 94550
CALIBA Bookstore Map

CALIBA BOOKSTORE MAP

This map shows our current

bookstore members.

 
CALIBA Merchandise

CALIBA STAFF

Hannah Walcher

Executive Director

hannah@caliballiance.org

Valentina Moberg

Operations Manager

valentina@caliballiance.org

Alecia Reddick

Supporting Staff

alecia@caliballiance.org
Facebook  Instagram
 

Categories

Most Recent Posts