07.30.26 CALIBA Publisher News & Information

Publisher Newsletter,

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IN THIS ISSUE

CALIBA PROGRAMS & EVENTS

2026 Fall Fest: Conference Schedule

2026 Golden Poppy Awards

PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Dates and Deadlines

Bookseller Shoutouts & In the News

CALIBA's Currently Reading

Resources

Become a Member Today

CALIBA Staff

BESTSELLERS LISTS

The Los Angeles Times & Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestseller List

The San Francisco Chronicle & Northern California Independent Bookstore Bestseller List

Independent Press Top 40 Bestsellers

Indie Next List & Kids' Indie Next List

BLK Bestsellers list - June 2026

CALIBA PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Fall Fest 2026 Schedule

2026 FALL FEST: CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

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

Participating Exhibitors, Reps, and Authors click here for deadline information.

Vanessa Slade of The Plot Twist Bookstore

BINC REGIONAL FALL TRADE SHOW SCHOLARSHIP WINNER: Vanessa Slade of The Plot Twist Bookstore.

The BINC Regional Fall Trade Show Scholarship for CALIBA's 2026 Fall Fest in San Diego, September 14-15th, covers up to $750 in travel, hotel and registration allowance.

Golden Poppy logo

2026 GOLDEN POPPY AWARDS

CALIBA members present The Golden Poppy Book Awards to recognize the most distinguished California writers and artists.

IMPORTANT GOLDEN POPPY AWARDS DATES:

-Week of August 17th - Office Notifies Finalists and Invites them to the Awards Ceremony

-August 24th - Finalists Announced to the Public

-September 15th - In-Person Awards Ceremony

-Week of November 16th - Open Submissions for 2027

NEW MEMBER CORNER
Welcome to CALIBA, Missed Connections Bookstore!

Owner Name: Genevieve Parker

Location: Santa Clarita

Planned Opening Date: October 1, 2026

About Our New Member: Missed Connections Bookstore is a new, independent bookstore in Old Town Newhall focusing on Romance, Science Fiction, and Fantasy books for all ages. Our goal is to connect the reader community with worlds in books by providing space, time, and events which positively support readers' inherent creativity and need for community.

Missed Connections Bookstore logo

PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

*NEW PROCESS* HOW-TO PROMOTE YOUR TITLES WITH CALIBA

We updated the digital promotions submission and payment process in May.

  • Schedule your promotion* on Schedulista.
  • To submit your creative materials: visit our Promotional Opportunities portal, select your promotion type, and complete the order form.
  • When it's time to checkout** you can request an invoice, or pay by credit or ACH.
  • Alecia will follow up via email when your promotion send has been scheduled.

*Social Media and Shelf Insider Newsletter promotions excluded from process update

**You will need an account login connected to your company to use promo codes and select invoicing for payments

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TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE BOOKING PROMOTIONS THROUGH OUR NEW PORTAL

We want to hear from you, along with our updates to the Golden Poppy Awards submission process, we have also updated how publishers and authors can promote their titles with our bookstore members. Let us know what is/isn't working—so we can troubleshoot and adjust. Email Alecia with your feedback.

FALL/WINTER SHELF INSIDER NEWSLETTER -
SUBMISSIONS DUE SEPTEMBER 2ND

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. Reaching over 1k+ booksellers, our first Shelf Insider had a 48% open rate. Limit to 1 title per publisher. Member Price: $275 | Non-Member Price: $300

CALIBA Shelf Insider
We Are America social media

CALIBA'S BIPOC COMMITTEE PRESENTS: WE ARE AMERICA: REFLECTING ON 250 YEARS OF THE UNITED STATES

CALIBA's BIPOC Committee has created a booklist for America's 250th birthday, titled: We Are America: Reflecting on 250 Years of The United States. View the current Edelweiss list here.

BINC Celebrate 30 Years Fundraiser

HOUSEKEEPING

CALIBA SALES REP DIRECTORY -
ARE YOU ON THE LIST?

It's time to update the rep directory (Login required)! The directory is alphabetized by publisher/rep

group and remains keyword searchable. Please check and email Valentina if corrections are needed!

ACCOUNT ADMINISTRATION

Check Your Membership Status/Dues so you don't miss out on any of our programming

*GET ON THE LIST* BOOKSELLERS ACCOUNT SETUP WITH PUBLISHERS & WHOLESALERS

We would like to help our new bookstore members get a head start on setting up their sales accounts with publishers and wholesalers. Please fill out this form so that booksellers can utilize the information to create accounts.

Opening Accounts Page.

CALIBA Bookstore Map

CALIBA BOOKSTORE MAP

This map shows our current

bookstore members.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

August: Black Business Month / Women In Translation Month / Back to School Month

August 9: Book Lovers Day

August 14: Love Your Bookshop Day

August 15: Bookstore Romance Day

August 29: Black Boosktsore Day

August 31: We Love Memoirs Day

September: Self-Care Awareness Month / National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)

September 2: Fall/Winter Shelf Insider - Book Submissions Due

September 7: Labor Day

September 8: International Literacy Day

September 11-13: Rosh Hashanah

September 13-15: 2026 Fall Fest: Bookstore Tour & Bookseller Conference

September 15: National Voter Registration Day

September 20: Yom Kippur

September 22: Autumn Equinox/First Day of Fall

September 25: National Comic Book Day

CALIBA Bookseller Shoutouts
CALIBA Bookseller Shoutouts July 30, 2026

1 - The Pleasant Pheasant Bookstore, in Woodland, has opened their new location on Main!

2 - Book Society, in Berkeley, was named a favorite indie bookstore in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper.

3 - The Book Jewel, in Los Angeles, showed off this highlight of LA’s indie book crawl - Jennifer Caspar of Village Well Books & Coffee (Culver City) giving a tour to ABC 7.

4 - Diesel, A Bookstore, in Santa Monica, celebrated a successful LA indie book crawl.

5 - Vroman’s Bookstore, in Pasadena, is featuring the “Raising Readers” campaign as a table display in store - to highlight the importance of reading for pleasure with kids and to encourage adults to make reading part of our children’s daily lives.

6 - Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore, in Fresno, will have new limited-edition totes in August, that will support artists and their store. 

7 - Tía Chucha's Centro Cultural, in Sylmar, is having fun and showing off their team like a telenovela.

8 - Word Horde Emporium, in Petaluma, is ready to turn the page on 2026, with a variety of 2027 calendars.

In the News

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

CALIBA'S CURRENTLY READING

Alecia

Supporting Staff

Every Version of You Natalie Messier 9781668213643

Every Version of You

Natalie Messier

9781668213643

Hannah

Executive Director

The Missing of Clairdelune Christelle Dabos 9781609456085

The Missing of Clairdelune

Christelle Dabos

9781609456085

Valentina

Operations Manager

Under Story Chloe Benjamin 9780593545218

Under Story

Chloe Benjamin

9780593545218

Check out CALIBA’s 2026 Reading List!

RESOURCES

CALIBA Merchandise

Click here for a complete list.

CALIBA STAFF

Hannah Walcher

Executive Director

hannah@caliballiance.org

Valentina Moberg

Operations Manager

valentina@caliballiance.org

Alecia Reddick

Supporting Staff

alecia@caliballiance.org

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