When Booksellers Converge

The week that has passed since I returned from the annual meeting of the Great Lakes Booksellers Association has flown by. Now trade shows are usually of greatest interest to those in the profession being served; the jargon in any profession can be off-putting; what passes for hilarious humor can more often than not fall flat among the “civilian” population. And what could be more expected from a large group of book nerds milling about, talking to publishers, trying to pick up on next winter’s soon-to-be phenomenal novels and authors? Of course, if you are as nutty about books as most booksellers are, then the scenario becomes quite thrilling. At each meal, either a well-received author, a publisher’s representative, or even a legendary bookseller makes the hotel’s rubber chicken entrée seem like the meal of a lifetime.

So over the three days of the GLBA meeting, I met some very interesting folks:

• Dorothea Benton Frank, speaking about how she finds characters and stories, including some really great material on what life’s like for a Southern woman living in New Jersey.
• Chris Crutcher, whose teen novels reflect his years working with kids and families, who told the story of the young girl who had most affected him with her miraculous spirit, which in turn inspired his new novel about a high school senior who learns that he only has one year to live.
• Nancy Horan, author of the bestseller Loving Frank, who explained how her study of Frank Lloyd Wright’s mistress led her to pursue the question of how a woman leaves children behind to follow her heart.
• Sherman Alexie, whose adult novels about Native American life have been widely praised, giving insight into his own thought about identity and his new teen novel, which is partly autobiographical.
• Simms Taback, explaining that a long career in graphic design led him to writing and illustrating picture books, with the same meticulous process that results in colorful drawings and carefully written text, for which he has won praise and at least one big award.
• Ann Martin, author of the series The Babysitter’s Club that was a mainstay of my daughter’s grade school years, talking about how her success was the result of a childhood in which she was encouraged to use as many materials and methods as possible to develop her own imaginative life and creativity.
• Elizabeth Berg, whose new novel is about the homefront in Chicago during World War II, talking about time traveling back to the 1940s, trying to summon that world in order to create her characters and story.

None of this might have interested another professional group’s members, but I hope that you will take my word for it that hearing from these writers made me remember why selling books is part calling and part profession.