news

HEARTLAND FALL FORUM
  • Attend
  • Schedule
  • Education
  • Exhibitors
  • Authors
  • Photos
  • Sponsor/Host
  • Scholarships
  • Rep Picks
  • Awards
    • Heartland Booksellers Award >
      • 2024 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2023 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2022 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2021 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2020 Heartland Bookseller Award
    • Voice of the Heartland >
      • Past Winners >
        • 2023 Janet Webster Jones
        • 2022 Kris Kleindienst
        • 2021 Louise Erdrich
        • 2020 Two Dollar Radio
  • About
    • Merch
    • 10 Years
    • Heartland 2022
    • Heartland 2020
    • Heartland 2021

How to Heartland

10/13/2023

2 Comments

 
​We want everyone to get the most out of Heartland as possible. Read our blog post for tips on navigating the show floor, forging connections, and staying comfortable while you spend a few days on your feet.  

Contact us
  • Email: [email protected] or see Heartland staff emails on our website
  • Cell: Text Heartland staff at any time for assistance 612-208-6279
  • Discord: See the join link sent to you via email. DM Heartland staff within the app at any time if you have questions

Download the Eventleaf Guide app
New this year! We have an app that serves as a complete trade show navigating experience: View event info, get push notifications from Heartland, message other attendees, arrange meetings, and take notes. Download the app and watch a quick video at the bottom of the page. (Our Eventleaf website is what powers the app.)

Join the Heartland Discord server
While the Eventleaf Guide app leads you through the show and offers attendee-to-attendee messaging, join our Discord server to communicate with all Heartland attendees. Share rides, plan dinners, shout out questions about the show. Bookseller and publisher attendees have all been invited, so join this effective and fun tool for networking and communication. 

Pack for comfort and self-care. Pack a water bottle, comfortable shoes, and a warm layer in case the venue is cold. Whether you dress up a bit or wear your favorite bookstore T-shirt and sneakers, Heartland welcomes you as you are. Grab an external phone charger if you have it so you can use Heartland’s digital tools and your smartphone all day long. Pack an extra tote bag and bring it with you to when books are distributed. 

FedEx account number. Shipping will take place in the Founders room on the 5th floor. It is open from 8am to 5pm Tuesday and Wednesday, October 8th and 9th. We are providing manual labels, called airbills, for FedEx pick up from the Hilton at the end of the Forum. All you need to do is pack your boxes with the supplies provided, fill out the label (account number required), and tape it on the box. Manual labels can only be used for express shipping. Boxes cannot weigh over 100 pounds. If you would like to pay for ground shipping, there are several local shipping locations near the Hilton.

Business cards and/or press kit. Be sure to bring something to share with attendees an exhibitors, such a business card, book mark, or better yet, a press kit for your store. Sharing a press kit is an excellent way to break the ice with exhibitors on the show floor, and a great way to spark a conversation with a bookseller. (Our friends at NAIBA have a lot of great press kit samples on their website.)

Prepare your icebreakers: Think about a few specific tasks you might accomplish at the show. Would you like to build a wider backlist section, bulk up on a specific category, or draw more authors to your store? Think about this goal in detail and jot down a few talking points to easily start conversations with exhibitors.

When it comes to booksellers, what would you most like to chat about with a few hundred other likeminded people running the same type of business? Take a few moments to think about the answer to this question and ask the booksellers you meet. Ask your staff to prepare talking points about their favorite subjects and genres. Publishers especially love to know what booksellers are the best readers for their galleys.

Working with publishers and exhibitors
Remember that publishers and industry exhibitors make this show possible. Their support and participation drive the entire gathering, so it’s the least we can do to make their experience as valuable as possible.

Spend as much time as you can on the show floor, meeting with new exhibitors, speaking with reps, and discussing titles that you’re excited about--even if you’re not placing orders or if you’ve already done your ordering. We've talked with publishers about their goals for the show, and while placing orders is important, they really want to get to know booksellers, so broaden your focus to include far more than just seeing frontlist titles. As the people who bring their job to life by selling books to readers, you are a special commodity, so say hello.

Attend the rep events and let the participating reps know that you valued their presentations. For many publishers, this platform for reps is one of the primary benefits of supporting the conference. Attending these events goes a long way toward ensuring that we can continue to host them and have an awesome show.

Show specials. There are two ways to access the show specials, which are special discounts to economize placing orders at the show. 
  • On this website, Exhibitors have asked to upload their show specials. There's a growing list at the bottom of the Exhibitor page. 
  • In the Guide app, go to the Exhibitor tab, then tap on the individual exhibitors to see their show specials

Never take without asking
Exhibitors are generally happy to give you display copies of their books if you ask them, but remember to ask before you take anything from an exhibit. Sometimes publishers need to retain a copy for the duration of the show floor, but would be fine if you came back by at the close of the event.
 
Get involvedBe sure to stop by the Book Industry Charitable Foundation's exhibit at #436-439 to bid on the silent auction. Auction items are donated by exhibitors and all proceeds go Binc as they help the employees and owners of book- stores and comic shops with unforeseen emergency financial, medical, and mental health service needs.


Throughout the trade show floor, you’ll notice items in booths flagged with a “Silent Auction” marker. These items have been donated to benefit BINC, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, and you can bid on these items throughout the show floor’s open periods. 


At 4:00 pm on Wednesday, one hour before the close of the show floor, the winning bids will be announced. This can be an excellent way to purchase inventory below cost and come away from the trade show as a literal “winner.”
2 Comments

Book Drive for Birdie's

10/10/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Let's all come together to support children in Detroit. Birdie's Bookmobile is accepting across all categories and genres at the Heartland Fall Forum.​

  • Booksellers - Bring children's and YA books to donate to Birdie's
  • Exhibitors - Pull some of your children's and YA books at the end of the show to donate to Birdie's

Donation bins will be located in the Ontario foyer from the beginning through the end of the show.

Reading is essential to a child's development. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to books. The Heartland Fall Forum Book Drive for Birdie's Bookmobile is a great way to partner with Birdie's to help them accomplish their mission. 

Birdie's Bookmobile is dedicated to eliminating book deserts and making diverse books accessible to children in Detroit. Birdie's mission is to build home libraries, improve literacy outcomes, grow lifelong readers, and raise the next generation of storytellers. 

Since launching in June 2022, Birdie’s Bookmobile has given away more than 10,000 books to children in Detroit. We partner with schools and literacy organizations to distribute free books. 

Book Needs for Children from birth to 18
  • Board Books
  • Picture Books
  • Early Readers
  • Chapter Books
  • Graphic Novels
  • Middle Grade Books
  • YA Books
Learn more about Birdie's Bookmobile www.birdiesbookmobile.org 

0 Comments

Attending Heartland? Check out these other great events!

10/5/2023

1 Comment

 
TUESDAY, October 17, 2023
Schuler Books
Westgate Shopping Center
2513 Jackson Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI  48103 
6:30pm: Local Michigan Romance author Erin Hahn
https://www.schulerbooks.com/event/friends-don’t-fall-love-erin-hahn

Schuler Books
Gateway Center
7260 Orchard Lake Road,
West Bloomfield Twp, MI 48322
6:30pm: Linda Kass, author and owner of Gramercy Books in Columbus https://www.schulerbooks.com/event/bessie-linda-kass

Source Booksellers
4240 Cass Avenue
#105
Detroit, MI 48201
7pm: The Future of Bookselling – A Book Launch and Conversation with Danny Caine and Josh Cook, with refreshments from Biblioasis (beer + pizza)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/future-of-bookselling-launch-and-conversation-tickets-723955940707?aff=oddtdtcreator 

WEDNESDAY, October 18, 2023
27th Letter Books
3546 Michigan Ave.
Detroit, MI 48216-1007
6:00pm: A constellation of poets hits the 27th Letter Books stage: visiting poet Kevin Cantwell, John (Cal) Freeman, and Christina Kallery
https://www.27thletterbooks.com/event/halogen-moon-starlight-kevin-cantwell-cal-freeman-and-christina-kallery

THURSDAY, October 19, 2023
Third Man Records
441 W Canfield Ave
Detroit, MI 48201
7pm: WDET’s Ann Delisi’s Essential Conversations: Nabil Ayers @ Third Man Records
https://wdet.org/event/ann-delisis-essential-conversations-nabil-ayers-third-man-records/ 

Friday, October 20, 2023
DSO Orchestra Hall
Presented by Source Booksellers
6:00pm: Jada Pinkett Smith – Worthy Book Tour
Source Booksellers presents: Jada Pinkett Smith at DSO Orchestra Hall
https://www.facebook.com/events/843517647184017 
Every ticket to this event includes a copy of Worthy (on sale: October 17, published by Dey Street!! Tickets Available in Eventbrite or in store at Source Booksellers

1 Comment

    Archives

    October 2023
    September 2023

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Attend
  • Schedule
  • Education
  • Exhibitors
  • Authors
  • Photos
  • Sponsor/Host
  • Scholarships
  • Rep Picks
  • Awards
    • Heartland Booksellers Award >
      • 2024 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2023 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2022 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2021 Heartland Booksellers Award
      • 2020 Heartland Bookseller Award
    • Voice of the Heartland >
      • Past Winners >
        • 2023 Janet Webster Jones
        • 2022 Kris Kleindienst
        • 2021 Louise Erdrich
        • 2020 Two Dollar Radio
  • About
    • Merch
    • 10 Years
    • Heartland 2022
    • Heartland 2020
    • Heartland 2021