The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance kicked off the fall regional conference season together, this time in downtown Atlanta, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, August 3–6. New Voices New Rooms, the third in-person show co-hosted by the two organizations, was the largest yet, with a total of 580 attendees; 335 of them were booksellers from 196 bookstores, up 9% from 2024; 199 booksellers were first-time attendees.

NVNR 2025 was a celebration of books, bookselling, and the freedom to read that began Sunday evening with a screening of the documentary Banned Together, about three teenagers who, with the help of adult allies, successfully fought to return 97 books that had been removed from their school library shelves. Monday morning’s keynote, billed as “Heroes on the Front Lines of Book Banning,” and emceed by the American Booksellers for Free Expression associate director Philomena Polefrone, featured two of those student activists—Brea Parker and Kate Selvitelli. Other speakers included booksellers Christina Nosti, director of events and programming at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla., and Alison Rudolph, a former English teacher who is the co-owner of Rudolph Girls in Westminster, Md. Silas House, Nic Stone, and Angie Thomas also spoke of the impact on their lives as authors who are writing books that are being challenged or banned.

Every bookseller PW spoke with celebrated strong sales this past year, and several reported other successful endeavors designed to put books in the hands of readers. Bunnie Hilliard, owner of Brave + Kind Bookstore in Decatur, Ga., is celebrating the success of the Black Girl Book Fair for children and adults, which six Black women-owned Atlanta-area booksellers, including Brave + Kind, co-hosted on Independent Bookstore Day last spring. The six stores hope to hold another Black Girl Book Fair during the holidays as well as on Independent Bookstore Day 2026. Hilliard is also excited that Brave + Kind Books is the creator of a new festival: Atlanta’s Beautifully Black Children’s Book Festival, billed as “a celebration of kids and YA stories,” will take place at the Alliance Theatre on March 28, 2026.

Bookseller Education

Gina Mays, owner of GG’s Library, a children’s bookstore in Prosperity, S.C., is celebrating a spike in growth in her store’s school division, which serves school districts across the state. GG’s has also begun supplying books to teachers’ conferences in North Carolina and Tennessee, as well as South Carolina. ”I understand teachers’ conferences because I am a retired teacher,” Mays said. “You have to stock a lot of books. You can’t just bring 10 copies. If a speaker is an author, teachers will want to buy their book.”

While there were 90 featured authors at NVNR, most of the booksellers PW spoke with said their favorite part of the conference was the education component; many said it’s always strong, but it has reached new heights. This year featured a children’s track that focused on topics of specific interest to children’s booksellers: literacy; affordable children’s book festivals; a panel with children’s authors explaining how they connect with their fans and how they work with bookstores to increase sales; book fair alternatives; and a session in which participants shared ideas and did some problem-solving.

Jennifer Sauter-Price, owner of Read Early and Daily Read in Arlington, Va., a nonprofit organization with a children’s bookstore component, said that she got a lot out of every session she attended, especially one on how to organize children’s book festivals. “I would love to do a community festival,” she said, “and now I know how I can partner with other organizations so I don’t have do it all myself.” Sauter-Price said her only complaint was that she could not attend every session offered.

As for Erin Caudill, head buyer for Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati and Lexington, Ky., the session on children’s literacy was especially helpful. “The panelists gave me concrete ideas on what I can do,” she said, “which is helpful to me in transferring ideas to my staff.”

NVNR 2026 will take place in Baltimore, though the date and venue have not been announced.