This is a throwback post from 2025. My life has truly done a 180 (and hopefully it can do another 180 lol) since attending this event, but I still wanted to post and highlight this super fun conference!

The American Booksellers Association is the governing body for bookstores in America. But throughout the country there are small regional organizations. Where I live falls under NAIBA, or the New Atlantic Independent Book Association. Every year there's a conference and this year I was able to go! I had joined NAIBA because I'm hopefully and currently in the beginning stages of trying to open my own bookstore. Going to the conference, along with all of the other conferences I've been to, have allowed me to network and learn from other bookstore owners and booksellers of creative and unique things they're doing.

Before I get into how amazing the conference was, the conference hotel was where parts of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was filmed. The elevators were used for the elevator scene in the movie. You know I fangirled hard.

Okay, back to the conference!

During the conference, I also attended themed panels of various genres. Publishers positioned some of their frontlist authors to meet booksellers. The authors below: Constance Lombardo, Chloe Gong, Daniel Nayeri, and Audrey Barbakoff. The Itty Bitty Betty Blob is so cute.

The Keynote Lunch had all of the attendees. The theme was Heroes on the Front Lines of Book Banning. I enjoyed hearing from publishing professionals, authors and student activists.

First up was Philomena Polefroene, associate director of American Booksellers for Free Expression.

Silas House, multi-published author, spoke about his experience with book bans and how it has impacted his work and community.

Angie Thomas and Nic Stone spoke about joy and their upcoming work. Both authors have been subjected to so many bans and challenges over the years. Book bans have real negative impacts on authors and the students and youth they are trying to reach. Books are mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors, and too many have had their own experiences questioned because of the content of the challenged books.

I’ve read Vanessa Riley’s stories for years. While walking around I saw her and immediately introduced myself. Where am I looking????

She gave me this super cool character card for her upcoming release.

I went to the exhibit hall where you can interact with various publishers and hear more about their upcoming list of books. I had to take a picture of the Narnia display. I enjoyed the books when I was small, but the 2005 movie and Prince Caspian will always be a favorite.

Publishers always host various parties during bookseller conferences and one the group of us went to centered all around romance! Which I loved. There were delicious snacks.

Romance authors across many genres were present. Publishers had finished copies and ARCs of upcoming releases. An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole is one of my most anticipated books for 2026.

I absolutely loved meeting Iman Hariri-Kia, author of Female Fantasy. I also loved the book. It’s a love letter to romance and fan fiction. I haven’t mentioned this enough but I love booksellers and authors and events that mash the two together.

That night was the NAIBA, or New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Awards Dinner.

You’ve been here long enough to know I always take pictures of food, particularly desserts.

Jason Reynolds received the NAIBA Legacy Award in YA for his novel, Twenty-Four Seconds From Now. We listened to him be in conversation with Hannah Oliver Depp. The two talked about Reynolds’ career and everything in-between.

I took a loot photo of some of my books I’d acquired or brought with me. Hearing that Tiffany D. Jackson would be attending meant I lugged her books to Georgia. It was so cool to get them signed!

On the final morning of the conference, the breakfast was speed dating with authors.

Booksellers stayed put while authors pitched their books before moving onto the next table.

After breakfast we piled into the minivan full of our books and started the drive back to Pennsylvania. Not before stopping at Buc-ee’s. I can’t put into words how much fun New Voices New Rooms was. Being able to interact with such a varied range of booksellers and publishers and authors was great. It gave me so many ideas for the hopeful bookstore I’d love to open.