Golden State book business is getting done at the California Independent Booksellers Alliance’s Fall Fest, held September 17–18 in South San Francisco. Ahead of the show, 200 bookstore owners and employees had registered to attend, 70 of them first-time attendees. CALIBA executive director Hannah Walcher expected that number to grow with day-of-show registrants. Overall, the show is outpacing last year’s turnout of 177 in Pasadena.
Fifty authors are presenting new work at the trade show, with an additional 19 authors meeting booksellers at publishers’ tables. About 56 vendors, including the American Booksellers Association and the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, took their places in the sold-out exhibit hall.
As the two-day Fall Fest began, 86 member stores were represented, including 14 new stores. Walcher said CALIBA has seen recent growth in its membership, with 33 stores joining since April, bringing the association’s total bookstore members to 191. This upward trend could compensate—statistically, if not emotionally—for the impending loss of one significant indie chain, the Bay Area’s Books Inc., which earlier this month announced that it is seeking bankruptcy court approval to be acquired by Barnes & Noble.
Participation is strong, albeit at a time when booksellers are expressing concern for the months ahead. The year has been sorely trying, with L.A.’s devastating wildfires, tariff woes and inflation uncertainty, and threats against diverse communities and the right to read.
At CALIBA’s annual meeting, attendees looked askance at the rising costs of books across formats and asked how to best remind customers of the value of bookstores and reading, particularly when those customers increasingly feel they have less to spend. Owners and managers are taking a close look at backlist, book club selections, high-quality used books, and remainders.
At a presentation titled “Measure What Matters,” about key performance indicators and interpreting data, ABA director of education Emily Nason agreed that “consumer behavior is changing every day” and that “customers are spending less, nationally.” Citing data collected through ABACUS, ABA’s annual free financial survey, Nason said that the national average spent per bookstore transaction in 2024 was $34.24, which varies depending on regional cost of living.
According to 2024 ABACUS findings, Nason said, sales are strongest in “food, beverage, café, and nonbook items,” plus “a slight increase in audiobook sales.” ABACUS also calculates sales per square foot of selling space—its 2024 average was $239 annually per square foot—another metric by which bookstores can rate their sales floor’s potential.
Nason suggested booksellers might “improve gross margin by investing in special editions” like the forthcoming hardcover Charlotte’s Web, or by creating ready-made gift boxes that bundle high-margin products with markup potential, like stickers and toys, with low-margin items like desirable print editions. She also said that Winter Institute 2026, in Pittsburgh, will include a field trip to Book Country Clearing House in McKeesport, Pa., one of the world’s foremost sources of remaindered titles.
With another Fall Fest day ahead, CALIBA booksellers and publishers’ reps will be looking to each other for innovations to carry them through the holiday season.
