The Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) gathered on an overcast Monday in Denver at the Renaissance Hotel & Conference Center for their annual fall conference, held October 5–8. Despite the gloomy weather, there was cause for celebration: MPIBA executive director Heather Duncan says that with 509 people in attendance, it is the largest FallCon since she came on board in 2018. Of that number, 235 are booksellers representing 104 bookstores, and 25 are librarians. There are more than 50 first-time attendees.
Accessibility to books and the freedom to read are major themes at this year’s gathering, as has been the case at all of this year’s regional bookseller shows. These themes were emphasized at Monday morning’s Children’s Authors & Illustrators Keynote Breakfast, which officially kicked off the conference after Sunday’s informal mix-and-mingle at Station 26, a brewpub down the street.
Six authors and one illustrator presented their books at the breakfast, beginning with Theresa Howell and her picture book, Books on Bikes (Clarion Books, Sept.), cowritten with F. Isabel Campoy and illustrated by Brizida Magro. The story follows Lia, who “reads upside down and around town” and makes her beloved books accessible to others in her community by transporting them on her bike.
Relating the real-life backstory to Books on Bikes, Howell emphasized the importance of bicycle-powered mobile bookstores, saying that “they aren’t just transporting books: they’re transforming lives.” Howell noted that Lia, while a fictional character, represents “a new generation of readers”—as well as booksellers.
Describing Books on Bikes as “a call to action,” Howell concluded her talk by pointing out that “sometimes the best way to inspire community is with two wheels and a basket full of books.”
Tami Charles and Bryan Collier, the respective author and illustrator of the picture book Together United (Orchard Books, Sept.), also spoke at the breakfast, as did Sara Pennypacker (The Lion’s Run, Balzer + Bray, Feb. 2026), Brandon Mull (Guardians: Forbidden Mountain, Labyrinth Road, April 2026), and Jasmine Warga (The Claiming: The Last Resort 2, Scholastic, Jan. 2026).
The Monday breakfast concluded with an appearance by Shannon Hale, who read aloud from her new picture book, Holly Jolly Kitty-Corn, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Abrams Books for Young Readers, Sept.), which tells the story of a kitten and a unicorn who decorate a Christmas tree together. Closing the book, Hale told the booksellers that she was accused of being “a groomer and a pedophile” because of this book’s 2021 prequel, Itty Bitty Kitty-Corn.
“Texas parents were outraged over a kid’s book about a kitten that wanted to be a unicorn,” Hale said, displaying newspaper headlines about the controversy on a video screen next to her. “A person on the [Katy, Tex.] school board said the main character wants to transform into something they’re obviously not, and that it was a transgender agenda.”
Hale then related that the controversy over Itty Bitty Kitty-Corn later erupted at “this amazing” Children’s Book Festival in Abilene, Tex. “They pick one illustrator to honor each year, and last year, they chose LeUyen Pham. They have this gorgeous garden full of characters from a children’s book and they chose Itty Bitty Kitty,” Hale said, noting that the garden sculpture of a life-size unicorn “sparked outrage over transgender freedom” and was met with a “big to-do” involving a vote by the festival’s board on whether to take down the garden sculpture. While protesters made signs and t-shirts condemning the sculpture, “so many more people showed up in favor of the sculpture than against,” Hale said. “Only one member of the board voted against it.”
Recalling that she and Pham were “overwhelmed” by the support from the community over the garden sculpture, Hale disclosed that she dedicated Holly Jolly Kitty-Corn to the residents of Abilene. “And I mean that for all of them,” she said. “I mean it for the protesters as well as the supporters, I hope they all feel the love—that the love is the only way things change.”
MPIBA’s FallCon will continue today and tomorrow, with an Editor’s Buzz Keynote Breakfast, followed by the trade show in the exhibit area, which is sold out this year: 133 vendors and publishers representing hundreds of companies will display their latest offerings today.
