08 February 2015

Guess Where I Am?

   Biltmore Estate. Image found here
Okay, so technically I'm probably* not at the Biltmore Estate, but for most of the week I will be staying in Asheville, NC, for Winter Institute!  This is my favorite of all of the bookish conferences that I attend, not least because the location jumps around to someplace new each year.  My favorite Winter Institute was in New Orleans a few years ago, but I have the feeling that Asheville might give Nawlins a run for the money.

In addition to attending lots of educational sessions that will help me be a better bookseller/ manager/ buyer/ HR person for my store, I'll get to hear various keynote speakers.  This year John Green, Steven Johnson, and Azar Nafisi are the headliners.  I've never heard the latter two give a talk before, but John Green is one of the most dynamic speakers I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, so I'm pretty excited.

Betwixt and between all of these educational things will be fun lunches, in which reps from dozens of publishing houses will do speed dating with booksellers, pitching us their favorite books for the upcoming season before moving on the next table of booksellers.  There's also a magical, mystical place called The Galley Room, where I can meander through and help myself to advance reading copies galore.  And, of course, it wouldn't be complete without the two nights of author receptions, where booksellers stand in line to meet several dozen authors and get books signed for FREE.

I pretty much have the best job in the world, so attending Winter Institute is the icing on the cake. It helps that it's the perfect size. Capped at 500 independent bookseller attendees,  it's a few times larger than my regional New England trade show, and many, many times smaller than BEA, which is a monster of a show.

Asheville is a pretty amazing destination in and of itself, and I'm pretty darned excited to be returning there.  I've only been there a couple of times before, so I don't know it well, but I definitely know it well enough to anticipate a most excellent time there. I'll be back next week to post about my experiences, my new best friends, and my new favorite books.

* You might have noticed that I said "probably not" up there.  As a matter of fact, I will be attending an author dinner on the Biltmore Estate on Monday night, so depending on when you read this post, there's a chance that I'll be sitting there, quite agog, at my great good fortune. About which, more anon, but with luck, I will acquit myself there in the manner of Chauncey Gardiner from Being There

18 comments:

  1. That sounds like one of the BEST perks of being a bookseller! Have fun!

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    1. It pretty much is! The dinners, the books, the networking. It's the best.

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  2. Oh, I love Asheville!! My sister lived there for a bit. If you have a chance, visit the French Broad chocolate shop - they have the most amazing and delicious hot chocolate, chocolate pot de creme, etc. YUM! And have fun at the conference - sounds fantastic!

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    1. Would that I could have visited the French Bread chocolate shop. I'm not even a particularly big chocolate fan but this sounds very interesting. Alas, I had no time to call my own between the hours of 8:00 am and 11:00 pm, Monday-Wednesday.And then I left on Thursday. BUt I hope to get back to Asheville one day. It's a great small city.

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  3. Oh you lucky ducky! Look forward to hearing your tales and exactly how good was the Chocolate at the French Broad Chocolate shop!

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    1. I'll be posting next week about my trip, assuming I have time. Catching up at work will take some doing. Alas, no visit to the French Broad was in the stars for me that time...

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  4. Oh lucky, lucky you! This event sounds amazing. Please take copious notes and report in great detail - I have never (and probably will never) go to something like this and am green with envy. My daughter is coming to NC in July - I'd love to join her to visit this place (just googled it)

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    1. Ooh, cool. Why will your daughter be in North Carolina in July? I didn't spend much time at the Biltmore estate -- only dinner one night and I didn't see much of it -- but I'd love to tour it one day.

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    2. Her boyfriend (you remember who he is?) works for IBM there so she will go for the whole summer whilst on college break from her teacher training course

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    3. Yes, I do remember. If almost asked if it was the daughter who was dating X, but I thought might sound too coy. North Carolina will be pretty darned hot in the summer, but there are so many great places for her to explore, especially if she has access to a car.

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  5. Hands down you have the Best. Job. Ever.
    I am green with envy!

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    1. Yeah, not gonna disagree with you there. But on the downside, I will have to work until I die because I have no retirement or 401k.

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  6. THAT HOUSE IS WHERE RICHIE RICH WAS FILMED, EMILY. RICHIE RICH.

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    1. Richie Rich was a movie? Huh. I remember the cartoon from the late 1970s/early 1980s, and it sho' ain't wasn't filmed at no Biltmore.

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  7. You do have the best job in the world. For real. Signed, an envious teacher.....

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    1. Funnily enough, I spoke with a number of booksellers at this conference who are former teachers.

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  8. PLEASE take pictures of yourself at Richie Rich's (thanks, Alice!) house

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    1. Well...I've got photos of myself in Richie Rich's wine cellar. That will have to do.

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Please, sir, may I have some more? (Comments, that is!)