Messages from the Midwest: Takeaways from the Heartland Fall Forum

IPG Marketing Associate Niki Stuckmann left the bustle of Chicago last weekend to travel across the Land of 10,000 Lakes to the Heartland Fall Forum. Here, she shares her biggest takeaways of the gathering of “the backbone of literary culture throughout the Midwest.”

What were the main events of the show? How do they relate/tie-in to the work we do at IPG?

The main events of Heartland Fall Forum are the trade show floor, the movable feast, and the BINC Silent Auction. The trade show floor had a great collection of independent publishers as well as other organizations that support indies, like Libro-FM. IPG was near our sales reps Fujii and Associates, as well as our publishers Coralstone Press, blue manatee press, and shared a booth space with Fulcrum Publishing. IPG had an author present at the movable feast, Kristin Bartley Lenz, author or The Art of Holding on and Letting Go (Elephant Rock Productions), and it went very well. The Silent Auction was where booksellers could bid on items (or entire booths!) from exhibitors to take back with them. IPG entered 3 copies of 300 Things I Hope by Iain S. Thomas (Central Avenue Publishing) and we had a lot of great bids from independent booksellers. We had a lot of great foot traffic in our booth and indie booksellers were thrilled to take home copies of Pavilion‘s Then and Now series and many more.

How was this show different from others you’ve been to in the past?

I believe this show is one of the largest regional trade shows, but it is still much smaller and more relaxed than BEA. This show gives booksellers a chance to meet face-to-face with someone from IPG and hear about our favorite upcoming Fall and Spring titles.

What was IPG’s primary objective for attending this show?

Our primary objective was to visit with indie booksellers from our Midwest and Great Lakes region and make lasting connections. A lot of booksellers were excited to hear that IPG was based in Chicago and in their regional association.

What was the show’s biggest success, in your opinion?

I believe the show’s biggest success was how the volunteers and board members from MIBA and GLIBA really championed the trade show floor. They drove traffic to everyone’s booth by making announcements on the floor for in booth signings and special giveaways.

What would you like to see differently next year, either on the part of Heartland or on IPG?

I would love to see even more booksellers! As Heartland Fall Forum combines MIBA and GLIBA booksellers, I felt there could have been even more booksellers on the floor.

What was your main takeaway?

My main takeaway was how many Minnesota and Wisconsin booksellers want books about their region!

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Comments (2)

Michelle says:

Oct 12, 2016

Thanks for posting this update. It’s great hearing about how IPG is working to be such a valuable resource to us publishers.

Kristin Lenz says:

Oct 12, 2016

Thanks for your support! It was great to be there and meet you in person!