About Us

We are a nonprofit trade association that supports and celebrates locally-owned and operated independent bookstores and booksellers throughout a 9+ state portion of the Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula). We work directly with booksellers and the people who do business with them: publishers, wholesalers, distributors, sales reps, and others allied to the book industry.

We strive to do the following.

  • Produce programs and events that help independent bookstores and booksellers grow their knowledge base and their bottom line
  • Provide an environment for booksellers to maintain relationships and learn from one another and the greater industry throughout the year
  • Facilitate an ongoing forum for our industry members (publishers, wholesalers, distributors, sales reps, and others allied to the book industry) to connect to independent booksellers in our region
  • Celebrate and promote the innate value of independent bookstores, book culture, and local economies​

We are governed by a nine-member board of directors that includes seven booksellers and two representatives from the book industry. Board members serve three-year terms, while our four officers (president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary) serve two-year terms. Our paid staff includes an Executive Director and Production Manager.

How to contact our board: Hover over the board profiles below to access a contact form. Your message will be sent directly to the board member. Our system allows users to contact up to three people in one day. If you'd like to email the entire board, please contact Carrie Obry at carrie@midwestbooksellers.org for the contact list or email our president, Kristen Sandstrom, as the board's representative.

Read about joining our board of directors

Our vision

We envision a Midwest filled with a diverse array of thriving independent bookstores

Our mission

We strengthen independent bookstores throughout our region by creating learning and career-building opportunities, fostering a vital and supportive bookselling community, and advocating for the essential value independent bookstores bring to society

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Don Blyly of Minneapolis' Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction Bookstore and Uncle Edward's Mystery Fiction Bookstore was kind enough to recount the origins of our association.

"In the summer of 1980, ABA put together a workshop in Chicago on organizing regional bookseller organizations. At that time, I owned Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore and Books Galore, a full-line shopping mall store. I was the only person from Minnesota who went. When I came back from the workshop, I called other local bookstores to get them interested, but didn’t find a lot of enthusiasm. I also talked up the idea with the local sales reps, and they were all very enthusiastic about the idea, and they suggested that it would be better if they pushed the idea on other bookstore owners, rather than having the idea come from a competitor. Cissy Tiernan (who was then the Ballantine rep), Wayne Farr (who was then the Harper rep), and Ray Jay (who was then the Pocket Book rep) talked up the idea with all the independent bookstore owners they sold to, and we had an organizational meeting in the fall of 1980 at the Lincoln Deli that used to be in St. Louis Park just across the border from Minneapolis. Bookstore owners from several local stores, one from Duluth, and one from Iowa showed up, and we all agreed to start the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association. We incorporated in 1981, filed nonprofit paperwork with IRS in 1981, and held our first trade show in the fall of 1981.


Staff

  • Grace Hagen
    Grace Hagen
    Operations Manager Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (612)217-4875
    Operations Manager
  • Carrie Obry
    Carrie Obry
    Executive Director Midwest Independent Booksellers Association
    Executive Director
  • CoriAnn Theroux
    CoriAnn Theroux
    Bookstore Membership Manager Midwest Independent Booksellers Association
    Bookstore Membership Manager

Board of Directors

We are governed by a nine-member board of directors that includes seven booksellers and two representatives from the book industry. Board members serve three-year terms, while our four officers (president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary) serve two-year terms.
  • Kristen Sandstrom
    Kristen Sandstrom
    Manager Apostle Islands Booksellers (715)779-0200
    President / Executive Committee
  • Emily Schroen
    Emily Schroen
    Co-Owner, Buyer, Event Coordinator Main Street Books MO (636)949-0105
    Vice President / Nominating Committee
  • BrocheAroe Fabian
    BrocheAroe Fabian
    Marketing Manager Sourcebooks
    Treasurer / Finance Committee
  • Betsy Von Kerens
    Betsy Von Kerens
    Front End Manager The Bookworm, Omaha (402)392-2877
    Secretary / Education Committee
  • Riley Jay Davis
    Riley Jay Davis
    Sales Manager Minnesota Historical Society Press
    Nominating Committee
  • Shane Mullen
    Shane Mullen
    Event Coordinator Left Bank Books (314)367-6731
    Education Committee
  • Ashley Valentine
    Ashley Valentine
    Owner Rooted MKE
    Education Committee
  • Carrie Koepke
    Carrie Koepke
    Founder, Manager Skylark Bookshop (573)777-6990
    Education Committee
  • Melissa McAllister
    Melissa McAllister
    Owner Dungeon's Gate (515)635-5170
    Committee to Come