About IMBA

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) is a trade association of retail businesses wholly or substantially devoted to the sale of mystery books. Our goals are:

* to promote specialty mystery booksellers to both the book-buying and the publishing communities

* to offer support to member booksellers.

The bestselling mysteries at reporting member stores are listed monthly on the IMBA Bestsellers page on the this site.  Once a year, members submit nominations for the mystery we most enjoyed handselling, and vote to select the winner.  Results are published on the Dilys Award page and the award presented at Left Coast Crime convention each year. We select and publish Killer Book recommendations monthly on KillerBooks.org.
Open to our members only is a resources page that lists members who have volunteered to mentor other members to help master some useful technological tools and an email forum where members can ask questions, make suggestions and exchange ideas. 
One of our members submitted the following comment though this forum on the benefits of IMBA membership:

If there is anyone who could question whether $25 a year is worth it, it is probably me. Stuck here in Nowheresville, 10 miles off the Interstate. I've never seen a publisher's rep in 8 years, although the regional guy for Baker & Taylor dropped in once as he was passing through.

Yet, once or twice a year, I'll have a customer (or a couple of customers together) come in and tell me they found me on the IMBA website and decided to drop in while they were in the Springfield area visiting. Almost every time, they will spend $50 to $100 each. One bleak January day, a couple of weeks after I had finished radiation therapy (during which I had to close for a couple of weeks), I had a couple drop in and spend over $300 (that's after I gave them a discount). Talk about giving me a boost at a time when it was most welcome! On these experiences alone, I can easily justify $25 a year using any cost-benefit analysis.

But for several years I worked for a trade association in Chicago. I learned then how much membership in a trade or professional association can mean for one's own business or career without making any cost-benefit analysis. Here's another example. I find the posting of monthly best sellers by individual stores helpful in identifying books I overlooked or weren't aware of. And then there is the regular sharing of ideas and thoughts.

       (from George Rishel, The Sly Fox, Virden, IL 62690)

 If you're interested in becoming an IMBA member

To apply online, please click here.  The detail we ask for assures us of your interest and involvement in mysteries, and provides the material we need for your listing on our members page.  See below for information on payment options. 
 
For a printable version to complete by hand and mail in, click here.

If you are mailing in your application, and/or  paying dues by check, please send to:

Greg Bruss, Treasurer

c/o Mysteries and More

Lenox Village

6965 Sunnywood Drive 

Nashville, TN 37211 

 

Make your check for $25 payable to IMBA

If you would like to pay your dues with a credit card, you can do so using Google Checkout.  If you don't already have a Google Account, you can easily create one when asked to sign in.  If you prefer to use PayPal, let us know and we will send an invoice for $26, including an extra dollar to cover their charges. 
 
You can use the button below to pay with Google Checkout.  If we don't receive payment with your application, we will invoice you.