In a holiday season marked by decided economic uncertainty, booksellers are focused more than ever on meeting their business goals with a proactive strategy. And the key to that is education. On Monday, November 3, ABA is launching a test of a new webinar (an online seminar) focusing on surviving tough times, and it needs a maximum of 15 booksellers who are willing to participate and provide feedback on the experience.

Registration for the American Booksellers Association's Fourth Annual Winter Institute (Wi4) will open on BookWeb.org on Thursday, September 11. The highly anticipated education event is open to the owners and staff of all ABA member stores and to provisional members.

The Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA) will hold its 28th Annual Trade Show from Thursday, September 25, through Saturday, September 27, at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at RiverCentre, and at nearby venues in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. The show offers a full day of education on Thursday and lots of author events throughout the weekend, including the MBA Choice Awards.

The 2008 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Fall Trade Show will be held from Monday, September 15, through Wednesday, September 17, in Portland, Oregon, at the Airport Holiday Inn. Among the show's highlights are Monday's many education sessions and the new Nightcapper Party, Tuesday's Feast of Authors, and Wednesday's Celebration of Authors.

This fall, the American Booksellers Association will be presenting education sessions at each of the nine regional booksellers association gatherings. At the top of the list at every show is IndieBound, the new ABA initiative that celebrates independents and supports localism. Other ABA sessions vary from show to show, but here's a first look at what's on the agenda at each. Updates and complete details, including times and presenters, will be provided in the coming weeks in BTW's fall regional trade show previews.

The focus of the ABA Winter Institute is education -- sometimes gained in a panel or a seminar, but, also, through the compelling insights of thoughtful authors and experts.

This year's institute featured two memorable keynote speakers and a thought-provoking roundtable discussion on localism that ended in a standing ovation. If you couldn't attend the Winter Institute, or missed any of these insightful speakers, four videos have been posted on BookWeb.org.

If any bookseller participating in ABA's Day of Education at BookExpo America had doubts about the market for graphic novels, they were put to rest at the panel "Buying, Merchandising, and Selling Graphic Novels, 101," featuring Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, graphic novels buyer and author events coordinator at McNally Robinson Booksellers in New York City; comic artist Scott McCloud; and John Shableski of Diamond Book Distributors.

"Managing Blockbuster Events: The Logistics of Events of 500 or More" proved to be a blockbuster event in its own right at the American Booksellers Association's Thursday, May 29, Day of Education at BookExpo America.

The American Booksellers Association would like to hear from its bookstore members that are having success buying, merchandising, and selling graphic novels, as well as those that are developing and implementing green initiatives. Bookseller success stories will help the association develop education programs and materials to benefit all ABA member stores.

Any bookseller who would like to share their stories is asked to contact ABA Education Coordinator Lisa Winn at lisa@bookweb.org or (800) 637-0037, ext. 6657.

It was standing room only at ABA's Day of Education "Green Retailing" session on Thursday, May 29 at BookExpo America. Booksellers packed the room to hear panelists Suzy Staubach of University of Connecticut Co-op in Storrs, Connecticut, Natalie Freidberg of All Shades of Green in Los Angeles, and Ferris Kawar, vice president of sustainability at Greenopia, discuss strategies for lowering a retailer's impact on the environment using methods from the simple to the sublime.