The American Booksellers Association is sponsoring an Emerging Leaders Scholarship, covering reasonable transportation costs to the Third Annual Winter Institute Wi3) in Louisville, Kentucky, and up to a three-night hotel stay at the host hotel, the Louisville Marriott Downtown.
Booksellers attending the Third Annual Winter Institute (Wi3) in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 24 - 27, 2008, will once again benefit from the generosity of the American Booksellers Association's Event and Publisher partners.
What do Muhammad Ali, baseball bats, mint juleps, and UPS trucks have in common? They all hail from Louisville, Kentucky, site of the American Booksellers Association's Third Annual Winter Institute (a.k.a., WI3), taking place on January 24 - 27, 2008.
Of the 500 booksellers who attended ABA's second annual Winter Institute in Portland, Oregon, in early February, 30 were prospective booksellers. They came to take advantage of some of the 16 educational seminars, to gather resources, and to network with seasoned booksellers. Several prospective booksellers who are planning to open stores this year also participated in a mentorship program that paired each with an ABA Board member. Bookselling This Week recently had the opportunity to speak with a few of them about their experiences.
Less than two weeks after attending this year's Winter Institute, Becky Milner, the owner of Vintage Books in Vancouver, Washington, wrote to ABA staff to share some of the many changes the two-day education program, and her networking colleagues, inspired her to make in the store's operations. What she created was the beginnings of a great marketing checklist for any independent bookseller.
The second annual ABA Winter Institute concluded its two days of programming on Friday, February 2, in Portland, Oregon, and publishers who attended overwhelmingly praised the event, which combined education sessions and Rep's Picks presentations with a reception at Powell's, author events, and plenty of time for networking.
For the hundreds of booksellers at the American Booksellers Association's Second Annual Winter Institute, which ran from February 1 - 2 in Portland, Oregon, the days were jam-packed with education, networking, and socializing. A daily overview tells one story (here and here, and a bookseller's firsthand account tells another.
Jessica Stockton, events coordinator at New York City's McNally Robinson Booksellers (and bookseller blogger extraordinaire), files a full account of the second annual Winter Institute, in Portland, Oregon, from the opening reception to the plane flight home.
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The American Booksellers Association is sponsoring an Emerging Leaders Scholarship, covering reasonable transportation costs to the 
