The first annual American Booksellers Association Winter Institute concluded its two days of programming on Friday, January 27, and booksellers and publishers who attended overwhelmingly praised the event, which combined 25 educational sessions with social events and hours of networking and impromptu conversations. A total of 375 Booksellers from 44 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Canada and Bermuda attended the institute.

On Friday, January 27, at ABA's First Annual Winter Institute, one of the sessions capping two days of educational programming was "Above the Treeline," presented by ATL founder John Rubin.

More than 130 booksellers answered an early wake-up call for the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute's 7:15 a.m. "What Are You Reading?" Breakfast. Patterned after the popular ABA lunchtime event at BookExpo America, the breakfast was an opportunity for many of the approximately 360 booksellers gathered in Long Beach for ABA's two-day education program to network and to share with colleagues some of the titles they are excited about.

Beginning with an 8:30 a.m. session on "Budgeting & Monitoring," and continuing for almost 10 hours of programming, Day 1 of the first-annual American Booksellers Association Winter Institute kicked off on Thursday in Long Beach, California. More than 360 independent booksellers from approximately 200 stores are attending 25 educational sessions designed to offer a wide range of programming for booksellers at different levels of experience, as well as other meetings and social events.

Here's an updated list of authors and illustrators appearing at next Thursday evening's Winter Institute Reception, an announcement of the panelists taking part in Friday's session "Independent Retailing in the U.S. Today," and news about a Spanish-Language Bookstore Focus Group.

Authors and Illustrators to Attend Thursday Evening Reception

Two new sessions were recently added to the schedule of educational programming at the American Booksellers Association's inaugural Winter Institute to be held in Long Beach, California, on Thursday, January 26, and on Friday, January 27.

Booksellers -- both the owners and staff of ABA member stores -- who would like to attend the American Booksellers Association's Winter Institute on January 26 and 27 in Long, Beach, California, can still register for the free event. However, booksellers who require hotel accommodations at the Long Beach Hilton, the event's host hotel, should note that effective this Monday, January 9, the reduced room rate offer for Institute participants will expire.

The American Booksellers Association has released preliminary registration figures for its inaugural Winter Institute to be held in Long Beach, California, on Thursday, January 26, and on Friday, January 27.

With just six weeks left until the start of the American Booksellers Association's inaugural Winter Institute, registration for the event continues, but rooms at California's Long Beach Hilton, the host hotel, are quickly disappearing.

The Winter Institute's comprehensive education program, which is free to all ABA member booksellers, both owners and staff, begins at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 26, and runs through 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 27.

Over 30 bookseller scholarship winners will attend the American Booksellers Association's first annual Winter Institute, to be held in Long Beach, California, on January 26 and 27. Twenty-two of the scholarships, covering airfare and hotel costs, are sponsored by 11 Book Sense Publisher Partners. Additional scholarships are sponsored by ABA.