Winter Institute

Booksellers can now watch videos of three Winter Institute 11 sessions on the New Localism movement: “Amazon and Empty Storefronts,” “City Growth and Downtown Math,” and “The New Localism.”

At the Winter Institute 11 education session “Overall Trends in Book Retailing,” Peter Hildick-Smith of Codex Group and Kristen McLean of Nielsen Book presented their latest data on trends in U.S. book retail.

Edelweiss/Above the Treeline Education and Outreach Coordinator Joe Foster shares comments from panelists at the Winter Institute 11 session “The Benefits of Getting Your Staff on Edelweiss.”

At the Winter Institute session “ABC Presents: Non-Author Events for Picture Books, Middle Grade, and YA,” booksellers heard about successful, creative events for children that don’t feature a visiting author. 

A complete list of the 344 favorite backlist titles shared by booksellers, publishers, and guests at the inaugural Backlist Book Swap at Winter Institute 11 in Denver is now available on BookWeb.

ABA members can now visit BookWeb’s Education Curriculum page to browse all available handouts from education sessions held at Winter Institute 11 in Denver. 

After attending Winter Institute 11, New Zealand booksellers Kiran Dass and Helen Wadsworth and U.K. bookseller Jane Streeter spent a few days working alongside their American colleagues at bookstores in California and Colorado, respectively.

Videos of the Winter Institute 11 plenary presentations by Martin Lindstrom, Kwame Alexander, and Amy Cuddy are now available online to ABA member booksellers.

At the Winter Institute 11 education session “Event Management for the Very Small Store,” owners and event coordinators from self-defined very small stores took home actionable tips on managing time, resources, publicity, and budgets for in-store and off-site events.

ABA President Betsy Burton shares her method of facing the “problem” of returning to her bookstore from the Winter Institute with so many ideas to implement.

The Wi11 panel discussion “The New Localism” brought together experts and thought leaders on local economies for a discussion about the next phase in the localism movement — evolving the movement from public discourse to public policy.

At Winter Institute 11, a panel of booksellers discussed strategies for connecting with Title I coordinators in their local schools and making use of federal funding to provide a robust education for underserved students.

Among the new and prospective booksellers at Wi11 were Rebecca George, who is opening Volumes Bookcafé in Chicago in a month, and Maggie and Wes Hansen, who are planning to open a bookstore in Austin, Texas, later this year.

Dr. John Sherlock, director of the Master of Science in Human Resources Program at Western Carolina University, led a discussion at Winter Institute 11 focusing on HR essentials for small businesses.

At last week’s Winter Institute, Civic Economics and ABA released a groundbreaking new study, “Amazon and Empty Storefronts,” which details the overall negative impact that Amazon has had on Main Street retailers and jobs, and the communities in which they are located, across the country.