Winter Institute

Three booksellers presented their stores’ customer service philosophies and protocols at the Winter Institute 10 education session “Creating Stellar Customer Service.”

What do people on a comedy club stage, in an executive boardroom, and behind the counter of a bookstore all have in common? According to Second City Works CEO Tom Yorton, it’s the benefit they can acquire from developing improvisational skills.

At Winter Institute 10, Publishers Weekly presented ABFE with a check for $13,600, a portion of the money raised by PW's Tribute to Freedom of Expression in its January 19 issue.

Leslie Hawkins of Spellbound Children’s Bookshop, Kerri Poore of Politics & Prose, and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo of Greenlight Bookstore discussed how to implement and manage book-of-the-month clubs and online registries at a Winter Institute session moderated by Holly Weinkauf of Red Balloon Bookshop.

Six past ABA presidents came together at Winter Institute 10 for a conversation about the last 10 years in bookselling, a decade that has wrought many changes and created new challenges in the industry.

“How to Create an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy and Track the Results,” presented by JB Media Group's Sarah Benoit at Winter Institute 10, provided booksellers with tips and tricks to make the most of social media.

Wi10’s Consultation Station proved to be a popular venue for booksellers seeking information from ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers. Here’s information on each participant for booksellers who would like to follow up on contacts made at the Winter Institute.

Booksellers rose to their feet for a standing ovation following Reading Lolita in Tehran author Azar Nafisi’s keynote speech on “The Republic of Imagination” at Winter Institute 10.

At the Winter Institute education session “Campaigning for Diversity — Expanding Your Inventory and Customer Base,” panelists discussed how booksellers can best find, feature, and share diverse books for children in their stores.

At Winter Institute 10, Erik Larson moderated a conversation between Maureen Corrigan and Stewart O'Nan, authors of new books on F. Scott Fitzegerald, who discussed the writer's connections to Asheville, North Carolina’s Grove Park Inn, the site of this year's conference.

On Tuesday, ABA member booksellers shared their ideas, questions, and concerns about minimum wage, informational resources, industry diversity, and other topics with the ABA Board and staff during the first Winter Institute Town Hall.

Reading Lolita in Tehran author Azar Nafisi’s keynote address on “The Republic of Imagination” on the final day of Winter Institute 10 in Asheville received a standing ovation from booksellers, moved by her message of books’ essential role in society.

On the final day of Wi10, ABA CEO Oren Teicher announced that Winter Institute 2016 will take place in the heart of downtown Denver, Colorado, near the 16th Street Mall.

The 10th anniversary celebration of the Winter Institute, held this week in Asheville, North Carolina, brought more than 500 ABA member booksellers, 100-plus authors, and close to 20 international guests from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and France to the stunning setting of the historic Grove Park Inn. 

Author Steven Johnson kicked off ABA’s lineup of plenary speakers at the Winter Institute with a Monday morning keynote that discussed how serendipitous collisions of ideas have, throughout history, driven innovation and fostered creativity in unexpected ways.