ABA will open registration for its eighth annual Winter Institute  on Thursday, September 27. Wi8 kicks off in Kansas City, Missouri, with an opening reception on Friday, February 22, 2013.

In celebration of the forthcoming My Bookstore, a collection of essays by some of America’s favorite writers, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers is offering booksellers the chance to win one of three $2,500 scholarships to Winter Institute 8.

The deadline for ABACUS-11 is August 15, less than two weeks away. Booksellers are urged to participate in the annual financial survey, which bookstores like Washington State’s Eagle Harbor Book Company call “valuable, credible, and very useful for optimizing business operations.”

The owners and staff at ABA member bookstores that complete the ABACUS-11 Survey before the August 15 deadline are eligible to apply for the Avin Mark Domnitz Scholarship to Winter Institute 8.

Booksellers who completed a short survey conducted by the National Association of College Stores at Winter Institute 7’s Consultation Station were entered into a drawing for an iPad and nine $25 American Express gift cards.

The owners of Rainy Day Books love Alex George’s A Good American so much that they’ve issued a handselling challenge to ABA member stores. The Fairway, Kansas, indie will award a scholarship to Winter Institute 8 to the bookstore that sells the most copies of the novel between now and next fall.

Booksellers who participated in last month’s Winter Institute are being asked to provide honest feedback to help the American Booksellers Association continue to develop and improve the annual event.

Data from two studies presented by Len Vlahos, executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, at this year’s Winter Institute, provided booksellers with an overview of an industry clearly in flux.

In an economy where it can be difficult for small business owners to secure loans from traditional sources, an increasing number of start-ups are finding alternative sources of funding via social media and community outreach. “Is Alternative Financing an Option?” was the question explored at last month’s Winter Institute.

Booksellers at Wi7 were divided into 22 working groups, each formulating plans for the future of a case study bookstore. The results of their work were synthesized by ABA staff and presented by Dan Sheehan, vice president of sales and general manager of the Ingram Content Group.