2015 Winter Institute Registration Opens

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Updated: Friday, September 19
The ABA Block at the Grove Park Inn is now filled. To be placed on a first-come, first-served waitlist for rooms in the block, please click here for the hotel waitlist form, and ABA will notify you if a room becomes available. ABA is working with the Grove Park Inn and other hotel properties in the area to ensure that all bookseller registrants will have a room, plus transportation if necessary. ABA will notify you via e-mail as soon as possible.

Updated: Sunday, September 21
Bookseller registration for Wi10 has reached capacity. Please complete this form to be placed on the first-come, first-served wait list.

Registration for the American Booksellers Association’s 10th anniversary celebration of the Winter Institute (Wi10) begins today. The event, to be held from Sunday, February 8, to Wednesday, February 11, 2015, at the Grove Park Inn (an Omni Resort) in Asheville, North Carolina, is expected to sell out quickly; booksellers who are planning to attend should register as soon as possible.

The Winter Institute’s three days of educational programming, made possible by the generous support of lead sponsor Ingram Content Group, will be highlighted by an outstanding lineup of keynote speakers, timely and informative sessions for booksellers at all levels of experience, expanded networking opportunities, and special events.

Keynote speakers for the 10th anniversary edition of the Winter Institute include:

  • John Green is the award-winning author of a number of titles, including Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan), published by Speak. Green and his brother, Hank, produce the Vlogbrothers YouTube videos, one of the most popular online video projects in the world.
     
  • Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of nine books, including Future Perfect, Where Good Ideas Come From, The Invention of Air, The Ghost Map, and Everything Bad Is Good for You. His newest title is How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World (Riverhead Books). Johnson is the founder of a variety of influential websites and is the host and co-creator of the PBS and BBC series How We Got to Now.
     
  • Sarah Lewis has served on President Obama’s Arts Policy Committee, been selected for Oprah’s “Power List,” and is a Critic at the Yale University School of Art in the M.F.A. program. She received her B.A. from Harvard University, an M.Phil. from Oxford University, and her Ph.D. from Yale University. She is the author of the The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery (Simon & Schuster), which explores the value of failure and often-ignored ideas.

Watch for additional keynote speakers to be announced in the coming weeks.

This year’s schedule features 35 education sessions on topics ranging from basic bookstore finance and e-commerce data security and liability to what small businesses need to know about crowdfunding and ideas for growing partnerships with university presses. Four sessions aimed specifically at children’s booksellers will cover the topics of creating book-of-the-month clubs and baby registries, upselling, diversity, and launching a bookfair company. Advanced learning sessions for owners and managers include one-on-one sessions with an experienced bookseller to review a store’s ABACUS numbers, succession planning, a review of human resources regulations and strategies to effectively manage employees, and creating a successful strategy in a rapidly changing world. A number of session presenters and participants will be from indie businesses in Asheville, which is nationally recognized for its diverse and robust roster of independent businesses.

“Education remains ABA’s number-one priority,” said ABA CEO Oren Teicher, “and the goal in this, our 10th year presenting the Winter Institute, is to offer an in-depth, varied, and exciting program of sessions, speakers, and peer-to-peer networking. We are grateful to the many individuals and sponsors who have contributed to the development of the 2015 Winter Institute — the sponsoring publishers, the talented authors and speakers, and the many booksellers who have so generously contributed their insight and experience, especially our bookselling colleagues in the Carolinas. It’s wonderful to share this anniversary with Shelf Awareness, which is again helping us welcome indie booksellers to the Winter Institute. And we remain especially grateful to Ingram for their continued, strong support of independent bookseller education and professional development. All of us at ABA are looking forward to joining member booksellers in Asheville for a productive and festive event.”

The Winter Institute officially kicks off on Sunday evening, February 8, with a Welcome Reception in downtown Asheville’s The Venue, a charming spot for cocktails, snacks, and catching up with colleagues from across the country. The Welcome Reception is co-sponsored by Shelf Awareness, which is also marking its 10th anniversary in 2015. Shuttle service will be provided from the Grove Park Inn to The Venue and back.

Prior to the reception, booksellers are invited to take part in the Downtown Asheville Indie Retail Crawl. Shuttle buses will leave the Grove Park Inn and head to downtown Asheville every 15 to 20 minutes beginning at 2:45 p.m. Booksellers will be provided with a map of participating indie businesses ranging from French Broad Chocolate Lounge and ZaPow! Art Gallery to Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café and Bruisin’ Ales. Wi10 attendees will experience the Asheville community at its best and will have a chance to meet the owners and browse their unique offerings.

Also on Sunday, thanks to a donation from ABA to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, booksellers can take a free tour of the boarding house where Wolfe lived and which inspired him to write Look Homeward, Angel. Six 45-minute tours capped at 15 people each are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis. On Sunday and Thursday, Wi10 attendees can also go on an Asheville Historic Trolley Tour or a tour of the Biltmore Estate, which have been customized just for booksellers (ticket purchases are required). Guided or self-guided tours of the Grove Park Inn are also available.

Thanks to the support of publishers large and small, the Winter Institute schedule will once again feature Reps Picks lunches, Bookseller/Publisher Focus Groups, the Small and University Press Lunch, the Galley Room, and special events, including the ever-popular Author Reception, the Small and University Press Authors Closing Reception, the Scholastic Meet and Treat After Party, and The Carolina Speakeasy, a welcome party hosted by North Carolina publishers. Also returning is the Consultation Station, which provides booksellers with the opportunity to meet with representatives of ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and others.

For the first time at a Winter Institute, ABA will host a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday afternoon, February 10. Booksellers are invited to come share their thoughts and concerns about industry and association issues. ABA President Steve Bercu of BookPeople in Austin, Texas, and Vice President Betsy Burton of The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, will facilitate the meeting, where the floor will be open to questions and comments from booksellers.

The Winter Institute is open exclusively to Regular and Provisional ABA members and invited guests. Registration is capped at 500 booksellers and is first-come, first-served, with a maximum of three registrants per member business. The 2015 Winter Institute conference fee is $89 per person and is nonrefundable.

There are a number of volunteer opportunities for booksellers at Wi10. Those who are interested in learning more should check the appropriate box on the registration form.

For prospective booksellers, Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates Bookstore Training Group will be leading a one-day seminar, “Introduction to Retail Bookselling,” on Sunday, February 8. The cost is $100. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Paz Workshop registrants will also be able to register for the Winter Institute (the Wi10 conference fee will apply).

The Winter Institute is being held at the historic Grove Park Inn, one of the country’s most celebrated resorts. This AAA Four Diamond Property offers sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a tennis and fitness center, innovative and locally sourced restaurants, an award-winning spa, and a golf course. For a complete list of amenities, see the resort guide.

Attendee event registration does not guarantee a room at the Grove Park Inn. Booksellers are advised to make their reservations as soon as possible after registering for the Winter Institute since the block may sell out.

The ABA Group hotel rate is $129 plus tax for singles and doubles, from February 3, 2015, through February 16, 2015. Reservations must be made before Wednesday, January 7, 2015, to receive the ABA Group rate. All reservations are subject to the availability of rooms in the ABA Group block. ABA has reserved ample hotel rooms at the Grove Park Inn for the Winter Institute's peak nights of Sunday, February 8, through Wednesday, February 11. If attendees are planning to come in early or stay later and they are unable to book the shoulder nights at the Grove Park Inn, there are other properties in downtown Asheville.However, ABA urges all booksellers to stay at the Grove Park Inn from Sunday through Wednesday and to book those nights as soon as possible to avoid having to stay elsewhere for the entire stay.

Thanks to the Winter Institute’s sponsors, 52 scholarships will be awarded to booksellers to attend Wi10. Scholarship winners will be selected from all ABA bookstore members, including Wi10 registrants and non-registrants. Booksellers who drop off a business card at the ABA booth at any of the regional trade shows will earn an extra entry in the scholarships awards process for the Winter Institute and next April’s Children’s Institute in Pasadena, California. Scholarship winners from the past three years are not eligible for Wi10 scholarships. Scholarships will cover the Wi10 conference fee, up to four nights plus tax at the Grove Park Inn at the special ABA rate, and transportation costs up to $400. Winners will be announced in mid-November.

While Asheville’s setting can make getting there a little bit more challenging than flying into a hub city, this memorable destination is well worth the extra effort, and there are a number of options that can lessen the cost and complications. Learn more.

For up-to-the minute details, including the full schedule and session descriptions, and to register, visit the 2015 Winter Institute mini-site on BookWeb.org, which is being updated on an ongoing basis. Also watch for updates in Bookselling This Week and on the ABA Facebook page and follow the hashtag #Wi10 on Twitter.

Register for Winter Institute 10 now; then book a room at the Grove Park Inn.

Questions should be addressed to [email protected].