72 Hours in Seattle: A Suggested Itinerary to Get the Most Out of Winter Institute 2014

It’s Just Days Away…

As ABA finalizes the details here in White Plains, we are looking forward to welcoming you all to Seattle and the 2014 Winter Institute, aka Wi9. Thanks to the support from lead sponsor Ingram and more than 55 publisher and industry sponsors, ABA members and guests will enjoy an incredible variety of educational sessions, meals and snacks, authors galore, and, most importantly, each other! In fact, you can make those coffee dates before you even arrive: Here’s the online bookseller attendee list.

Getting There Is Half the Fun

The word of the day is isthmus, as in “The city [of Seattle] is situated on a narrow isthmus between Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington, about 100 miles south of the Canada–United States border.”* Lucky for us this isthmus has an airport and bridges and highways nearby and is wide enough to host a colorful, eclectic, diverse town — a bookseller kind of town, with lots of great bookstores and, almost as important, great food!

And here’s another great thing about Seattle: light rail. For those of you who are adventuresome — and don’t have heavy luggage — the Seattle Westin is only a few blocks from the Westlake Center stop on Seattle’s light rail system, which starts right in the terminal at Sea-Tac Airport. It’s about a 35-minute ride from the airport and costs only $2.75. Trains operate from 6:00 a.m. through midnight and run every 7 to 15 minutes.

*Courtesy of Wikipedia. An isthmus, as we know from 7th-grade English vocab, is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas, usually with water on either side.

You Arrive

There’s a lot to see and do in Seattle, and our hotel, the Westin Seattle, is right in the thick of it. Try not to get too distracted by what’s outside, however; most of the Wi9 show will be right inside, where it’s dry.

Is that the Space Needle I see within walking distance of the hotel???

A happy coincidence for booksellers is the timing of the 2014 Seattle Gift Show, being held January 18–21 at the Washington State Convention Center. It’s not too late to register if your schedule allows. Find out more about the Seattle Gift Show.

Monday, January 20

2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.: The ABA Welcome Desk, located in the hotel lobby, is open for business. Come pick up your event badge along with your complimentary Moleskine notebook, welcome bag, event schedule, and other information bits. (If you are arriving after Tuesday, your badge and bag will be available at the Ask ABA Desk located in the foyer outside the Grand Ballroom on the fourth floor, Grand Level, of the hotel.)

Tuesday, January 21

8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.: The ABA Welcome Desk continues in the Westin lobby. Come say hi and pick up your badge. On the back of the badge are your table/room/publisher assignments for the coming days. No more printed emails!

9:00 a.m.: Full-day bookstore tours depart! Registered booksellers, please come to the Motor Level at 8:30 a.m. to board the buses, so that we can keep to our schedule. The Bainbridge Island Ferry waits for no bookseller. We will supply water, fruit, and granola bars so you can keep up your strength. Take plenty of pictures of booksellers in bookstores and be sure to share them with your trade association for use on our website. Upper deck, anyone?

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Interested in opening your own store? Indie bookseller cheerleaders and trainers Donna Paz and Mark Kaufman are presenting a one-day workshop — How to Succeed at Retail Bookselling: Introduction to the Book Business. Pre-registration is required. E-mail Lisa Winn if you’d like to know more.

1:00 p.m.: Half-day bookstore tours depart! Registered booksellers, please come to the Motor Level at 12:30 p.m. to board the buses, so that we can keep to our schedule. We want to get you back to the hotel in plenty of time to get back on a bus for the Opening Reception.

7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.: Take the shuttle (first one leaves at 6:45 p.m.) from the hotel or walk the mile to the newly relocated and always inspiring Elliott Bay Book Company for the Winter Institute Opening Reception. Food and drink will be provided, thanks to reception sponsor Shelf Awareness. (Shelf also supplied the badge holders, designed with its trademark yogi prepared for Seattle weather.)

G’night, all. We begin bright and early on Wednesday.

Wednesday, January 22

7:15 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.: Back for all three days — Yoga With Susan! Baltimore bookseller Susan Weis-Bohlen, that is. Join us the Westin’s Elliott Bay Room for early morning yoga to help ease your mind and body into the day. This class is designed for all — no experience is necessary. The sessions will include stretching, strengthening, breath work, and meditation. Please wear comfortable clothes. Bring a yoga mat if you have one. Towels will be provided.

7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.: Winter Institute scholarship recipients meet and greet their publisher angels. This will be one happy get-together!

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: The ABA Welcome Desk becomes the Ask ABA Desk and moves to the Grand Foyer to be closer to the action. Our member relationship managers, Nathan and Catherine, will be happy to renew your membership, offer directions, share an extra printed schedule, and/or hand you an Indies First pin, if there are any left.

8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: And now for the main event — breakfast! ABA President Steve Bercu (BookPeople, Austin, Texas) greets the crowd and Opening Plenary speaker Dan Heath (Decisive, Crown Business) sets us straight and gives tips on how to be decisive. (“Should I sit in the front or the back of the room? I can see better in the front, but what if I need to get out quickly? On the other hand, what if I want to ask a question? Will they see my raised hand if I’m not in the middle front? What should I wear?... Help me, Dan.”)

For the complete, updated Wi9 education program, check out the Winter Institute website.

WAIT! I’ve just heard through the grapevine that Indies First creator/favorite author Sherman Alexie will make a brief appearance at the breakfast, so that everyone can thank him in person for being awesome.

10:15 a.m. to 11:30 am: Look for a friendly Wi9 bookseller volunteer in the hallway and get directions to your discussion group room; the room name is on the back of your badge. ABA Board members will facilitate a discussion on how the concepts from the plenary talk can be applied to the bookstore.

11:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.: It’s time for the Indy 500 of publishing, aka the Rep Picks Lunch. The hotel is serving a glorious assortment of boxed lunches, so grab one on your way into the Grand Ballroom. You’ll be seated according to your preference for children’s or adult titles. (We’ve got your back — the table number and other pertinent information will be on your Wi9 badge.) International booksellers will meet separately for their own workshop and lunch. Bon appétit!

2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and during almost every break throughout the institute (times noted in Grand 1): The Galley Room will be open. There’s no reason to rush, we’ve got plenty of books and you’ve got plenty of time. The PartnerShip shipping desk will be located inside the Galley Room; times are noted on the sign.

2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Take your pick of six breakout sessions! Cash Flow, Gifts, Sad and Dark YA Lit… Advanced Learning Sessions make their debut this year, and managers and owners who preregistered are invited to attend Managing the Changing Workplace with author (and indie bookseller family member) Ryan Coonerty for timely and focused education. Coonerty is co-author, with Jeremy Neuner, of The Rise of the Naked Economy (Macmillan).

4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.: Another five breakout sessions to choose from: Self-publishing, Edelweiss, Killer Events…

And after dinner… dessert! 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.: Scholastic hosts a late night treat-fest with drinks and guest authors such as Jon J Muth. We have such nice sponsors.

G’night, all.

Thursday, January 23

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 am: Whether you sleep in or go to Yoga With Susan, you’ve got to eat. And you’ve got to hear from the lively Seattle7Writers in the Grand Ballroom. Just perusing the group’s website makes me wish I lived in Seattle and wrote books, so I could join the collective and be their friend. Read local! ABA Vice President Betsy Burton (The King’s English, Salt Lake City, Utah) will handle the emcee honors for this breakfast program.

10:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.: They are waiting for you to visit them, those companies and others in the Consultation Station. Make an appointment or stop in; there’s sure to be something of interest. A list of vendors will be in the welcome bag. (The “please support our sponsors” entreaty applies here. The support for the Winter Institute from the entire bookselling community is amazing, and we do appreciate every bit of it!)

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 am: Professional Development Day Two, and five breakout sessions are presented in the morning. The Passion Conversation, Data Watchers Report, Building B-to-B Sales… How to choose?

12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Rep Picks Lunch, just for ABA member booksellers, Part 2. International Booksellers Luncheon, just for international bookseller guests, Part 2.

2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Booksellers and publishers meet in assigned focus groups to exchange ideas, information, points of view, and other respectful sentiments. Good topics to ruminate on beforehand: How to create more effective promotions to drive customers into the store?  How can social media be used more effectively? What kind of publisher support materials work best for “Educator Nights”? Authorless events — what works and what doesn’t?

4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.: It’s back to learning; five breakout sessions are scheduled. Basic Accounting? Bookseller Shark Tank? (Enter at your own risk and listen to a few creative booksellers pitch a bookstore-related business idea to three of their entrepreneurial colleagues.) Advanced registration was required for Shark Tank, but we expect there will be a limited number of extra seats for the curious and brave.)

5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: If you like live music, if you like YA books, if you like Len Vlahos, you’ll love this multimedia introduction and presentation of his debut YA novel, The Scar Boys. What’s not to like?

6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: The pièce de résistance of every Winter Institute is the Author Reception, and this year is no exception: 65 authors and illustrators are attending. See the mostly complete author list and bios on the Wi9 website.

6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: Support the important work of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and take home a one-of-a-kind kids’ book illustration. The ABFFE Silent Auction for Free Speech in Children’s Books takes place during the Author Celebration, just outside the Grand Ballroom.

Friday, January 24

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.: This year’s Small & Independent Press Breakfast has an extra special element, and I’m not talking about scrambled eggs: you’ll hear interesting book news from Wi9 sponsors, AND the godfather of localism himself, Ray Oldenburg (The Great Good Place, Da Capo) will be interviewed by Third Place Books founder Ron Sher. Wow.

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.: The learning continues. There will be four breakouts and, for booksellers eager to network and share with other booksellers, a room of a topic-specific roundtable discussions.

12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.: Borrowing from the ever-popular BEA Editor’s Buzz, ABA presents Get Buzzed With Indies Introduce over lunch. Indies Introduce bookseller panelists spread their enthusiasm — as only indie booksellers can do — for the books that have been chosen for the next round of this new promotion. Some of the debut authors will be in the room and are anxious to meet you.

1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.: It’s Publisher Focus Groups, Round 2. You will meet with a different publisher, but the same kind of open conversations are expected.

3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: It’s the last block of education sessions and the topics are still fresh and intriguing: Common Core, Raising Capital, Store Brand…No resting yet!

4:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.: One more drink and 13 more authors. That’s the Small & Independent Press Author Reception lineup to close out Winter Institute.  The fun will be accompanied with music by the Seattle author band The Rejections (And the Trailing Spouses). We predict that as always, spirits will be high.

So, pack your bags and travel safe. We will see you soon.

All best,

Meg Smith, for the entire Wi9 team at ABA