ABC Children’s Institute: 48 Hours in Portland
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By ABA Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith
One of the talks being presented at the ABC Children’s Institute is titled “Where Are We and Where Are We Going?” Although NPD Book analyst Allison Risbridger will address the children’s book market, the question also sums up the zeitgeist, and the focus of Ci5. Bookstores reflect the times, the interests, the preoccupations, and the concerns of their customers, and American Booksellers Association education in 2017 is taking up those very things. Booksellers at ABA Spring Forums around the country have been brainstorming around the notion of “Bookstores — A Place for Dialogue and Discovery.” Together with a hearty roster of sales, marketing, and finance sessions, Ci5 will continue the conversations that have begun in our industry, addressing diversity, inclusiveness, engaging younger booksellers, and, as we will hear from Marley Dias, the youngest presenter at the event, enacting change.
Change is indeed afoot, in many interesting ways.
But first, where are we really going? To Portland, Oregon, of course! (Go Ducks!) We will convene at the scenic Red Lion Hotel on the River—Jantzen Beach. Sure looks pretty.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5
9 am to 7 pm Staffers at the ABA Welcome Desk will greet attendees with badges, programs, book bags and journals courtesy of lead sponsor Baker & Taylor, party reminders, and other important bits you need to know about. We are open all day to accommodate travelers from all parts of the country.
9:45 am to 4 pm Booksellers can’t get enough of bookstores. Don’t we all make pilgrimages to stores, whatever the city, state, region, or country? To buy, to admire, to outright copy great ideas? The Portland area is home to an unfair amount of gems, so it was an absolute must for ABA to offer a full-day and a half-day bookstore tour; both are sold out. Full-day folks should meet at the entrance to the Grand Ballroom at 9:30 am for a prompt 9:45 am departure. Time and dining options for lunch have been factored into the schedule. Half-day folks should meet at 12:30 pm for a 12:45 pm departure. Look for the Bus Stop sign on the hotel lobby level.
10 am to 4 pm So many members have expressed interest in ABA’s IndieCommerce and ABA’s new e-commerce platform, IndieLite, that IndieCommerce specialist Geetha Nathan will be meeting people for one-on-one discussions on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at Ci5. You can make an appointment now or onsite, by filling out the sign-up sheet in the Glisan Room. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are highly recommended.
4:15 pm to 7 pm Both bookstore tours end at Powell’s City of Books, one of the seven wonders of the bookselling world. You will have a chance to explore the store and, for scholarship recipients, it’s important to be on time for your Meet-and-Greet in the Pearl Room at 5 pm. Others may continue to get lost in the stacks until the Welcome Reception begins at 5:30 pm on the 3rd floor.
Not to worry if you’re loaded down with books and would like to freshen up before the Welcome Reception — the bookstore tour buses will return to the hotel, and then the Powell’s to Red Lion shuttle begins at 4 pm and will run every 20 minutes until 8 pm. Scholarship recipients might want to ask a colleague to carry any bags back to the hotel, as you are politely required to attend the Meet-and-Greet.
Luckily for us all, Powell’s CEO Miriam Sontz arranged for local Portland breweries to showcase their wares at the Welcome Reception. Like we say, love your local! Said wares will make the Backlist Book Swap Party (starts at 6:15 pm, up the staircase to the 4th floor) that much more fun. Look for labeled carts for swap drop-off, and don’t forget to slip in a bookmark so your secret swapee can reveal themselves to you! If you already know what you’re going to bring, please complete this form. If you don’t know yet, check in with us onsite so we can note the title.
9 pm to 10:30 pm Back at the Red Lion, the Young Professionals Afterparty kicks into high gear. Young is just a state of mind at JB’s Lounge. A perfect #kidstute op.
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A Note for the Uninitiated, aka First-Timers, 1. Clearly, you are not alone. Start a conversation with someone you sit next to or bump into. He or she will be grateful, and I guarantee you will have much to discuss! Prepare a 30-second pitch about you and your store. And bring business cards. 2. Wear your badge while at Ci5. It is, after all, a badge of honor. 3. Download the ABA Institutes app from your app store and allow push notifications for last-minute announcements and schedule changes. 4. Social, social, social — we hope you will be very sociable and post, tweet, and gram often. #kidstute. 5. Finally, pace yourself! Make time to eat, rest, and digest, both food and food for thought. (And read the Institute Etiquette bit lower down in this e-mail.) |
THURSDAY, APRIL 6
Don’t be surprised if you run into a dog or two on the way to the opening Breakfast Keynote. The Red Lion bills itself as a pet-friendly hotel. That means bookstore cats are welcome!
7:30 am Mentors and mentees meet outside the Grand Ballroom. You will sit together at tables reserved up front for both the Thursday and Friday breakfasts.
7:45 am to 9 am No shrinking violets are we: Ci5 starts strong with the Breakfast Keynote address from consultant, writer, and social justice activist Ilsa Govan on “Hiring for Diversity.” Has diversity been a big topic for your store and customers? About the characters in the books on your shelves, the people who write them, and the people who sell them?
9 am to 7 pm The Galley Room and PartnerShip/FedEx Shipping Desk will be open all day for you to browse to your heart’s content.
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1. ABA affinity group PartnerShip offers members discounted rates. If you haven’t joined their program, we encourage you to do so before Ci5. Visit PartnerShip.com/07ABA for complete program information and to enroll. If you have any questions, call PartnerShip at (800) 599-2902 or e-mail [email protected]. 2. Bring your own shipping labels to move things along quickly! 3. In order to make the last pickup on Friday from the PartnerShip Shipping Desk, boxes must be packed, labeled, and ready to go by 4 pm. Having your own pre-printed labels will relieve some of the anxiety of making the pickup. 4. FedEx is now charging a $5/box convenience fee at pop-up shipping desks like the one at Ci5. This is in addition to the regular shipping fee, so pack thoughtfully! Remember, the galleys are free for the taking, so even with this wee convenience charge you are coming out way ahead. |
9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5:30 pm You never know who you’ll meet at an ABA Consultation Station but we think you’ll be very pleased with the variety of POS vendors, diversity experts, business insurance and other companies that aim to make your bookselling life easier. And you can thank lead sponsor Baker & Taylor in person for the bags and journals and ongoing support. (Including this super April promotion on kids books in honor of Ci5.) Repeats Friday 8:45 am to 11:30 am and 12:30 pm to 5 pm.
9:20 am to 10:20 am No, those aren’t typos. We really are beginning an education block at 20 after the hour. How nerdy are we? Three session choices, plus IndieCommerce One-on-Ones, Consultation Station, and the Galley Room. If none of those options floats your boat, then go outside, sit by the river, and watch the real boats go by.
10:40 am to 11:40 am Everyone will make their way to the alliteratively named Clackamas & Clark Room for a report on Trends and Findings in Children’s Bookselling from Ms. Risbridger, of the “Where Are We Going?” question. Bring pens, pencils, markers, and tons of notepaper to record the many takeaways from this talk.
12 pm to 2 pm See how we start the Rep Picks Lunch precisely at noon, notwithstanding that 9:20 am start time? Makes us very happy when schedules work so nicely. Also makes us, and our sponsors, very happy when booksellers listen to all the hardworking and excited reps preview their lists.
2:20 pm to 3:20 pm Check out this education block with choices for both frontline and backroom booksellers.
3:40 pm to 5:10 pm In a first for Children’s Institute, booksellers will participate in Bookseller/Publisher Focus Groups to discuss issues and concerns. A short list of likely topics will be provided ahead of the Institute.
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And Now a Word About Institute Etiquette
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5:30 pm to 7 pm Authors and illustrators are the rock stars of any bookseller gathering and Ci5 showcases 54 of them! So many lines, so little time. Thank you to Penguin Random House for the Author Reception book bags, and if you need still more storage, duck into the Galley Room for one of the Candlewick or Phaidon commemorative bags. Bags of riches; riches of bags.
As a special giveaway just for ABC Group members, one bookseller will be picked to win the Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie spinner display! The Disney Book Group will handle shipping, so the winner won’t need to find room in their suitcase for a piggie. Or an elephant.
And more just for ABC Group members… ABA will be giving away autographed author signs from the Author Reception! There is no need to buy a ticket or enter, we know who you are. Names will be drawn at random and posted on Friday morning.
Many booksellers go to dinner with publishers and authors after the Author Reception. We have a short list of publishers that are looking for booksellers to host. If you are interested, please contact an ABA staffer. But save room for dessert, because….
9:30 pm to Midnight Scholastic does it again, tempting booksellers to stay up late by serving up drinks, sweets, and fantastic authors at the Scholastic Meet and Treat Afterparty.
FRIDAY, APRIL 7
7:45 am to 8:45 am What just happened?! Seems like you just finished last night and it is already today! But don’t let that “just five more minutes of sleep” thing stop you — jump in the shower and get yourself to breakfast to hear Jason Reynolds tell his story of being a reluctant reader as a child, then a bookseller at Karibu Bookstore, and how both helped shape him as a writer.
9 am to 10 am Inclusivity, diversity, and backlist are the themes during this morning education block. Your opinion really matters to ABA, so please complete session evaluations on the app (or on paper) while your impressions are still fresh. We rely heavily on your feedback when making programming decisions for future events.
10:15 am to 11:15 am Everyone is invited to be inspired by 12-year-old social and literacy activist Marley Dias in conversation with bookseller Suzanna Hermans (Oblong Books, Rhinebeck, New York). How do you enact change? Keeping up with Marley is how.
11:30 am to 12:30 pm It’s never too early to lunch and listen to Small Press publishers and hear all about the interesting books on their lists.
12:30 pm to 5 pm You know about the Consultation Station but do you know about the Publisher Consultations? For the first time at Children’s Institute, booksellers can meet with small publishers for informal conversations. Hours are from 8:45 am to 11:30 am, and again from 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm.
12:45 pm to 1:45 pm This hour offers an Advanced Education Session of high-level roundtable topics based on bookseller suggestions. Pre-reg was required. But that’s not all: Personal Finance and a Small Store Roundtable also earned Ci5 slots.
2 pm to 2:45 pm The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine + Mark Twain + Philip and Erin Stead + Frances Gilbert = an amazing publishing event coming in September. (And a special preview now for Ci5 booksellers.)
3 pm to 4 pm Three more education opportunities in this last education block of the Institute! Come, do, participate. Just one tip you learn in Portland can make the entire trip worthwhile.
4:15 pm to 5 pm In a world where facts have become suspect, Closing Keynote speaker Rachel Ignotofsky makes the case for encouraging girls to learn the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
5 pm to 6 pm Speaking of facts, are you ready to be tested on your knowledge of children’s lit at the Post-Ci5 Trivia Party? Teams will be formed, fun will be had, and bragging rights will be claimed. It’s a delightful way to finish up 48 hours with some of the best, brightest, and most passionate people in the world — children’s booksellers.
Travel safely and see you soon in the great Pacific Northwest.
With best regards from the entire Ci5 team (which is still hard at work putting this incredible program to bed!),
Meg Smith
ABA Membership and Marketing Officer