In his bimonthly letter to members, ABA CEO Oren Teicher discusses topics raised at the recent Spring Forums and invites booksellers to take advantage of upcoming educational opportunities, including two new programs that provide booksellers with a chance to meet with publishers at BEA.

Penguin Random House is inviting all ABA member booksellers attending BEA 2014 to Hotel ABA, the Grand Hyatt New York, on Tuesday evening, May 27, for informal nightcaps.

The deadline for ABC Children’s Institute attendees to submit an entry to win one of five scholarships covering a three-night stay at the Barnard College dormitory during BEA is now April 25.

How does a book get from an author’s imagination to the shelves of your store? What part does an editor play in the acquisition of a submission, the development of a manuscript, or the production of a book? ABA members attending BEA can sign up now for a unique opportunity to meet as part of a small group with an editor at a publishing house to get answers to these questions and more.

With the April 23 celebration of World Book Night just days away, booksellers at stores from coast to coast are getting ready for giver parties, author events, and in-store performances. 

Booksellers and their customers are invited to take advantage of a 20 percent discount on a wide range of PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature events, taking place from April 28 to May 4 in venues around New York City.

On April 14, the Colorado House of Representatives passed the Marketplace Fairness & Small Business Protection Act, a bill that would require remote retailers with nexus in the state to collect and remit sales tax on purchases made by Colorado residents.

Booksellers can now watch professional video of The Great Good Place Conversation at Winter Institute, which featured a discussion between sociologist and author Ray Oldenburg and Third Place Books owner Ron Sher.

Two recent IndieCommunications provided stores with information about work now underway on the migration from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7, what booksellers can expect regarding future timing, and news of weekly conference calls with ABA Member Technology Director Neil Strandberg.

Events sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, Kobo’s do-it-yourself e-book publishing platform, have been a success in drawing both authors and customers to local independent bookstores around the country.

Writer Lauren Lexa asks readers to suspend a little disbelief and enjoy this humorous introduction to the leading man in Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (Algonquin). The “interview” is reprinted here with permission from Ingram Book Group.

ABA president talks U.S. indies at London Book Fair; ABFFE’s Chris Finan wins Hefner award; Top 10 most frequently challenged books revealed; Pulitzer Prize winners announced; Los Angeles Times Book Prizes awarded; McNamee steps down as president of EBF; University presses look to Ingram’s CoreSource