An Invitation to ABA’s Booksellers Forums in Denver, Atlanta, and Memphis

This week, the American Booksellers Association sent e-mails inviting booksellers and prospective booksellers in the Mountains and Plains and Southern regions to its spring Booksellers Forums. The programs in Denver, Atlanta, and Memphis are designed to provide attendees with an opportunity to share ideas, discuss industry issues, and receive updates on various association projects in an open forum. In addition, this year’s program will feature the ABA Education session “Conversations That Work,” focusing on what to say and how to handle a variety of irksome situations in the store, including showrooming, aggressive customers, and those who use store inventory to copy information.

Over the years, the forums have become invaluable opportunities for members to share best practices with their colleagues and with ABA, and for ABA to garner meaningful feedback on a wide range of topics. The complete list of 2014 Spring Forums is available on BookWeb.

Here’s a look at the schedules for Denver, Atlanta, and Memphis, as well as contact information to RSVP.

Wednesday, March 5: Denver, Colorado
In conjunction with Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association, at El Jebel Event Center, 4625 West 50th Avenue, Denver

• 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.:  “Conversations That Work”
• 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Booksellers Forum led by ABA CEO Oren Teicher. Lunch will be provided.
• 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: MPIBA Author Reception at BookBar, 4280 Tennyson Street, Denver

Booksellers who are planning to attend the program in Denver are asked to RSVP via e-mail to ABA Member Relationship Manager Nathan Halter by Wednesday, February 26, with “MPIBA Spring Forum RSVP” in the subject line.

Friday, March 7: Atlanta, Georgia
In conjunction with Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, at the Great American Bargain Book Show at AmericasMart, 240 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta

• 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: “Conversations That Work”
• 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Booksellers Forum discussion led by ABA CEO Oren Teicher. Lunch will be provided.

Booksellers who are planning to attend the Booksellers Forum program in Atlanta are asked to RSVP via e-mail to ABA Member Relationship Manager Nathan Halter by Friday, February 28, with “SIBA Spring Forum RSVP (Atlanta)” in the subject line.

The forum will take place during the “GABBS and SIBA in the Springtime” event. The ABA education session and the forum/lunch will be held in the same location, the draped area in back of the GABBS Show Floor. ABA members can attend GABBS for free but must register via the GABBS Atlanta 2014 event page.

SIBA is also hosting a full day of education on Thursday, March 6, prior to the GABBS Show Floor Hours, which run Friday through Sunday. More information on SIBA programming is available on SIBA’s dedicated webpage. 

Friday, March 14: Memphis, Tennessee
In conjunction with Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, at The Booksellers at Laurelwood’s Booksellers Bistro, 387 Perkins Road Extended, Memphis

• 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: “Conversations That Work”
• 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Booksellers Forum discussion. Lunch will be provided.

Booksellers who are planning to attend the program in Memphis are asked to RSVP via e-mail to ABA Member Relationship Manager Nathan Halter by Wednesday, March 5, with “SIBA Spring Forum RSVP (Memphis)” in the subject line.