At the present rate of sign-ups, the American Booksellers Association expects that Winter Institute 2014 will reach its capacity registration in the next few days. Once registration is full, ABA will add names to an event waiting list. ABA’s ninth Winter Institute (Wi9) will be held January 21 – 24, 2014, at the Seattle Westin in downtown Seattle, Washington.

The Winter Institute hotel block at the Westin Seattle is currently sold out, but ABA is taking names for a hotel waiting list. After registering for the Winter Institute, booksellers are encouraged to e-mail ABA Meetings & Planning Officer Jill Perlstein to request their names be added to the list.

Of the four tours of Seattle-area bookstores to be held on January 21, prior to the institute’s opening reception, three are now filled and there are just a few spaces for the remaining half-day tour. Booksellers can sign up for the tour when they register for Wi9; those who are already registered can add the tour by sending their request to winterinstitute@bookweb.org. An ABA Member Relationship Manager will follow up to confirm their space on the tour and collect payment.

The Winter Institute, which is made possible by the generous support of Ingram Content Group, is open exclusively to Regular and Provisional ABA members and invited guests. There is a maximum of three registrants per member business. The 2014 conference fee is $79.99 per person and is nonrefundable. There is an additional nonrefundable charge for the full- and half-day bookstore tours.

Thanks to the Winter Institute’s sponsors, 50 scholarships will be awarded to booksellers this year. Scholarship winners will be selected from all ABA bookstore members, including Winter Institute 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 scholarship awards process. Booksellers at stores that have won a scholarship in the past three years are not eligible. Scholarships will cover the conference fee, up to four nights plus tax at the Westin Seattle at the special ABA rate, and transportation costs up to $400. Winners will be announced in mid-November.

For full details and to register, visit the Winter Institute 2014 event page on BookWeb.org. Information about travel discounts and airport shuttle service is also available.