Winter Institute Off to a Great Start

As our abbreviated edition of BTW arrives in your inbox today, more than 500 ABA member booksellers and almost 30 international guests from a dozen countries are well into their second day at Winter Institute 2014 in Seattle. Here, in photos, are a few highlights of the first day and a half, in addition to Tuesday’s full- and half-day bookstore tours and the opening reception at The Elliott Bay Book Company, sponsored by Shelf Awareness.

The Winter Institute is made possible by the generous support of Ingram Content Group, the event’s lead sponsor, with additional support from publishers large and small.

In a special edition tomorrow, Friday, January 24, we’ll be reporting on the opening plenary featuring Dan Heath, co-author with his brother, Chip, of the bestselling business book Decisive (Crown Business); the Thursday breakfast conversation with members of the Seattle7Writers collective — Deb Caletti, Carol Cassella, Tara Conklin, Elizabeth George, Jennie Shortridge, and Garth Stein; and Friday’s interview of Ray Oldenburg, the father of the “third place” movement, by Ron Sher, owner of Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park and Ravenna, Washington, during the Small Press Breakfast.

In the coming weeks, watch for BTW’s in-depth reporting on Wi9’s education sessions and other events.