Booksellers who will be attending BookExpo 2017 [6] next month in New York City can now register for exclusive events for American Booksellers Association members.

Registration is now open for:

• The Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch [7], featuring the presentation of the 2017 Indies Choice Book Awards and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards, will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, in the Special Events Hall of the Javits Center. Reservations are free of charge and limited to a maximum of four booksellers per ABA member store location. Seat assignments will be e-mailed prior to BookExpo; following the lunch, a number of the Celebration’s participating authors will be signing in the ABA Member Lounge (Booth 721 on the trade show floor). 
   
• Meet the Editor [8] will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31, at various publishing houses around the city, where booksellers will have the opportunity to experience the book editing process through in-person visits with editors. Preregistration for Meet the Editor is required by Friday, May 12.
   
• Publicists Speed Dating sessions [9], at which ABA member bookstore owners, managers, and event coordinators will meet one-on-one with five to six different publicists, will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, and from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. on Friday, June 2, at the convention center. Preregistration is required by Friday, May 12. Booksellers can sign up for the Day 1 session (Wednesday, May 31) and/or the Day 2 session (Friday, June 2). To help booksellers prepare for their visits, ABA will be offering a free webinar on creating a store media kit [10] on Thursday, May 11.
   
• The ABC/CBC Speed Dating Lunch With Children’s Authors [11] will be held from 12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Friday, June 2, at the Javits Convention Center. Tickets are $35 each; space is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Booksellers will receive their table assignments via e-mail prior to BookExpo. Preregistration and prepayment are required by Monday, May 15.
   
• The Silent Art Auction to Benefit ABFE and Every Child a Reader [12], featuring the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards, will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, in the Javits Convention Center’s South Corridor. Auction tickets for ABA member booksellers are priced at $11, a 90 percent discount off the regular price of $110; to receive the discount, booksellers must be logged in to BookWeb when ordering. ABA member booksellers are also invited to the ABC/CBC Reception for Children’s and Teen Choice Book Award finalists from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 2, in the ABA Member Lounge. 

In addition, the ABA Member Lounge [13], Booth 721 on the Javits Convention Center’s trade show floor, will offer a galley room, exclusive author meet-and-greets, information on ABA programs and services from affiliated business partners, and one-on-one meetings with IndieCommerce [14] staff. More information about ABA’s programming at BookExpo can be found on BookWeb.org [15].

Booksellers can register for free badges [16] to BookExpo by providing an ABA member ID number during the registration process. Booksellers who don’t know their ID number should send a request with their name, title, and store name to [email protected] [17] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 7536.

Thanks to financial support from Reed Exhibitions, ABA member booksellers can reserve rooms at The Row NYC Hotel at a rate of $200 per night, including all taxes and fees. At publication time, a limited number of rooms were still available. The Row NYC Hotel is located at 700 Eighth Avenue. To access Hotel ABA reservation information [18], booksellers will need a BookWeb username and password.