All tours are filled.  ABA is offering a total of four tours to Seattle-area bookstores. The two full-day tours will start from the lobby of the Westin Seattle at 9:00 am and will return to the hotel between 6:00 pm and 6:15 pm. Both half-day tours will start from the hotel lobby at 1:00 pm and will return to the hotel between 5:15 pm and 5:20 pm. Stores on the tours include Third Place Books, Queen Anne Book Company, Eagle Harbor Book Co., Island Books, and more. The full schedule and details are here [2];  sign up when you register for Wi9. (For booksellers only.)

Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates Bookstore Training Group are offering a one-day seminar for prospective booksellers. This seminar will take place on Tuesday, January 21, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and is open to ABA provisional members and employees of regular member stores.  Find more details and registration here [4]. (Limited to two booksellers per ABA member company.)

ABA is offering a total of four tours to Seattle-area bookstores.  The two full-day tours will start from the lobby of the Westin Seattle at 9:00 am and will return to the hotel between 6:00 pm and 6:15 pm. Both half-day tours will start from the hotel lobby at 1:00 pm and will return to the hotel between 5:15 pm and 5:20 pm. Stores on the tours include Third Place Books, Queen Anne Book Company, Eagle Harbor Book Co., Island Books, and more. The full schedule and details are here [2];  sign up when you register for Wi9. (For booksellers only.)

Start the Institute off right with cocktails, snacks, and the company of your colleagues from across the country (and world!) at the Opening Reception, sponsored by industry newsletter Shelf Awareness. This year we will be celebrating at The Elliott Bay Book Company on 10th Avenue. Shuttle service will be provided from the hotel to the store and back. The first shuttle leaves the hotel at 6:45 pm. The reception begins at 7:00 pm.
 

Susan Weis-Bohlen, owner of breathe books in Baltimore, Maryland, and Winter Institute's unofficial yogi, will lead this early morning class.

Winter Institute publisher sponsors and their scholarship recipients are invited to gather for an informal reception prior to the Institute Opening Plenary. Put a face with a name and share congratulations and gratitude.

Author Dan Heath will open Winter Institute 2014 with a plenary talk about how we make decisions, and why so many of them are flawed. Decisive (Crown Business)—the latest bestselling title co-authored by Dan and his brother, Chip—offers insightful strategies and practical tools that enable individuals and businesses to make better choices. In his talk, Heath will address such critical questions as how we can stop the cycle of agonizing over our decisions; how we can make group decisions without disruptive politics; and how we can ensure that we don't overlook key opportunities to evaluate important information and change course. Making the right decisions is the key to a successful business, and Dan Heath's talk will answer the question of how we can do better. 

Join your bookselling colleagues for a discussion inspired by the morning plenary. Groups will be led by an ABA Board Member; group assignments will be noted on the Winter Institute badge. (For ABA Member booksellers only.)

Due to the generous materials sent by Wi9 publisher sponsors, the Galley Room is a hit every year. Additional access hours will be posted near the Galley Room at the start of Winter Institute.

Drinks & dessert, featuring book toasts by Lucy Christopher, Sara Larson, Natalie Lloyd & Jon J Muth, and sponsored by Scholastic.

Susan Weis-Bohlen, owner of breathe books in Baltimore, Maryland, and Winter Institute's unofficial yogi, will lead this early morning class.

Enjoy breakfast and a lively discussion with The Seattle 7 Writers—a nonprofit collective of Pacific Northwest authors whose mission is to foster and support a passion for the written word—as they discuss the creation of the group and how it works with the local independent business community.

The Consultation Station offers booksellers the opportunity to meet with representatives of ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers. The list of Consultation Station participants and contact information is here [27]. Please note: If you granted permission for the companies participating in the Consultation Station to contact you directly when you registered for Wi9, they may reach out to you via email before the event. You may also contact them in advance to schedule appointments.

Please refer to signage for additional Galley Room access times.

To encourage further interaction among booksellers and publishers, booksellers will have the opportunity to meet with Wi9 sponsoring publishers in small groups to discuss issues of common interest and mutual concern. Each Wi9 bookseller attendee will be assigned to a specific publisher for this session. Assignment information and room locations will be provided at check-in at the Wi9 Welcome Desk.

Len Vlahos, former ABA staffer and friend of indie bookselling, will be celebrating the debut of his book, The Scar Boys (Egmont USA), with a multimedia presentation, featuring video, music, and a reading, immediately preceding the Author Reception. All institute attendees and guests are invited to attend.  Vlahos will be signing books during the reception immediately following the multimedia presentation.

The Winter Institute’s signature Author Reception will be held in the Westin Seattle’s Grand Ballroom. Through the generosity of ABA’s Wi9 Publisher Sponsors, more than 50 authors and illustrators will be on hand to chat with booksellers and to autograph their new and forthcoming titles. The American Booksellers Foundation For Free Expression (ABFFE) will also be hosting a silent auction of art from many beloved children’s illustrators. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

Susan Weis-Bohlen, Winter Institute's unofficial yogi, will lead this early morning class.

The Consultation Station offers booksellers the opportunity to meet with representatives of ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers. The list of Consultation Station participants and contact information is here [27]. Please note: If you granted permission for the companies participating in the Consultation Station to contact you directly when you registered for Wi9, they may reach out to you via e-mail before the event. You may also contact them in advance to schedule appointments.

Finding and showcasing the best of debut fiction and nonfiction is both the passion and mission of independent booksellers — and through ABA's new "Indies Introduce" program independent booksellers identify a stellar selection of upcoming titles. At this lunch, bookseller panelists will talk about the exciting forthcoming debut books that have been chosen for the "Indies Introduce Debut Authors" promotion. They will also explain how ABA members can participate in this innovative, on-going promotion.

To encourage further interaction among booksellers and publishers, booksellers will have the opportunity to meet with Wi9 sponsoring publishers in small groups to discuss issues of common interest and mutual concern. Each Wi9 bookseller attendee will be assigned to a specific publisher for this session. Assignment information and room locations will be provided at check-in at the Wi9 Welcome Desk.

Congratulations for making it through the event-packed Winter Institute! Wind down, enjoy one more drink with your colleagues, and meet authors from Wi9’s small and independent press sponsors. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Check this website and upcoming editions of Bookselling This Week for a list of the authors scheduled to attend.