In April, ABA is offering two free sessions to member booksellers from the Center for Anti-Violence Education: a de-escalation workshop and a session on microaggressions in the workplace. All booksellers are invited to sign up for these important educational events.

April 5 is the deadline to get into the Indie Next List e-newsletter program, now managed by Matchbook Marketing, in time to send the May list to customers. To sign up for this free program, visit Matchbook Marketing’s Indie Next List page and upload your contact list and logo. 

It’s April, which means ABA’s Coffee Breaks have been officially rebranded as ShopTalk. On April 6 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, chat with fellow booksellers about anything bookselling-related. Watch your inbox for the meeting link the day of.

Join the April 8 Technology Meetup to learn about Gravity Payments, which ABA recently partnered with to offer credit card processing services to bookstore members. Gravity Payments came recommended by several booksellers — sign up at the bottom of the Meetups page to join the session and learn more.

Has your store voted in the ABA Board of Directors election? One person per ABA member store may vote. If you’re the designated voter, submit your store’s ballot now.

Have you looked at ABA’s Pre-Order Calendar lately? It highlights upcoming titles that indie booksellers can consider promoting for pre-order through their stores. Some include indie-exclusive bonuses from publishers, like signed copies or special merch, to entice customers to order from their indie.

It’s only April, but the May Indie Next List has arrived! The #1 pick is Great Circle: A Novel by Maggie Shipstead. Grab digital assets for the May list (as well as for the April one) on the Indie Next List page on BookWeb.

Indie booksellers are promoting the A Universe of Wishes virtual reading series for consumers, which begins on Wednesday! Download the marketing materials from BookWeb.org to share it with your customers. 

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was extended through May 31. Your bookstore may be eligible for either a first or second draw PPP loan. Act quickly, and get matched with a lender near you.

Eligible bookstores are encouraged to take advantage of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (worth up to $5,000 per employee for 2020 and $28,000 per employee for 2021). The tax credit can be claimed on quarterly tax filings. Consider attending NFIB’s April 14 webinar to learn more.

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ABA is here for all of you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. Members can contact me directly or email the Membership, Advocacy, or IndieCommerce teams.

Best,
Allison