Apply for a scholarship to the 10th annual Children’s Institute in Phoenix, Arizona! Applications close TODAY!

Register for Three DEIA Workshops — Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: Knowing Better Means Doing Better, taking place February 14–16. The deadline to register is tomorrow, February 10.

Booksellers: Come to Snow Days! For $35, you get three days packed full of programming — and since it’s virtual, you can attend the sessions that fit your schedule. (But be sure to attend rep picks!)

Here are just a few of the things we’re most excited about:

Last month, we announced the 2022 ABA Board Candidates. The petition process (where you can write in a candidate to stand for election) is still open. Read more about the petition process.

Booksellers who wish to petition to be put on the ballot should ask their supporters to email [email protected] with their endorsement of the petitioner; the supporters will then be asked to send their original signature to ABA by mail. All original signatures should be postmarked by February 18.

Join us next week on February 17 at 3:00 pm ET for an ABA Town Hall. The full board will be present to respond to questions and comments from bookstore owners and booksellers; those who would like to send questions in advance can email [email protected].

Booksellers will also be able to ask questions live at the event, either by using the Q&A function in Zoom or raising their hand to be called on stage. Register.

Submit your membership renewals by March 1. All ABA memberships run from February 1 through January 31. Member stores can opt to pay dues on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, but all members need to complete the renewal process to update their store’s data. Renew now to avoid a lapse in membership!

Membership benefits can be reviewed on BookWeb. Questions about dues renewal can be emailed to the Membership Team.

Missed out on ordering exclusives for IBD? You can still sign up to participate in IBD, order IBD T-shirts, and be on the searchable map on IndieBound.

Sign up through the IBD 2022 General Participation Form by February 28.

Your voice is a powerful tool in the fight against Amazon — tell us your story. To help ABA communicate with lawmakers and tell the full picture of Amazon's negative impact on communities, we're asking you all to tell us how Amazon affects your bookstores. Stop by ABA's Advocacy page at any time to tell us your story.

ABA needs your feedback on our health insurance partner LIG Solutions. ABA partners with LIG Solutions to help members navigate a wide array of health insurance options and we want to improve this service. We’d appreciate any input. The survey is confidential and should take no more than five minutes to complete.

As ABA observes Black History Month along with all of our member stores, we’re thinking about banned books and how they reflect the Black experience. Out of the top 10 banned books in 2020, half were either written by Black authors or feature Black characters.

In the coming weeks, watch BTW for more information about how booksellers can educate their customers and support challenged titles in schools and libraries. In the meantime, check out this episode of The Stacks podcast, which talks with educators, authors, and readers impacted by recent challenges. And, take a look at ABFE’s Banned Books resources.

Little, Brown and Company, in partnership with the American Booksellers Association, invites ABA member bookstores to participate in a one-night virtual event with legendary music icon Dolly Parton and the world's number one bestselling author James Patterson to celebrate the publication of Run Rose Run (on-sale March 7, 2022). This can't miss LIVE virtual event will take place on Sunday, March 6, at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. Participating bookstores will organize and manage their own ticket sales. The event will be fully bundled using the “one book, one ticket” model, and the cost of the event ticket will include a copy of Run Rose Run. Find more information and assets to promote the event here. Booksellers can sign up for the event until February 18.

Here is a preview of the titles on the March/April 2022 Kids’ Indie Next List flier. Top pick? Gallant by V.E. Schwab.

Laura Gao is the author of Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American, a Winter/Spring 2022 Indies Introduce young adult selection. Here, Shirley Mullin of Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore and Gao talk about crafting a memoir.