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Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Join us January 25 for Board Office Hours/ABA Open House!
 

Register now for the first Board Office Hours/ABA Open House of 2024! 

These forums offer an opportunity for booksellers and bookstore owners to talk directly with ABA Board members and ABA staff to ask questions, share concerns or experiences, and/or express their needs for support.

This event will take place Thursday, January 25, at 3:00 pm ET. Please register in advance. 
 
Register Now
 
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25 Days Until Winter Institute!
 

There’s just a few weeks left until Winter Institute 2024 in Cincinnati! Here are a few things to know as you prepare.

Book Swap Dinner, Binc Heads or Tails, and More
Bookseller attendees, refer to yesterday’s email from [email protected] to learn about the Book Swap Dinner, Binc Heads or Tails, and one-on-one appointments you may be interested in. You can also visit the First-Timer’s Checklist and Publisher Dinner Tips to help you plan your visit.

Hotel Reminder
ABA does not endorse booking hotel reservations through any external source. Other third-parties will misrepresent themselves as the official housing provider. Should you book a room through them, we will not be able to protect you from a non-refundable deposit or lack of reservation. Attendees, check your inboxes for an email from [email protected] with the subject line “IMPORTANT: Housing Reminders for Wi2024” for more details. 
 
Membership Renewals Are Here

It’s time to renew your membership! 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. Please be aware that membership costs have increased by $10. 

Check out this infographic to make sure you have everything you need for renewal. You can review membership benefits on BookWeb.

This is also an excellent time to update details like your store’s ownership identity! Having accurate membership information helps us to better support you. 
Renew Membership
Lightning Talks: Independent Bookstore Day

The meeting date for February has moved to Thursday, February 22, due to ABA's Winter Institute.

ABA's Bookseller Lightning Talks series features booksellers presenting 5–10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they’ve made in their stores. 

Our February talks will focus on Independent Bookstore Day and feature:

  • Erin Ball of Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park, WA) on Participating in a Bookstore Crawl
  • Terri LeBlanc of Swamp Fox Bookstore (Marion, IA) on Indie (Self-Publisher) Author Fairs
  • Ryan Clark of Gibson’s Bookstore (Concord, NH) on Bookstore BINGO and #BookHaul Photo Booth
  • Eileen McCormick of Green Apple Books (San Francisco, CA) on Partnering with Community Organizations for Staggered Events
Register Now
Pre-Register for Find Waldo Local!

Find Waldo Local is a community-wide Shop Local scavenger hunt hosted by ABA member bookstores each July. Throughout the month, shoppers can search for Waldo at participating businesses and earn prizes. The hunt culminates with a celebratory party held at your store!

This event is co-sponsored by Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association.

Participation for Find Waldo Local 2024 is capped at 310 ABA member bookstores, so pre-register now! Pre-registration closes Monday, February 12, or when the participation cap is met. 
Pre-Register Now
Indies Introduce Q&A with Ray Xu

Ray Xu is the author of Alterations, a Winter/Spring 2024 Indies Introduce Kids’ selection. Here, Xu and Andi Richardson of Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA, discuss Alterations.
Read Interview
Children’s Book Week Exclusive Offer for ABA Members

The Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader are offering ABA member bookstores the opportunity to purchase 50 additional copies of the exclusive 2024 Children’s Book Week poster by Sophie Blackall for $25.

The deadline to order is Friday, 
March 1. Get yours while supplies last!
Order Now
Indie Healthy Living Bestseller List

Here is the Indie Healthy Living Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending January 14.
See Bestsellers
Want Your Store To Be Featured On ABA Socials?

Did you know we feature bookstores on ABA’s socials? If you want us to feature your store, reach out to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include a few photos!
Feature My Store
Professional Booksellers School: Basic Bookselling 

Registration for the Professional Booksellers School’s Basic Bookselling Course opens Monday, January 22, at 1:00 pm ET!

The Basic Bookselling Course is designed to welcome staff into a career in bookselling. It is intended as a primer for frontline booksellers with a year or less experience. This course teaches the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in bookselling. Through a combination of lectures, in-class discussions, and hands-on work, students will learn the vocabulary of bookselling, how bookstore finances work, how inventory/curation decisions are made, job roles in stores, and a range of resources available to support bookselling.
Learn More
Apply Now: Binc Scholarship to Denver Publishing Institute

The Denver Publishing Institute (DPI) is a four-week program, offering in-person or remote attendance, that provides education on the publishing industry. 

Booksellers interested in attending DPI can now apply for a scholarship! This scholarship is offered by the Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation in collaboration with Sourcebooks and the Denver Publishing Institute at the University of Denver. It includes tuition, room and board, and up to $2,000 to cover travel and lost wages.

Applications are due Friday, February 9.
Learn More
Advocacy Updates
 

We’re preparing for the fly-in at the end of the month to support the Credit Card Competition Act, which would allow competition to enter the credit card processing fee market and ultimately lower fees. ABA will lead 19 booksellers on the Hill to show lawmakers how high fees hurt small businesses. 

Last week, American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) launched a targeted campaign mobilizing Oklahoma supporters to oppose State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ proposed changes to information literacy standards in Oklahoma schools, which he claims target “wokeness” but actually just make the standards worse. For our Free Expression Friday series, we also interviewed reporter, author, and editor Kelly Jensen about her amazing coverage of book bans on Book Riot and STACKED.
 
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