BTW: ⭐ Vote Now for the Indies Choice Book Awards!

Order your Indie Bookstore Day exclusives before they sell out!

Stay up to date with the world of independent bookselling.

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

TLDR: This Week's Action Items:

Cast your vote for the Indies Choice Book Awards!
Check out the 2025 ABACUS report!
Nominate a bookseller (or yourself!) for the James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus.
Order Indie Bookstore Day exclusives for your store through the Member Dashboard.

Vote Now for the Indies Choice Book Awards!

The first round of voting for the Indies Choice Book Awards is now open!

All titles that have appeared on ABA’s 2026 Indie Next List, Kids’ Indie Next List, and/or Indies Introduce lists are eligible.

All booksellers from ABA member stores are invited to vote for up to 3 titles per category.

Member booksellers have a chance to win a waived Winter Institute 2027 registration fee if they vote for the shortlist AND finalists!

The Indies Choice Book Awards celebrate the best titles as voted on by indie booksellers in the following categories: Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Picture Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Debut Adult, and Debut Children's. This year, we've also added categories for Indie Press Fiction and Indie Press Nonfiction!

The deadline to submit your vote is November 1.

The next (and final) round of voting will open on November 4.

Vote Now!

The 2025 ABACUS Report Is Now Available!

You can now view the 2025 ABACUS Report on BookWeb!

(You must sign in to BookWeb in order to view the report.)

Stores that participated in ABACUS should also have received their personalized reports!

If you need help understanding the key takeaways from this year’s report, join us for one of the following education sessions hosted by Industry Insights:

See Report

Save the date for these upcoming events:

Tuesday, October 20 at 1:00 pm ET: Wi2027 Hotel Block Opens
Tuesday, October 20 at 3:00 pm ET: New Membership Series: Store Ownership 101
Tuesday, October 27 at 3:00 pm ET: New Member Series: Meet the Partners
Wednesday, October 28: Indies First Sign Up Deadline
Wednesday, October 28 at 1:00 pm ET: Shelf Help: Bookselling 101 Office Hours (More details coming soon!)
Thursday, October 29 at 3:00 pm ET: Intro to Benefits (Associate Edition)

Visit Events Calendar

Winter Institute 2027 Reminders!

The Winter Institute 2027 (Wi2027) hotel block will open on Tuesday, October 20, at 1:00 pm ET.

On October 20, registered attendees will receive an email with a unique hotel booking link. Only registered attendees will receive a booking link, so please do not share this link with others.

The ABA group rate is $176 per night plus tax.

Please book through our link to get the special ABA rate and to support the event; ABA has committed to rooms in order to keep attendees' registration fees and hotel rates as low as possible.

Tomorrow, October 15, is the last day to register for the Paz & Associates Seminar at Wi2027.

The Paz & Associates Seminar: So You Want to Own a Bookstore? Business Best Practices for Future Store Owners will take place on Thursday, February 11, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

This session is designed specifically for aspiring or new bookstore owners. Pre-registration is required.

To register, enter the code sent in the email with the subject line, "Last Chance: Register for Paz & Associates Workshop at Wi2027".

ABA at the Summer/Fall Regional Trade Shows

Last week, the final 2026 summer/fall regional trade shows took place.

Thank you to everyone who stopped to visit with us or attended our education session at your regional show!

Check out these photos from our time at PNBA’s Fall Trade Show, MPIBA’s FallCon, and Heartland Fall Forum (MIBA and GLIBA)!

Pictured above (left to right): Bookseller Eva Farina talking with ABA’s Education Administrative Assistant Chelsea Stringfield, CEO Allison Hill, and Member Relations Manager Jenn Foley.

Nominate a Bookseller for the James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus

James Patterson’s Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program will award 600 booksellers from ABA members stores $500 each!

Booksellers can self-nominate or they can be nominated by other booksellers, bookstore owners, managers, customers, publishers, or authors. Booksellers must be employed by an ABA member bookstore to be eligible for a bonus.

Owners, employees, and managers who are nominating booksellers in their store can also enter their store for a chance to win a $5,000 bookstore bonus as well!

The deadline to submit nominations is October 29.

Nominate a Bookseller

Libro Holiday Toolkit

Libro has created a holiday toolkit for booksellers which includes digital and printable assets, suggested copy, key dates, and tips for the holiday season!

Here are a few things you can do right now to start your holiday prep:

Make sure you have enough custom Libro bookmarks to last through the end of the year.
Build an audiobook playlist to share with your customers.
Familiarize yourself with Libro gift options.
Add an audiobooks page to your website.

Grab the holiday toolkit for more ideas and resources!

Get the Toolkit

Register for the Annual RISE Bookselling Conference

The fifth annual RISE Bookselling Conference will take place in Galway, Ireland, on April 18–19, 2027. This amazing international educational event is hosted by the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF).

As ABA is a member of the EIBF, 10 tickets have been set aside for our members.

The tickets can be purchased on a first come, first served basis until October 20. One ticket per person.

Attendees are responsible for their own hotel, transportation, and meals outside of the conference.

Register Now

University Press Week

This year, University Press Week will be held November 9–13!

University Press Week is an annual celebration of university presses and their contributions to the larger publishing world.

You can visit the University Press Week website to learn how your store can participate in this celebration! You can also download social media assets, reading lists, and more.

Additionally, many university presses are offering specials for Indies First!

Learn More

Ambivert Books: The Pop-Up Shop Specializing in Spanish Titles

Ambivert Books is a pop-up bookstore that focuses solely on bringing Spanish language titles (particularly non-translated works) to its community.

Founder and owner Brittany Johnson opened the shop after realizing how difficult it can be to get original Spanish language literature in the States.

Johnson sat down with us to share how she developed Ambivert Books.

Read Interview

November/December Kids’ Indie Next List Preview

Here is a preview of the titles on the November/December 2026 Kids’ Indie Next List flier, arriving at stores in the upcoming Kids’ Box mailing.

The top pick? This Is a Door by Daniel Nayeri.

See List

Indies Introduce Q&A with Abdelrahman ElGendy

Abdelrahman ElGendy is the author of Huna, a Summer/Fall 2026 Indies Introduce selection.

Here, ElGendy and Jamie Hope Anderson of Duck's Cottage in Duck, NC, discuss Huna.

Read Interview

Advocacy Updates

Washington, DC, Fly-In

The American Booksellers Association will be participating in an Advocacy Day in Washington, DC, in support of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which would introduce competition into the credit card processing market and lower fees.

We are seeking booksellers who would be interested in traveling to Washington, DC, to join ABA in participating in this important event. Travel and hotel expenses will be reimbursed after the fly-in (limited to one night only and one hotel room per store).

If you are interested in attending the fly-in (or if you have questions), please reach out to [email protected].

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