Winter Institute 2018

The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour is coming to Memphis with a very special lineup of guests! Thacker Mountain ​Radio,​ a weekly live radio show featuring author readings and an array of musical performances, is broadcast on Mississippi Public Radio.
For this special performance, Elizabeth Acevedo will talk about her upcoming title, The Poet X (HarperCollins Publishers); Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain (Grove Atlantic), will discuss his new release, Varina (HarperCollins Publishers); and singer Dar Williams, author of What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician’s Guide to Rebuilding America’s Communities — One Coffee Shop, Dog Run, and Open-Mike Night at a Time (Basic Books), will perform music and discuss her book. House band The Bo-Keys will add musical entertainment throughout the hour.
Thacker Mountain Radio​ is ordinarily taped live at ​ABA member store ​Off Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi.

A self-guided exploration of your Wi13 educational experience. Set goals and create actionable steps for improving your business.

Gary Shteyngart is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Little Failure (a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist) and the novels Super Sad True Love Story (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize), Absurdistan, and The Russian Debutante’s Handbook (winner of the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction). His books regularly appear on best-of lists around the world and have been translated into twenty-nine languages. Lake Success will be released in September 2018 by Random House.

The Consultation Station offers booksellers the opportunity to meet with representatives from ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers. See the full list of Consultation Station participants and contact information.

Many mega-retail operations are co-opting the localism label in an effort to burnish their brands and increase sales. As an authentically local and independent business, your store fuels the local economy and strengthens the community far more than any chain. But your community may need to be reminded of this. Booksellers who are experts at keeping the community informed of their businesses’ contributions will provide tips and best practices to help you put your store in the spotlight and keep it there.

Should you buy and operate a bookmobile? This session will focus on bookstores that have chosen to create a mobile version of their store and brand. And bookstores are not the only retail outlets that are creating a moveable experience for consumers. Panelists from bookstores and a local record store will explain the business model and answer questions.

Local search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to understand if you want to have top exposure in web results. In addition to looking at search engine optimization, presenter Max Thomas, head of Analytics at Digital Pulp and MT Analytics, will discuss the rapid growth of voice search on mobile devices and its impact on how people are shopping online.

What are the skills you need to be a successful book buyer? A panel of experts will provide a look into the world of the buyer, from forming publisher relationships to managing budgets, all while balancing the art and science behind the choices they make.

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance is pleased to host the Hospitality Suite at this year’s Winter Institute. Stop by for a chance to decompress, grab a beverage, and refuel before heading back out to join your peers. Open to booksellers from all regions.

IndieCommerce and IndieLite are ABA’s online platforms for marketing events and author appearances as well as selling books and other merchandise. Both users and non-users of IndieCommerce and IndieLite are invited to schedule a one-on-one time with a program specialist from the IndieCommerce team. Space is limited, but walk-ins are welcome. Hours are offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Details and signup are here.

The Consultation Station offers booksellers the opportunity to meet with representatives from ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers. See the full list of Consultation Station participants and contact information.

Immediately following their breakfast presentations, reps from participating small and university press sponsors will be available to meet with interested booksellers for further discussion.

The always-popular Galley Room is filled with upcoming title ARCs from Wi13 sponsors. A limited supply of book bags will be on hand. The room will be closed during the morning keynote sessions and Rep Picks lunches.

Enjoy breakfast while hearing about great upcoming titles from Winter Institute’s small and university press sponsors. Seating is unassigned for this breakfast.

Ship your galleys from Wi13 instead of lugging them home. This service is offered through PartnerShip/FedEx. To speed up the process, please bring pre-printed labels with you.