2017 Children’s Institute Registration Opens

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Children's Institute logoRegistration for the American Booksellers Association’s fifth ABC Children’s Institute (Ci5) is now open to booksellers at all ABA member stores. The event will be held from April 5 to 7, 2017, at the Red Lion Hotel on the River – Jantzen Beach in Portland, Oregon.

Ci5 offers three keynote and three featured talks, 10 education sessions, five roundtable discussions, and, for the first time at Children’s Institute, Bookseller/Publisher Focus Groups. Other events in the program include the very popular Author Reception, Rep Picks Speed Dating, Small Press Lunch, Backlist Book Swap Party, and Scholastic Meet & Treat Party.  

Booksellers will also have the opportunity to pick up advance reader copies of upcoming titles in the Galley Room, meet with representatives from ABA’s affiliated business solution partners and others at the Consultation Station, and schedule one-on-one appointments with the IndieCommerce team.

The Ci5 conference fee is $99 per bookseller. Space is limited, and there is a maximum of five registrants per ABA member business. The institute is made possible by the support of lead sponsor Baker & Taylor with additional support from publisher sponsors large and small.

The Children’s Institute will kick off on Wednesday evening, April 5, with a Meet & Greet for Scholarship Recipients and a Welcome Reception and Backlist Book Swap Party at Powell’s Books, followed by a Young Professionals Afterparty back at the Red Lion Hotel.

New this year, booksellers attending Children’s Institute will have the opportunity to embark on full-day and half-day tours of Portland-area bookstores ahead of the Welcome Reception on April 5. Registration for the tours will open in February.

Thursday and Friday, April 6 and 7, are packed with educational programming, including 10 breakout sessions on such topics as starting a book subscription club, interviewing for new staff positions and hiring for diversity, and working with arts and literacy organizations. Once again at Children’s Institute, Kristen McLean, resident children’s specialist at Nielsen Book, will present a featured talk reviewing the latest data and trends in the U.S. children’s book market.

Among the authors appearing at the Winter Institute is Jason Reynolds, the award-winning author of Ghost, The Boy in the Black Suit, As Brave As You, When I Was the Greatest, and All American Boys (all Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books), who will deliver one of the event’s keynote presentations. Booksellers will also have the opportunity to meet children’s book authors Jennifer E. Smith, Miranda Paul, Sherri Duskey Rinker, and many others at the Author Reception. Over the coming weeks, check the Children’s Institute Speakers & Authors page to see who has been added to the lineup, or watch Bookselling This Week for updates.

Children’s Institute closes on Friday evening with a Post-Institute Trivia Party. See the complete Ci5 program here.

The special ABA rate at the Red Lion Hotel on the River is $129 plus tax and is available until Monday, March 13, or until the block is sold out. The rate is valid for bookings from April 2 through April 10, 2017, subject to availability. (More on the hotel and a link to reservations is available here.)

Booksellers at ABA member stores that did not have a Children’s Institute scholarship winner in 2015 or 2016 can apply for a Ci5 scholarship by the January 31 deadline.

Register now for Children’s Institute 2017. Stores that are not current on their ABA and/or ABC memberships can renew their dues here or contact ABA’s Member Relationship Managers.

Questions about the institute should be directed to ABC Group Manager Gen de Botton.

Booksellers may cancel their Children’s Institute registration at any time by e-mailing [email protected]. Cancellations received prior to March 1 are eligible for a full refund of registration fees; cancellations received on or after March 1 are not eligible for refund.