New BookExpo Grant Program to Send Booksellers to 2019 Event

Booksellers should check their inboxes for an e-mail from BookExpo inviting them to attend the May 29–31 event in New York City as part of the BookExpo 2019 Bestsellers Grant Program.

The brand-new BookExpo Bestsellers Grant Program was designed by BookExpo to make it possible for new booksellers to experience and benefit from all that the event has to offer. Booksellers did not need to apply for the program; all American Booksellers Association bookstore members were eligible to be selected.

Through the BookExpo Bestsellers Grant Program, selected booksellers will receive $1,000 to be used towards travel, accommodations, and other expenses incurred during their stay in New York City.

“This new initiative from BookExpo of outreach and support to bookstores that have not had a chance to recently attend the event — and experience the new programming — is a clear demonstration of their commitment to the independent bookstore channel,” said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. “This participation of new bookstores and others can only make BookExpo an even stronger event.”

As a participant in the program, booksellers will begin their trip with ABA’s Meet the Editors program on the morning of Wednesday, May 29, where they will tour a New York City publishing house and speak with its editors.

This year’s BookExpo also features the new UnBound exhibit, a “show within a show” that will showcase a diverse collection of lifestyle products, ranging from greeting cards and art materials to journals, calendars, candles, and pet accessories, specifically curated for bookstores.

Booksellers can register for BookExpo 2019 now. The annual trade show will be held from Wednesday, May 29, through Friday, May 31, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.

To receive a free badge to the show, booksellers at ABA member stores will need to provide an ABA member number during the BookExpo registration process. Booksellers who don’t know their ABA member ID number should send a request with their name, title, and store name to [email protected] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 7536.

Thanks to a significant financial commitment from Reed Exhibitions, ABA member booksellers can reserve rooms at the 2019 Hotel ABA — The New Yorker, a Wyndham Hotel — at a rate of $200 per night, including all taxes and fees. The ABA member hotel rate is available for the nights of Sunday, May 26, through Monday, June 3, 2019; however, the room block is limited and reservations will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The New Yorker Hotel is located at 481 Eighth Avenue in New York City, between 34th and 35th Street. To access Hotel ABA reservation information, booksellers will need a BookWeb username and password (e-mail [email protected] for login details). The deadline for the rate is March 26, 2019, or when the block sells out, whichever comes first.

Watch Bookselling This Week for announcements about ABA programming at BookExpo, and take a look at ABA’s 2018 programming, which offers a blueprint of what will be on tap for 2019.

General questions about registration should be addressed to the BookExpo customer service team at [email protected].