Winter Institute to Feature Range of Programming for Children’s Booksellers

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A number of educational events are in store for children’s booksellers at next month’s Winter Institute in Denver. In addition to four sessions presented by the ABC Children’s Group at ABA that focus on issues of importance to retailers specializing in children’s books, there will be opportunities to learn about exciting new books and authors at rep picks lunches, meet-and-greets, and more.

ABC Presents: Partnering for Diversity — Working With School Title I Coordinators

On Sunday, January 24, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in Governor’s Square 17, bookseller panelists will be joined by a representative from an area school to discuss how best to work with public schools that receive Title I funding in support of literacy mandates. By successfully building relationships and working creatively with title coordinators, booksellers can use federal funding to put books into the hands of diverse students and households of all income levels. The session’s panelists are:

  • Anne Menon of The Bookies in Denver
  • Shelly Wilhelm of The Bookies in Denver
  • Missy Matthews, title coordinator at Cherry Creek School District in Denver
  • Angie Tally of The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina (Moderator)

ABC Presents: Inventory Maintenance and Turns for Children’s Series

On Monday, January 25, from 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. in Governor’s Square 12, bookseller panelists who have implemented successful strategies for controlling inventory and turns will discuss the particular challenges of managing series fiction stock in both general and children’s-only stores. The session’s panelists are:

ABC Presents: Getting the Most Out of Your ARCs

On Monday, January 25, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Governor’s Square 12, booksellers can learn about the great opportunities for marketing and community outreach available by leveraging a store’s stockpile of ARCs. Bookseller and publisher panelists will share how creative programs using ARCs can lead to significant sales increases in stores or at book fairs. The session’s panelists are:

  • Jesica DeHart of BookPeople of Moscow in Moscow, Idaho
  • Carol Moyer of Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Lucille Rettino, vice president, director of marketing at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
  • Elise Supovitz, executive director of independent retail and Canada sales at Candlewick Press
  • Johanna Albrecht of Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Moderator)

ABC Presents: Non-Author Events for Picture Books, Middle Grade, and YA

On Tuesday, January 26, from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Plaza Ballroom D, booksellers will highlight ideas for fun and exciting authorless events. Themed events built around books for different age groups can offer great no-cost opportunities to fill out a store’s calendar, attract new sales, and bring customers into the store beyond story times and discussion groups. The session’s panelists are:

Children’s booksellers may also be interested in attending the Tuesday afternoon roundtable session on Sharing Best Practices for Selling Diverse Books, moderated by Sara Hines of Eight Cousins in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The roundtable, to be held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Governor’s Square 17, will look at best practices for reaching out to new readers and promoting diverse titles, and will also give booksellers a chance to share their questions and ideas when it comes to selling diverse books.

Beyond these education sessions, children’s booksellers will have several other opportunities to meet their favorite children’s authors and illustrators and to learn more about upcoming titles for children, middle-graders, and young adults.

Two Rep Picks Speed Dating Lunches, the first on Sunday, January 24, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the second on Monday, January 25, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., both in Plaza Ballroom A/B/C, will connect booksellers with sales reps from Winter Institute publisher sponsors to learn about great upcoming titles. Table assignments will be sent out prior to Winter Institute and table numbers will also be listed on the back of booksellers’ Winter Institute badges. Booksellers who expressed their preference for children’s books will be seated with children’s publisher sales reps.

At 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 24, booksellers will gather in Plaza Ballroom F for the fun and musical launch of Scar Girl by Len Vlahos (CarolRhoda Lab/Lerner), the follow-up to his 2014 young adult title The Scar Boys (Egmont USA). Vlahos is the former chief operating officer for the American Booksellers Association, and he recently joined the management team of Denver’s Tattered Cover Book Store with his wife, Kristen Gilligan, as part of a two-year plan to transfer ownership to the couple.

The Scholastic Meet & Treat After Party will take place later Sunday evening, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., at Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House, located at 14th and Curtis Street in the Galleria of the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Enjoy drinks and dessert while mingling with children’s authors Luanne Rice (The Secret Language of Sisters), Mark Teague (The Pirate Jamboree), Sharon Robinson (The Hero Two Doors Down: A Story of Friendship Between a Boy and a Baseball Legend), and Goldy Moldavsky (Kill the Boy Band).

Kwame Alexander will kick off the final day of Winter Institute, Tuesday, January 26, with the breakfast keynote “The Idea Business: A Life Spent Writing and Selling Books,” which will take place from 7:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in Plaza Ballroom A/B/C. Alexander, who will share stories about his life among books, is the author of the Newbery Award-winning middle-grade book The Crossover (HMH Books for Young Readers) and has three new titles coming out in 2016: the picture book Surf’s Up, illustrated by Daniel Miyares (NorthSouth Books); a multimedia toolkit for teachers called Kwame Alexander’s Page-to-Stage Writing Workshop (Scholastic); and Booked, a middle-grade follow-up to The Crossover (HMH Books for Young Readers).

That afternoon, from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. in Plaza Ballroom E/F, booksellers can attend the Indies Introduce Anthology, where they will hear from the bookseller panelists who chose the top adult and children’s debut picks for the Winter/Spring 2016 Indies Introduce lists, which were announced earlier this year.

See the full Winter Institute schedule here