The Winter Institute in Pictures

The 500 independent booksellers who gathered at last weekend's Winter Institute participated in 24 education sessions; three keynote addresses; four Rep Picks sessions, which were repeated several times; three evening receptions, including one featuring 38 authors; and innumerable opportunities to socialize and network with colleagues.

Here in photos are just some of the highlights.

ABA staff members greeted booksellers at the Winter Institute Registration Desk, where they picked up a Welcome Bag and a binder filled with handouts for each of the education sessions.

All Wi3 participants were invited to a Thursday evening Opening Reception at Louisville's Muhammad Ali Center. The crowd, which enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and light refreshments, spent time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. Booksellers also explored the center's many multimedia exhibits documenting the life and philosophy of the former heavyweight champ.

The two-days of educational programming began at a Friday morning breakfast, where ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz (left) and ABA President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store (above) welcomed booksellers and gave them a quick rundown of all that was to come, thanks to Wi3's Event and Publisher Sponsors.

Breakfast keynote speaker Danny Meyer (right), author of Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business (HarperCollins) and president of the Union Square Hospitality Group, urged booksellers to think beyond "service" to "hospitality." "Hospitality is only present when the person on the receiving end feels you are on their side," he explained, or, put another way, "it's the way you make people feel while they are receiving [a] service."

After the morning's education sessions, ABA Vice President Gayle Shanks (above left) of Changing Hands Bookstore welcomed booksellers back to the ballroom for lunch with Gary Hirshberg (left), president and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farms and author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World (Hyperion). Hirshberg's lively presentation showed booksellers how it was possible to be "green" and increase profits.

As part of Friday's 12 education sessions, Chuck Robinson of Village Books (right) presented "The 2% Solution for 2008," ABA's very popular seminar focusing on the drivers of bookstore profitability and how they can be used to lead a business to greater success.
	And ABA COO Oren Teicher moderated "Independent Retailing in 2008: A Report on the Shop Local Movement," featuring Steve Bercu of BookPeople, Betsy Burton of The King's English, Clark Kepler of Kepler's Books, and Carla Jimenez of Inkwood Books, who are all actively involved in a local business alliance in their communities.

Friday also featured four Rep Picks sessions, which were repeated twice on Saturday. Among the presenters were Random House's Valerie Walley and Ruth Liebmann and Hyperion's Jessica Wiener. (Here's a look at the the titles Publisher Partners were talking about at Wi3.)

Throughout the two days, booksellers picked up ARCs and finished books provided by Wi3's Publisher Partners in the Galley Room, which was open between events.

Friday programming at Wi3 came to a grand conclusion with an Author Reception. The crowd included members of the Emerging Leaders Group, which was meeting after the reception.

Among the 38 authors who greeted booksellers and signed copies of their latest titles were:

Augusten Burroughs	Andre Dubus III
Tobias Wolff	Jack Todd
Marisa Silver	Nancy Yi Fan
Anson Montgomery	Jeffrey Kluger
Alan Cheuse	Warren Adler

Saturday began bright and early with a "What Are You Reading?" Breakfast, followed by 12 more education sessions and a luncheon keynote discussion featuring three leaders of the "Local First" movement: Bill McKibben, educator, environmentalist, and author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future (Holt Paperbacks); Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and author of Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses (Beacon); and Michael Shuman, co-founder of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and author of The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition (Berrett-Koehler).

At the afternoon's "Green Retailing" session, booksellers packed the room to hear Scott Sklar, co-author of Consumer Guide to Solar Energy (Bonus Books) and president of The Stella Group, Ltd.; Sue Lynn of Confluence Bookstore, Bistro, and Business Center; and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA), author of Apollo's Fire (Island Press) share ways in which bookstores can not only become more eco-friendly, but also become the center of the "green" movement in their communities.

ABA Program Director Len Vlahos and volunteer-contestant Jenn Northington of The King's English had fun with "The Dating Game" at Saturday afternoon's "Consumer Behavior Revealed." "The Dating Game" was used to illustrate how getting to know your customers is a lot like dating, but whereas Jenn had to make a choice between bachelor #1, #2, or #3, booksellers want to "date" all of their customers. The lucky Jenn won a date with "Kevin #2" and a trip to BEA.

At Wi3's closing reception, Vlahos extended sincere thanks to all of Wi3 Event, Publisher, and Supporting Partners for making the two-day program possible, to booksellers for their enthusiastic participation, and to ABA staff who put in long hours to make the event run smoothly.

Happy booksellers, publishers, and ABA staff at the closing reception:

--Rosemary Hawkins (Photos: Rosemary Hawkins, Jeff Wexler)