Winter Institute Registration Filling Fast

Just one week after registration opened for Winter Institute 2014, event registration is more than half filled. The American Booksellers Association is encouraging all booksellers who want to attend the January 21 – 24 event in Seattle to register online as soon as possible.

In previous years, ABA has noted that some booksellers wait to register until after the fall regional shows; however, this year space may not be available through the end of the regional trade show season.

In addition, the four tours of Seattle-area bookstores — two half-day and two full-day tours on January 21, prior to the institute’s opening reception — are proving especially popular and are likely to sell out even sooner.

The Winter Institute is open exclusively to Regular and Provisional ABA members and invited guests. Registration is filled on a first-come, first-served basis and is capped at 500 booksellers with a maximum of three registrants per member business. The 2014 conference fee is $79.99 per person and is nonrefundable. There is an additional nonrefundable charge for the full- and half-day bookstore tours.

If store owners and managers have not yet decided which additional staff members they wish to bring, they can register online now and leave the additional name fields blank to secure their spaces.

Registration for the Winter Institute does not guarantee a hotel room at the host hotel, the Westin Seattle, and the block may sell out. ABA encourages booksellers to make their hotel reservations as soon as they complete event registration. If booksellers encounter problems making their hotel reservations, they should contact ABA Meetings & Planning Officer Jill Perlstein.

Thanks to the Winter Institute’s sponsors, 50 scholarships will be awarded to booksellers this year. Scholarship winners will be selected from all ABA bookstore members, including Winter Institute registrants and non-registrants. Booksellers who drop off a business card at the ABA booth at any of the regional trade shows will earn an extra entry in the scholarship awards process. Scholarship winners from the past three years are not eligible. Scholarships will cover the conference fee, up to four nights plus tax at the Westin Seattle at the special ABA rate, and transportation costs up to $400. Winners will be announced in mid-November.

For full details and to register, visit the Winter Institute 2014 event page on BookWeb.org.