Next week, bookseller attendees at the American Booksellers Association’s 2021 Winter Institute [6] are invited to check out the Expo area in the virtual event platform Hopin to meet with publishers [7], business partners [8], and ABA teams — and to have the chance to win $100.

The button for the Expo area is on the left-hand side of the screen in the Hopin platform. The Expo schedule is as follows:

• Publisher booths: Thursday, February 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. ET
• Publisher and business partner booths: Friday, February 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET
• Business partner booths: Saturday, February 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. ET

In addition, publishers will be hosting a special open house event — featuring reps from more than 25 publishers in their Expo booths — on Thursday, February 18, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. ET.

In each booth, booksellers will have the option to watch an informational video or meet face-to-face with a representative; the booths also feature special offers and deals and a dedicated chat for that booth.

Booksellers: Visit as many Expo booths as possible on all three days of Wi16 to win one of 15 $100 AmEx gift cards. Chances are increased by either getting on screen or speaking with a rep through the booth chat. Five gift cards will be awarded each day and will be announced in the event chat throughout the day.

Note: Winners will be chosen at random by ABA. Booksellers can only win one gift card during the event. Gifts will be awarded post-Wi16.

In addition to publishers and ABA partners, the Expo area also features booths for ABA’s IndieCommerce team, which is also hosting one-on-one appointments [9] in Google Meet, and ABA’s Advocacy team, who are available to talk with booksellers on Friday, February 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET and 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. ET, and on Saturday, February 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET and 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Booksellers should also be sure to visit the Virtual Galley Room, which offers access to a page where publishers have made available a range of digital galleys and where booksellers can request print galleys.

See the full Winter Institute program here [10]. The 2021 Winter Institute will be held February 18–20. Questions about the event can be addressed to [email protected] [11].