[4]Booksellers attending the Third Annual Winter Institute [5] (Wi3) in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 24 - 27, 2008, will once again benefit from the generosity of the American Booksellers Association's Event and Publisher partners. As previously announced [6], overall support for the 2008 ABA education event, which is already more than 50 percent booked to capacity, will again be provided by Baker & Taylor, BookExpo America, and Ingram Book Group/Ingram Publisher Services.

Additional support is being provided by 24 Publisher Partners [7] who are sponsoring scholarships covering reasonable costs for transportation to Louisville and up to a three-night hotel stay at the Winter Institute host hotel, the Louisville Marriott Downtown.

"ABA is gratified by our Publisher Partner support for the Winter Institute," said Book Sense Marketing Director Mark Nichols. "We are very appreciative of their participation, and look forward to announcing the recipients of the scholarships, which they are so generously providing."

ABA member booksellers may enter their names in the scholarship drawing by sending an e-mail to Education Director Len Vlahos at [email protected] [8] by Monday, October 22, or by stopping by the ABA booth at any one of the nine regional association fall trade shows. The e-mail to Vlahos must say "Wi3 Scholarship" in the subject line and must include the bookstore name and the bookseller's name and contact information. The winners of the scholarships, who will be chosen at random, will be announced in BTW on Thursday, November 1.

Nichols expressed the hope that ABA members would take every opportunity to thank the sponsors whose generosity make the Winter Institute possible.

Wi3 registration [9] -- accepted on a first-come, first-served basis -- is capped at 500 booksellers and is already more than half filled. The deadline is Friday, November 16.

ABA has negotiated a special rate for members at the Louisville Marriott Downtown starting at $109 per night, available from January 22 through January 29. All hotel reservations must [10]be made through the hotel [10].

Among the airlines flying into Louisville are Southwest Airlines, which often offers discounted fares, and Continental Airlines, which has provided special codes that enable ABA members to receive additional discounts. (For details, visit www.bookweb.org/events/institute [4].)

Questions about the Winter Institute program should be addressed to ABA Education Director Len Vlahos at [email protected] [8]; event registration questions should be e-mailed to Program Assistant Margaret Nafz at [email protected] [11]. For answers to questions about hotel registration, contact the Marriott directly at (502) 627-5045.