Handout

Handselling a book through an effective blurb is an essential bookselling skill, whether it’s for the Indie Next List, for shelf-talkers, or for other opportunities in-store, online, or elsewhere. A panel of bookseller blurb-writing all-stars will discuss the key elements of effective blurbs and direct attendees in hands-on exercises for writing and reviewing blurbs.

• David Enyeart,Common Good Books (St. Paul, MN)
• Peternelle Van Arsdale, Author The Beast is an Animal, Simon & Schuster
• Pamela Klinger-Horn, Excelsior Bay Books (Excelsior, MN)
• Luisa Smith, Book Passage (Corte Madera, CA) (Moderator)
   

Bringing used books into your store can improve your margins and help your bottom line, but it also brings a new set of considerations to your already established business procedures. This 101 introductory session will help you navigate issues such as buying, sourcing, and tracking your used inventory.

• Jessi Blackstock, Magers & Quinn Booksellers (Minneapolis, MN)
• Harriett Logan, Loganberry Books (Shaker Heights, OH)
• Lacy Simons, hello hello books (Rockland, ME)
• Shane Gottwals, Gottwals Books (Warner Robins, GA) (Moderator)
   

An ongoing commitment to improving margins is a key to increasing bookstore profits. Focusing on freight costs, cost of goods sold, and even shrinkage can help any business improve the bottom line. Panelists in this session will help booksellers focus on successful strategies and best practices that will help guide booksellers into greater profitability.

• Sally Brewster, Park Road Books (Charlotte, NC)
• Cynthia Compton, 4 Kids Books & Toys (Zionsville, IN)
• Paul Hanson, Village Books (Bellingham, WA)
• Libby Manthey, Riverwalk Books (Chelan, WA) (Moderator)
   

For owners and managers. Pre-reg required.
This ticketed session is open to ABA member store owners and managers only. One of the most important hires for any retail operation is a manager. Whether for the entire store, a section, or a key function, managers take pressure off owners, allowing them to focus on big-picture business decisions, secure in the knowledge that day-to-day operations will continue successfully. In this session, owners will learn strategies for communicating, delegating, training, and thriving through skillfully empowering managers. Facilitated by Lani Basa, owner and CEO of The Business Women’s Circle (BWC), a group providing a confidential and collaborative setting for businesswomen to foster growth and work on their businesses with the support of others.

• Lani Basa, Owner and CEO, Business Women's Circle (Minneapolis, MN)
   

Social media is here to stay, but no one platform is invincible. Algorithms can change overnight. For example, if Facebook disappeared tomorrow, your following would evaporate with it. Luckily, you are already investing in one online presence you do control: your website. This panel will review how to use social media to drive traffic to your website and e-newsletters --regardless of which social media platforms you prefer or how they can change -- and how to leverage your social followings to meet your store's marketing goals.

• Dan Graham, Book Soup (West Hollywood, CA)
• Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore (Richmond, VA)
• Catherine Cusick, ABA (Moderator)
   

Booksellers face special free speech problems in selling children’s books. Parents complain about books that are “inappropriate” for their children based on age or socio-economic background, and there is also growing sensitivity in some communities as to how they are presented in kids’ books. How should booksellers respond?

• Nicole Brinkley, Oblong Books and Music (Rhinebeck, NY)
• Miranda Paul, Mentorship Chair, We Need Diverse Books (Bethesda, MD) and Author, 10 Little Ninjas (Knopf Books for Young Reader)
• Joan Trygg, Red Balloon Bookshop (St. Paul, MN)
• I.W. Gregorio, Founding Member, We Need Diverse Books (Bethesda, MD) and Author, None of the Above (Balzer + Bray)
• Chris Finan, ABA (Moderator)
   

Congratulations, you are a manager! Now what? Being a manager is not easy, and, while your exceptional performance may have gotten you that promotion, your new position will require a whole new set of skills: delegating, motivating, negotiating, communicating, etc. A professional will offer tools and techniques to help first-time managers survive and thrive.

• Lani Basa, Owner and CEO, Business Women's Circle (Minneapolis, MN)
• Cindy Dach, Changing Hands Bookstore (Tempe, AZ)
• Mary Magers, Magers & Quinn Booksellers (Minneapolis, MN) (Moderator)
   

Being an insightful reader and a book lover is just part of working in a bookstore. While it’s great to introduce someone to their next great read, a bookseller’s goal is to actually sell the book. How do you move from book insight to book sales? In this session, bookselling pros will provide strategies and tips for making the sale and attendees will have the opportunity to practice their newly acquired skills!

• Linda-Marie Barrett, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe (Asheville, NC)
• Daniel Goldin, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)
• Gillian Kohli, Wellesley Books (Wellesley, MA)
• Valerie Koehler, Blue Willow Bookshop (Houston, TX) (Moderator)
   

Building upon findings in a recent Nielsen Book study that showed a significant rise in sales of active nonfiction for children and the potential for even greater growth, booksellers who have successfully increased their nonfiction business will discuss the keys to broadening their inventory and maintaining a diverse selection to complement the subjects driving this category.

• Kenny Brechner, Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers (Farmington, ME)
• Carol Moyer, Quail Ridge Books (Raleigh, NC)
• Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Company (Seattle, WA)
• Sara Grochowski, Briliant Books (Traverse City, MI) (Moderator)
   

Managing large-scale off-site events takes a lot of planning. With concerns ranging from securing a location and ticketing to working with the publisher, formulating marketing strategies, and event team logistics, pulling together a large-scale event can quickly overwhelm even the most seasoned event planner. Come spend an hour with colleagues from bookstores that regularly produce large-scale off-site events for insights and tips on how to manage a successful event of your own.

• Robert McDonald, The Book Stall at Chestnut Court (Winnetka, IL)
• Lynn Pellerito Riehl, Nicola's Books (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore (Brooklyn, NY)
• Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books (Mystic, CT) (Moderator)

With graphic novels rapidly expanding as a category and continuing to mature as an art form, stores may struggle to determine which books to carry and how to display them, as well as how to handle resistance from skeptical parents and educators. Panelists will discuss these issues and more, from essential title lists to successful handselling and the value of graphic novels in fostering reading.

• Michael Bender, Community Bookstore (Brooklyn, NY)
• Heather Hebert, Children's Book World (Haverford, PA)
• Marika McCoola, Porter Square Books (Cambridge, MA)
• Michael Link, Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Cincinnati, OH) (Moderator)
   

Booksellers and librarians serve a common need and share many goals, but partnering on events and other initiatives can be challenging.  Presented in cooperation with the American Library Association, this panel, featuring pairs of booksellers and librarians who are successfully working together, will discuss potential hurdles as well as solutions for productive partnerships between bookstores and libraries.

• Laura DeLaney, Rediscovered Books (Boise, ID)
• Heidi Lewis, Information Services Assistant Supervisor at the Boise Public Library (Boise, ID)
• Holly Weinkauf, Red Balloon Bookshop (St. Paul, MN)
• Lisa Von Drasek, Curator of the Children's Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
• Lauren Zimmerman, Writer's Block Bookstore (Winter Park, FL)
• Sabrina Smith, Assistant Director at the Winter Park Public Library (Winter Park, FL)
• Natasha Gilmore, Associate Children’s Editor at Publishers Weekly (Moderator)
   

There are few triumphs greater than placing the right book in the hands of any reader, but that is especially true for children who rarely, if ever, read for their own pleasure.  The key is learning how to connect with these non-readers and mastering subtle techniques for matching kids with books that will inspire them to want to read.

• Debbie Buck, Vintage Books (Vancouver, WA)
• Molly Olivo, Barstons Child's Play (McLean, VA)
• Claire Gatrell-Stephens, library media specialist for Orange County Public School District (Orlando, FL)
• Margaret Brennan Neville, The King's English Bookshop (Salt Lake City, UT) (Moderator)
   

More than any retailer in the past 20  years, Amazon.com has transformed the industry. In a groundbreaking study, Civic Economics -- a leader in research related to local economies and the impact of shopping decisions -- has for the first time quantified the real costs and ramifications of Amazon's expansion . Joining Dan Houston and Matt Cunningham of Civic Economics will be Stacy Mitchell, of the the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, who will discuss important local and national policy considerations regarding an equitable and sustainable economy.

• Dan Houston, Principal, Civic Economics (Austin, TX)
• Matt Cunningham, Principal, Civic Economics (Chicago, IL)
• Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director, The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (Portland, ME)
• Oren Teicher, ABA (White Plains, NY) (Greeter)
   

If you are thinking about opening a café or other food and beverage component in your bookstore, this session is not to be missed.  Panelist will discuss tips and best practices for start-up, profitability, staffing, and overall management for combining book retail and a café business.

• Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books & Cafe (Wichita, KS)
• Nicole Magistro, Bookworm of Edwards (Edwards, CO)
• Nicole Sullivan, BookBar (Denver, CO)
• Chris Morrow, Northshire Bookstore (Manchester Center, VT) (Moderator)