Winter Institute 2020

In our highly charged and increasingly challenging political landscape, author visits and even authorless events can become a flash point. Managing and pre-planning for potential event disruptions by fully understanding your community, your audience, and your guests can go a long way toward creating solutions. This panel will offer suggestions from booksellers who have experienced store boycotts and both peaceful and not-so-peaceful protestors. Panelists: Dave Grogan, ABA (White Plains, NY), Reiko Redmonde, Revolution Books (Berkeley, CA), Elisa Thomas, Cellar Door Books (Riverside, CA), Bradley Graham, Politics and Prose Bookstore (Washington, DC)

Podcasting has become an increasingly popular way to supplement your store’s programming, boost sales, and generate interest in your store among the literary community and beyond. In this session, we will discuss how to decide if a podcast makes sense for your store, different philosophies regarding the creation of content, the best recording equipment and editing software, different publishing platforms, and how to work with publishers and authors to promote their work and yours. Jason Jefferies, general manager of Quail Ridge Books, host of the store’s podcast, Bookin', and co-director of the North Carolina Book Festival, will moderate this panel. Panelists: Jason Jefferies, Quail Ridge Books (Raleigh, NC), Annie Jones, The Bookshelf (Thomasville, GA), Alena Jones, Seminary Co-op Bookstore and 57th Street Books (Chicago, IL), Layla Saad, author, Sourcebooks

Rebecca Solnit, the author of more than 20 critically acclaimed books, has long been championed by independent booksellers. In this Wi15 keynote event — “A (Feminist) Field Guide to Nonexistence” — she will talk about her formation as a feminist and a writer in the face of a misogynistic American society, how she discovered her voice as a woman and an author, and what it means to speak out in a society that prefers women to be silent. Rebecca Solnit is the author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost, The Faraway Nearby, A Paradise Built in Hell, River of Shadows, and Wanderlust: A History of Walking. She is also the author of Men Explain Things to Me and many essays on feminism, activism and social change, hope, and the climate crisis. 2003 book, River of Shadows, won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Lannan Literary Award; her 2013 book, The Faraway Nearby, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and her most recent collection of essays, Call Them By Their True Names, was longlisted for the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize. Her forthcoming book, Recollections of My Nonexistence, will be published by Viking in March 2020.

Pre-registration required; space is limited. Registration is closed. Workplaces that go beyond inclusive policies to truly cultivate climates of inclusion are a win-win for employers and employees, as they capitalize on the focus and energy that comes from people bringing their full selves to work. An educator from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation will present data on how to make your business a more inclusive place and will provide an environment for reflection and discussion on how to make positive changes in your workplace culture. Panelists: Raina Nelson, Human Rights Campaign Foundation (Washington, DC)

ABACUS is the financial benchmarking survey that provides actionable, store-specific financial data as well as overall data on the financial health of independent bookstores for those who submit to the survey. Whether or not you submit, you will find this session full of helpful guidelines and suggestions for increasing store profitability. Not sure what ABACUS is or if it’s applicable to you? This is the perfect place to find your answers. Panelists: Pete Mulvihill, Green Apple Books (San Francisco, CA), Donna Garban, Little City Books (Hoboken, NJ), Suzanna Hermans, Oblong Books and Music (Millerton, NY), Angela Schwesnedl, Moon Palace Books (Minneapolis, MN)

Publisher reps can be a bookstore’s advocate, cheerleader, and access point for important publisher resources. By effectively working with their reps, booksellers can play an important role in communicating the unique needs of their diverse communities. Moderated by an experienced buyer, this panel conversation features a field rep, a commission rep, a phone rep and a bookseller. Together, they will offer an inside perspective on how booksellers and publishers can work together for combined success. Panelists: Julia Fleischaker, Greedy Reads (Baltimore, MD), Timothy Hepp, Simon and Schuster, Field Rep, Amanda McGuire, Penguin Random House, Phone Rep, Eileen Bertelli, Parson Weems Publisher Services (Brooklyn, NY), Jeanne Costello, Maria's Bookshop (Durango, CO)

Every title on the bookstore shelf goes through a similar cycle: author, agent, editor, and publisher activities that include editing, jacket design, sales and marketing, and all the things involved in promoting bookstore sales. This session will feature industry professionals discussing each aspect of the life cycle of the book and will give attendees a larger perspective on their part in the process. Panelists: Bradley Graham, Politics and Prose Bookstore (Washington, DC), Kaitlin Harri, Senior Marketing Director, Morrow Group, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), Laura Lippman, Author, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), Vicky Bijur, Owner, Vicky Bijur Literary Agency, Liate Stehlik, President and Publisher, Morrow Group, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), Mary Beth Thomas, VP, Deputy Director of Sales, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Company (Seattle, WA)

If you lost an important resource when Baker and Taylor left the indie community, this is a session you will not want to miss. The panelists will review the benefits of ordering direct from publishers and tips for organizing your resulting paperwork. Also on the panel will be booksellers who have accounts with wholesalers who can discuss those vendors' services for small stores. Panelists: PK Sindwani, ABA (White Plains, NY), Todd Dickinson, Aaron's Books (Lititz, PA), Lane Jacobson, Paulina Springs Books (Sisters, OR), Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Books (Point Reyes Station, CA)

This is an opportunity for booksellers to come together to discuss meaningful and often difficult topics. The goal for this conversation is not to find a solution or to provide active take-away steps, but to practice active listening, contributing, and considering other points of view on complex issues facing our industry and society. This session will focus on the politics of curation. What social or economic factors do you consider when you buy, merchandise, hand-sell, and cultivate specific author and publisher relationships? Do you choose to exclude certain titles or authors from your inventory? This conversation will be facilitated by a professional moderator. Panelists: Lexi Beach, Astoria Bookshop (Astoria, NY), Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA), Kenny Brechner, Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers (Farmington, ME) , Valerie Koehler, Blue Willow Bookshop (Houston, TX), Robert Sindelar, Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park, WA)

New technologies and shifting consumer buying behaviors have reshaped the business landscape. In this Wi15 keynote event, Ryan Raffaelli (@RyanLRaffaelli), associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, will present his groundbreaking research on how longstanding industries can increase their odds of achieving sustained growth in the face of new business threats. Professor Raffaelli will also preview findings from his forthcoming academic paper on the renewed strength of the independent bookstore channel. Drawing on eight years of in-depth field observations of bookstores in 25 states, more than 200 interviews and focus groups, and analysis of extensive archival data, the study examines the decline and subsequent rise of the U.S. independent bookselling sector from 2005 to today. Professor Raffaelli will highlight “3Cs” of reinvention – community, curation, and convening – and offer broader insights for local businesses and communities responding to current significant threats from online and corporate retail competition.

Enjoy lunch with publisher sales reps and learn about great upcoming titles from the Winter Institute’s publisher sponsors. Seats are assigned; table numbers are printed on bookseller badges.

Enjoy a session with your publishing colleagues.

First time at Winter Institute? Don’t panic! Join us before the Welcome Reception to get the scoop on Winter Institute and meet other attendees new to the event. Together, we will assist you in making the perfect game plan that ensures you get the most out of your Wi15 experience. If you requested a mentor, now is also the time to meet them so that you can connect throughout the conference.

Pre-registration required; space is limited. Registration is closed.

Discuss the art of selling used and rare books with fellow booksellers. Topics will include merchandising policies, inventory acquisition, events, displays, remainders, online sales, store layout, and more. Hear from veterans about the unique world of used books. Panelists: Shane Gottwals, Gottwals Books & The Walls of Books® Franchise (Byron, GA), Amy Thomas, Pegasus Books (Berkeley, CA)

Co-sponsored by Shelf Awareness, ABA’s 2020 Winter Institute Welcome Reception and Anniversary Celebration is your welcome to Baltimore and an opportunity to enjoy cocktails, snacks, and the company of your colleagues from around the world.