“Bookstores — An Inclusive Place for Dialogue and Discovery” to Debut at ABA Spring Forum in Atlanta

Booksellers are invited to join the American Booksellers Association in Atlanta for the first Spring Forum of the year, on Tuesday, March 7. Along with an open forum discussion of industry issues, the program will feature the new education session “Bookstores — An Inclusive Place for Dialogue and Discovery.”

ABA programming is being presented in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and is open to all booksellers, ABA members and non-members alike.

The March 7 forum program, hosted by ABA CEO Oren Teicher and Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at The Crowne Plaza Atlanta Airport. Lunch will be served at 1:00 p.m. during the education session; the open forum discussion will follow.

ABA Board member Jamie Fiocco of Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, will lead the education session, which will take the form of a conversation where booksellers will share ideas and brainstorm about how bookstores can foster communication and create opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds to express and respond to differing views in the welcoming setting of a bookstore. This nontraditional education session is designed to be an interactive discussion, where booksellers will participate in open communication and problem solving — in both large and small groups — to clarify strategies for strengthening the unique role that bookstores play in their communities.

Prior to ABA programming, SIBA invites booksellers to “SIBA in the Springtime!” a program that starts on the evening of Monday, March 6, with a celebration of Peachtree Publishers’ 40th anniversary and authors at the Okra Picks Dinner. Tuesday morning will feature a breakfast, followed by sessions at which booksellers will help SIBA reimagine the fall Discovery Show.

For more information and to register, visit SIBA’s website.

An open forum discussion of industry issues and “Bookstores — An Inclusive Place for Dialogue and Discovery” will be held at each of the 10 Spring Forums this year. Below is the remainder of the 2017 ABA Spring Forum schedule:

Friday, March 10: Washington, D.C., with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association

Wednesday, March 22: Denver, Colorado, with the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association

Friday, March 24: Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the New England Independent Booksellers Association

Tuesday, March 28: White Plains, New York, with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association

Friday, March 31: North Hollywood, California, with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association

Sunday, April 2: San Francisco, California, with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association

Tuesday, April 4: Portland, Oregon, with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association

Wednesday, April 19: Grand Rapids, Michigan, with the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association

Thursday, April 20: Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, with the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association