ABA’s Spring Forums to Begin in March

All indie booksellers — ABA members and non-members alike — are invited to take part in the American Booksellers Association’s upcoming Spring Forums, which will feature an educational session focusing on the issues independent booksellers face in staying profitable.

“A Year of Bookstore Profitability,” to be led by ABA at each of the 10 Spring Forums, will present a year-long calendar of effective steps that bookstores can implement — as well as key cost-saving programs — to boost sales and improve the bottom line. This session is applicable to all bookstore employees, and booksellers will be invited to join the conversation and share the initiatives they use to improve profitability each quarter.

ABA’s Spring Forums are presented in conjunction with the regional bookseller associations. As part of the open forum segment of the program, booksellers will have the opportunity to discuss any of their concerns related to ABA, the book industry in general, and other issues. The spring forum discussions are a critically important vehicle for ABA to gather feedback from members, and all are encouraged to come prepared to discuss their concerns.

Non-member booksellers attending one of the forums are invited to sign up to test drive an ABA membership for free through August 31. This offer applies to stores that have not been ABA members in the past two years.

To take advantage of the offer, booksellers will need to attend one of the Spring Forums to receive the promotion code. Between March 15 and May 15, booksellers can enter the code in the new member application on BookWeb.org to sign up for the free trial. Following the trial period, stores will have the option to convert their membership to regular status until the end of the dues year (January 31, 2019) for a prorated portion of the new member rate of $199.

Here are the dates and locations for the 2018 Spring Forum season; watch for more details in upcoming editions of Bookselling This Week.

• Friday, March 16: Hollywood, California, with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association
• Sunday, March 18: San Francisco, California, with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
• Monday, March 19: Seattle, Washington, with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association
• Friday, March 23: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance
• Monday, March 26: Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association
• Wednesday, March 28: New York, New York, with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association
• Thursday, April 12: Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the New England Independent Booksellers Association
• Tuesday, April 17: Detroit, Michigan, with the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association
• Monday, April 23: St. Louis, Missouri, an additional forum with the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association
• Wednesday, April 25: Evergreen, Colorado, with the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association