More than 500 Independent Booksellers to Gather in Washington

Small Business Issues and Best Practices on the Agenda; Congressional Visits Planned to Compete in Growing E-book Business

Tarrytown, NY. January 5, 2011

This month, more than 500 member bookstores of the American Booksellers Association will be meeting in Washington, D.C., for the sixth annual ABA Winter Institute - a three-day educational conference that will feature more than 30 educational panels and sessions, author events, and special keynote addresses. Hundreds of booksellers will also be visiting with their representatives on Capitol Hill to discuss e-tax fairness and a number of critical small business issues, including e-tax fairness and health care. The Winter Institute is scheduled from Wednesday, January 19, to Friday, January 21.

"The programming at ABA's Winter Institute is focused on providing independent booksellers with the practical, actionable education that they need to help ensure that their businesses innovate and grow. It will also help our members continue to offer readers a unique, community-based shopping experience, full of great books and the joy of great writing," said Oren Teicher, ABA's Chief Executive Officer.

Karen Mills, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and PBS' Jim Lehrer will be the featured speakers at the opening keynote event on Wednesday, January 19, 2011. The conversation between Mills - the highest-ranking official in the Obama administration for small business issues - and Lehrer will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing small businesses today. The event, part of a special Legislative Day, will be followed by a full schedule of programming focusing on the special role of independent businesses in the political process that will include Congressional visits by attendees.

Educational sessions at the Winter Institute range from such topics as creating political change; growing sales through retail partnerships; using strategic thinking to create new business models; creating great children's departments; a report on the result of the 2010 ABC and Bowker PubTrack survey; and a practical discussion on selling e-books. There will be an opening reception on Tuesday, January 18, at Washington's renowned Politics & Prose Bookstore, two author receptions featuring close to 60 authors and illustrators, and other special events for attendees. Programming is sponsored in part by the Ingram Book Company, and by 35 publisher partners.

In addition to Mills and Lehrer, participating at this year's Winter Institute are nationally recognized expert on business strategy, customer service, sales, and marketing Bob Phibbs (the author of The Retail Doctor's Guide to Growing Your Business [Wiley], who will be the keynote speaker on Thursday, January 20), and bestselling author David Allen, who will present the new seminar "Efficiency 201: Accomplish More by Working Less." (Allen is widely recognized as the world's leading authority on personal and organizational productivity and is the author of Getting Things Done: the Art of Stress-Free Productivity [Penguin]).

About American Booksellers Association
Founded in 1900, the American Booksellers Association is a not-for-profit trade organization devoted to meeting the needs of its core members -- independently owned bookstores with storefront locations -- through education, information dissemination, business products and services, and advocacy. ABA exists to protect and promote the interests of independent retail book businesses, as well as to protect the First Amendment rights of every American. The association actively supports free speech, literacy, and programs that support local and independent retail shops. A board of nine booksellers, representing thousands of members, governs the Association. ABA is headquartered in Tarrytown, New York.

American Booksellers Association
200 White Plains Rd.
Tarrytown, NY 10591
Meg Smith (914) 373-6641 [email protected]