About ABA

From former President Bill Clinton's Keynote Address, to a lively trade show floor, to the celebration of the fifth birthday of Book Sense, to author events, and even to the city of Chicago itself, this year's BookExpo America (BEA) proved a crowd pleaser. Booksellers and publishers described this year's trade show at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center as an upbeat, busy event, allowing both to reconnect and to establish new relationships.

Building on the success of the Hotel California in 2003 and the Hotel ABA - Chicago at last week's trade show, ABA is pleased to announce the Hotel ABA - New York City for BookExpo America (BEA) 2005. Next year's ABA convention and BEA trade show will be held from Thursday, June 2 - Sunday, June 5, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, and ABA, working with the staff of BEA, has secured the Park Central Times Square Hotel as the hotel for ABA bookstore members, at a special room rate of $125 per night.

On Friday, June 4, at this year's BookExpo America, ABA held its annual Town Hall Meeting, which was then followed by its Annual Membership Meeting.

The Town Hall meeting covered a number of topics during an hour of spirited give and take, and the central focus of the meeting was on the question of whether to report aggregate sales of independent bookstores to publishers. Other issues discussed included the pending sale of ABA's headquarters and booksellers' concerns regarding the rising costs associated with the receipt of damaged books.

Politics and business mixed on Saturday, June 5, at BookExpo America, as Day 3 featured a political lunch, an update on the Campaign for Reader Privacy, and a presentation of petitions to Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, as well as ABA's comprehensive seminar exploring ways to improve profits.

Friday, June 4 -- Day 2 of BookExpo America -- was the occasion of two joyous celebrations of the spirit of independent booksellers -- the Book Sense Book and Author Lunch and ABA's Celebration of Bookselling, where the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Award winners were announced. It was also opening day of the trade show floor and a day for ABA to take care of business at its Town Hall and Annual Membership meetings.

And the Winners Are…

Live From BEA -- Day 1

On Thursday, June 3, more than 425 independent booksellers from around the U.S. converged at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago for ABA's Full-Day Educational Program at BookExpo America (BEA). Booksellers participated in activities ranging from morning marketing sessions to the booksellers' "What Are You Reading Lunch" to afternoon programming, which focused on independent business alliances, identifying competition, children's bookselling, and more.

LIBRIS (League of Independent Book Retailer Insurance Services), the insurance company created by ABA for the benefit of independent booksellers, has announced that it will soon be distributing dividends to participants in the program. Dividends to be distributed to ABA members are determined by a percentage of premiums paid on Business Owner Package and Workers' Compensation policies written from July 2002 through June 2003. Dividends distributed to non-ABA participants are equal to a smaller percentage of these premiums. Dividend checks will be mailed shortly.

The "American Booksellers Association, Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Financial Statements and Schedules -- September 30, 2003 and 2002 (With Independent Auditors' Report Thereon)" has been posted to BookWeb.org and is accessible to ABA bookstore members. For a downloadable PDF format, click here.

ABA recently announced the addition of a new session, "2003 ABACUS Results Review," to its programming at this year's BookExpo America (BEA). The ABACUS seminar will be held on Sunday, June 6, from 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. in Room 402A at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center.

ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will lead the session, which will look at Year Two of the new financial survey of independent bookstores and will compare the results against the 2002 study.