About ABA

Booksellers are invited to ABA Booksellers Forums next week in Fort Collins, Colorado; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Spring Green, Wisconsin. Each will feature an open forum discussion of industry issues and the new ABA education session “Exploring New Markets.”

With the launch this week of ABA’s BookExpo America program page on BookWeb.org, registration for two exclusive bookseller-publisher networking opportunities for ABA member stores is now open.

Under ABA’s Bylaws, any bookstore member may submit petitions to have the names of additional candidates for Board officers and/or directors added to the ballot for the 2015–16 Board of Directors elections.

ABA President Steve Bercu sees another great year ahead for indie bookstores and encourages members to take advantage of upcoming education events.

The ABA Booksellers Forum schedule includes programs on March 24, 25, and 26 in Colorado, Michigan, and Wisconsin, respectively. Each is free and open to all booksellers, including non-ABA members.

Last week's news cycle featured a number of positive stories about independent bookstores, starting with a February 25 article in the International New York Times about the growing number of indie bookstores in the U.S. 

Under ABA’s Bylaws, any bookstore member may submit petitions to have the names of additional candidates for Board officers and/or directors added to the ballot for the 2015–16 Board of Directors elections.

Booksellers are invited to join American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher and Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger at an ABA Spring Forum in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, March 11, or Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, March 12.
 

The American Booksellers Association’s Board of Directors met on February 6 – 7, 2015, in Asheville, North Carolina, just prior to the 10th Winter Institute, and worked on a range of business.

ABA’s Board of Directors has approved the Nominating Committee’s recommendation of three director candidates to stand for election to the Board. The Board has also selected a new president and vice president. The petition process for additional candidates is now open.

On Tuesday, ABA member booksellers shared their ideas, questions, and concerns about minimum wage, informational resources, industry diversity, and other topics with the ABA Board and staff during the first Winter Institute Town Hall.

On the final day of Wi10, ABA CEO Oren Teicher announced that Winter Institute 2016 will take place in the heart of downtown Denver, Colorado, near the 16th Street Mall.

The 10th anniversary celebration of the Winter Institute, held this week in Asheville, North Carolina, brought more than 500 ABA member booksellers, 100-plus authors, and close to 20 international guests from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and France to the stunning setting of the historic Grove Park Inn. 

In his bimonthly letter to members, ABA CEO Oren Teicher reflects on the far different world booksellers are facing since 2006, when the first Winter Institute was held in Long Beach, California.

In 2014, ABA membership grew by the largest number of new stores in a single year since the start of the Great Recession in 2008.