News - Regional

The last of this spring's nine American Booksellers Association Forum programs will be held next Thursday, May 1, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in conjunction with the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA).

Close to 60 booksellers attended the ABA Booksellers Forum, held in conjunction with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association on Wednesday, April 16, at Schuler Books & Music in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The setting for the American Booksellers Association's Booksellers Forum in New York City on April 8 -- held in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) -- was the Louis L'Amour Conference Room in Random House's midtown Manhattan headquarters.

Booksellers are invited to an American Booksellers Association Forum program on Wednesday, April 16, at Schuler Books & Music (2660 28th Street SE) in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Like so many towns across the country today, Kalamazoo, Michigan's local economy is hurting. Only recently, the Pfizer drug company pulled up stakes and left; National City Corp. is laying off employees; there's a lack of available jobs; and though there are three colleges in town, the community and its businesses are feeling the pinch of tough times.

But while Kalamazoo's economy may be stagnant, the area's independent retailers are not.

The American Booksellers Association is holding a Booksellers Forum program in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association on Tuesday, April 8, in New York City.

During the last week in March, the American Booksellers Association held Booksellers Forum programs in Estes Park, Colorado; Atlanta, Georgia; and Portland, Oregon. ABA staff attending one or more of the events included ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, COO Oren Teicher, Chief Program Officer Len Vlahos, and Chief Marketing Officer Meg Smith.

The last of this spring's nine American Booksellers Association Forum programs will be held on Thursday, May 1, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in conjunction with the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA).

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) has condemned a new Indiana law that requires mainstream bookstores to register with the government if they sell "sexually explicit materials." Indiana H.B. 1042 was signed into law last week by Gov. Mitch Daniels, despite the protests of ABFFE, the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, 15 independent booksellers, and others who sought to dissuade the governor from approving the legislation.

Three American Booksellers Association Forum programs are on tap for the remainder of this month: on Thursday, March 27, in Estes Park, Colorado, and on Saturday, March 29, in Atlanta, Georgia, and Portland, Oregon.

On Monday, March 10, and Wednesday, March 12, the American Booksellers Association held Booksellers Forum programs in conjunction with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA), respectively.

On Saturday, March 8, the American Booksellers Association held an education program and a Booksellers Forum in conjunction with the Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA) Spring Meeting, during the weekend of the Minneapolis Spring Gift Show at the Park Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis. More than 40 booksellers attended the day's programming.

The American Booksellers Association will hold a Booksellers Forum program in conjunction with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association on Wednesday, April 16, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Booksellers are invited to an American Booksellers Association's Booksellers Forum program on Monday, March 10, in Los Angeles, and on Wednesday, March 12, in San Francisco.

An American Booksellers Association's Booksellers Forum program will be held on Thursday, March 27, in Estes Park, Colorado, followed by programs on Saturday, March 29, in Atlanta, Georgia, and in Portland, Oregon. The owners and staff of all ABA member stores, as well as those of the respective regional associations, are invited to attend.