News - Regional

Next Friday, February 25, the American Booksellers Association will hold a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA) and Bargain Books News' Spring Book Show in Atlanta. ABA/SEBA programming will be held in the Da Vinci Room of Atlanta's Renaissance Concourse Hotel.

ABA will be holding a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) at the Tudor Bookshop in Kingston, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, March 6. All area bookstore owners and staff are encouraged to attend the event, which includes a substantive educational component and an update on ABA programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity to meet with association senior staff to ask questions and to offer comments.

ABA held a Booksellers Forum and Education Program on Tuesday, February 15, in conjunction with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) at the regional's offices in the Presidio in San Francisco. NCIBA Executive Director Hut Landon described the event, attended by 36 booksellers, as "really upbeat. People raised a lot of good issues, questions, and concerns.

In the spirit of inclusiveness and accuracy, the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA) has changed its name to the Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA). "Our new name now accurately includes the whole territory and all of the bookstores that we represent," said the regional's executive director, Susan Walker. "It's a large geographic area to call the Upper Midwest.

This week is proving to be a significant one for the Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association (MSIBA): In a February 8 letter sent to its bookstore and publishing members, MSIBA announced that it was actively seeking a merger with the Mountain & Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) and the Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA) and that, "due to family needs and obligations," Susan Kent would be resigning as MSIBA's executive director.

Next week, ABA will be holding a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in both northern and southern California. On Tuesday, February 15, ABA will conduct a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) at its offices in the Presidio in San Francisco. On Wednesday, the program will be held in conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association (SCBA) at the Long Beach Hilton in Long Beach.

On Wednesday, February 2, approximately 25 people attended a daylong American Booksellers Association Booksellers Forum and Education Program, held in conjunction with the Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association (MSIBA), at BookPeople in Austin, Texas. According to those in attendance who spoke with BTW, both the morning's educational session and the afternoon forum provided much food for thought.

ABA will be holding a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in both northern and southern California during the week of February 13. The first forum will be on Tuesday, February 15, in conjunction with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) at its offices in the Presidio in San Francisco. The following day the program will be held in conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association (SCBA) at the Long Beach Hilton in Long Beach. The programs will run from 10:15 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., and lunch is included.

ABA's 2005 Booksellers Forum Tour and Education Program, which launched earlier this month, will be coming to a location near you. During the next four months, ABA senior staff and representatives of the ABA Board and Booksellers Advisory Council will meet with booksellers in every region of the country to provide an update on various ABA programs and initiatives and to gather input that will be used to shape future association efforts.

On Wednesday, February 2, the American Booksellers Association will hold a Booksellers Forum and Education Program, in conjunction with the Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association (MSIBA), at BookPeople in Austin, Texas. All MSIBA and ABA member booksellers are invited to attend the events, which run from 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

'Tis the season to stash the wrapping paper, tally the sales figures, and begin planning for the future.

The 15-day period of record-breaking rainfall that hit Southern California triggering flooding and mudslides caused some minor damage and mixed sales results for booksellers in the region who responded to Southern California Booksellers Association Executive Director Jennifer Bigelow's request for a status report.

The American Booksellers Association kicks off its 2005 Winter/Spring Booksellers Forum season and 2005 Education Program on Saturday, January 8, in Salt Lake City. The program, held in conjunction with the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA), will take place from 9:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. at The King's English Bookstore's Fresco Restaurant. All MPBA and ABA member booksellers are invited, and ABA hopes as many area booksellers as possible will attend.

Holiday catalogs developed by the New Atlantic Independent, Pacific Northwest, Southeast, Southern California, and Upper Midwest booksellers associations are now featured on the BookSense.com hub site and are available for upload to participating BookSense.com sites. BookSense.com participants within each region were recently sent instructions about adding a regional holiday catalog to their site and their homepage.