Pick up your badge, the official Ci7 welcome bag from Baker & Taylor, and a full schedule of Institute events. Group and table assignments are printed on bookseller badges.
The Downtown Pittsburgh Full-day Bookstore Tour, which costs $30 per person, will depart from the DoubleTree Hotel at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, June 26, and will stop at Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Spark Books, City of Asylum, White Whale Bookstore, and Classic Lines Bookstore. Boarding begins 30 minutes prior to departure; the tour will return to the hotel by 4:00 p.m. Both booksellers and publishers are invited to sign up. Registration for the tours will close when they reach capacity; space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. .
Pre-registation required; $45 fee per person; space is limited and lunch is provided. Hosting events in-store and offsite is a great way to strengthen a customer base, build goodwill within your community, and make money. But tackling the ins and outs of events, no matter how large or small, is daunting, time-consuming, and, let’s face it, overwhelming. This full-day, two-part workshop led by aces in bookstore event management will teach attendees:
Events University is open to all booksellers, including those who are not registered for Children’s Institute.
Gather your bookselling friends, hop on your broom, and get ready for the first-ever Children’s Institute quidditch match! This year, booksellers have the opportunity to play their favorite wizarding world game for a chance to win the Ci7 Quidditch Cup. Rules and referees will be under the guidance of Steel City Quidditch Club, a nationally recognized quidditch team located in Pittsburgh. Brooms will be provided; who will take home the trophy? A minimum of 30 players is needed to find out. Pre-registration is required.
IndieCommerce and IndieLite are ABA’s online platforms for marketing events and author appearances as well as selling books and other merchandise. Both users and non-users of IndieCommerce and IndieLite are invited to schedule a one-on-one time with a program specialist from the IndieCommerce team. Space is limited, but walk-ins are welcome. Hours are offered Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Attendees may schedule their appointment by completing the form on www.Bookweb.org.
The North Pittsburgh Half-day Bookstore Tour, which costs $20 per person, departs from the DoubleTree Hotel at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, and will stop at Riverstone Books, The Tiny Bookstore, and Penguin Bookshop. Boarding begins 30 minutes prior to departure; the tour will return to the hotel by 4:00 p.m. Both booksellers and publishers are invited to sign up. Registration for the tours will close when they reach capacity; space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Register for the North Pittsburgh half-day bookstore tour.
First time at Children’s Institute? Don’t panic! Join us before the Welcome Reception & Costume Party to get the 411 on the ins and outs of Children’s Institute, as well as to meet other attendees new to the event. Together, we will assist you in making the perfect game plan that ensures you get the most out of your Ci7 experience. If you requested a mentor, now is also the time to meet them so that you can connect throughout the conference.
Celebrate the opening of the ABC Children’s Institute in the company of your colleagues from around the country with a costume party! Come dressed as your favorite book character or collaborate with fellow booksellers with a group costume. Expect an excellent lineup of judges and fun prizes!
Pick up your badge, the official Ci7 welcome bag from Baker & Taylor, and a full schedule of Institute events. Group and table assignments are printed on bookseller badges.
Ann Patchett, the author of eight novels and three works of nonfiction, is the winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, England’s Orange Prize, and the Book Sense Book of the Year, and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. Her work has been translated into more than 30 languages. She is the co-owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, where she lives with her husband, Karl, and their dog, Sparky.
IndieCommerce and IndieLite are ABA’s online platforms for marketing events and author appearances as well as selling books and other merchandise. Both users and non-users of IndieCommerce and IndieLite are invited to schedule a one-on-one time with a program specialist from the IndieCommerce team. Space is limited, but walk-ins are welcome. Hours are offered Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Attendees may schedule their appointment by completing the form on www.Bookweb.org.
The Quiet Room is intended to provide a quiet, calm space where conference attendees can spend time away from noise, light, and other stimuli of conference spaces. The quiet room is not available for conversations or meetings.
Recently, children's literature has been the subject of debate as readers respond to content related to race, class, culture, individuality, and identity. Authors are self-selecting to delay publication of their books, publishers are canceling titles, and review outlets are retracting starred statuses. There is immense pressure from all sides of the industry to do the right thing, but what is the right thing? This session is designed to be a discussion led by bookselling peers that will begin with a contextual overview of the issues surfacing in kids' books. Attendees will discuss the implications of these issues and how booksellers can productively talk about race, class, culture, individuality, and identity without alienating customers, authors, and each other.
Kenny Brechner, Devaney, Doak & Garrett (Farmington, ME); Summer Laurie, Books Inc. (San Francisco, CA); Javier Ramirez, The Book Table (Oak Park, IL); Sara Grochowski, McLean & Eakin Booksellers (Petoskey, MI)
When your wallet is slim and margins are small, every penny counts. But there are little things that can be done every single day to boost a bookstore’s bottom line. Bookstore panelists who have effectively pinched a penny here and saved a penny there will teach attendees:
Adlai Yeomans, White Whale Books (Pittsburgh, PA); Katie Orphan, The Last Bookstore (Los Angeles, CA); Ariana Paliobagus, Country Bookshelf (Bozeman, MT); Suzanna Hermans, Oblong Books & Music (Millerton, NY)
Twilight and Harry Potter are just two examples of how a series can positively impact a store’s book sales. But series’ like those aren’t a dime a dozen. Booksellers attending this roundtable discussion will share ideas for:
Abby Rauscher, Books are Magic (Brooklyn, NY)
You don’t need an infinite amount of space to remain competitive in independent bookselling. Bookstores under 1,000 square feet share what they do to maximize their selling space and host events without having to knock down walls. Attendees will learn from panelists who call a small store home:
Lea Bickerton, The Tiny Bookstore (Pittsburgh, PA); Bel McNeill, Bel and Bunna's Books (Lafayette, CA); Jennifer Green, Green Bean Books (Portland, OR); Marlene England, Curious Iguana (Frederick, MD)
Title 1 schools work with a small number of resources and even smaller budgets to bring authors to student audiences, host book fairs, and keep accounts with independent bookstores. Luckily, many bookstores do manage successful and profitable partnerships with Title 1 schools. Panelists with ongoing success in partnering with Title 1 schools will share with attendees:
Rebekah Shoaf, Boogie Down Books (New York, NY); Kim Krug, Monkey See, Monkey Do (Clarence, NY); Cecilia Cackley, East City Books (Washington, D.C.); Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop (Southern Pines, NC)
The always-popular Galley Room is filled with ARCs of upcoming titles from Ci7 sponsors. The room will open after the morning breakfast keynote on Wednesday and will remain open for the duration of the Institute.
Ship your galleys from Ci7 with FedEx instead of lugging them home. Bring pre-printed FedEx shipping labels to ease your way at the PartnerShip shipping desk. FedEx is charging a $5 handling fee per box, so pack carefully! Visit PartnerShip.com/07ABA to enroll. Questions? Contact PartnerShip’s Keith Korhely at 800-599-2902 x2254 or by email .
The Consultation Station offers booksellers the opportunity to meet with representatives from ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers.
Enjoy a short coffee break inbetween education sessions. It's a great opportunity network with peers, visit the consultation station, take a quick meeting, or simply top off the morning with another cup of joe.
Holiday gift buying is not a last-minute task, but how does a gift buyer not only source but anticipate what will be a popular gift six months down the road? In this session, bookstores that have a unique collection of non-book items will teach buyers:
Lauren Coleman, RJ Julia Booksellers (Madison, CT); Cynthia Compton, 4 Kids Books & Toys (Zionsville, IN); Angela Schwesnedl, Moon Palace Books (Minneapolis, MN); Donna Wells, Politics & Prose (Washington, D.C.);
Bookstores are important fixtures in every community. They serve as places to gather, to find and research new ideas, to explore new worlds, and to find refuge. But bookstores can also be intimidating for people who are underrepresented by the makeup of a store's staff That’s why it is important for a store to not only reflect its immediate community but also the larger community. In this session, HR leaders will share with attendees:
Veronica Liu, Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria (New York, NY); Rio Cortez, The Schomburg Shop (New York, NY); Patricia Bucek, Vibrant Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA); Jeffrey Blair, Eyeseeme African American Children's Bookstore (University City, MO)
In this idea swap, booksellers will share with each other how they effectively charge for services like book clubs, readings, and other bookstore staples without alienating customers.
Heather Hebert, Children's Book World (Haverford, PA)
Almost every bookstore has a story time, but not every bookstore has a story time that keeps customers coming back again and again. This session is designed to teach attendees:
Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Co. (Seattle, WA); Jonathan Hamilt, Drag Queen Story Hour NYC (New York, NY); Anastasia McKenna, The Twig Book Shop(San Antonio, TX); Angela Whited, Red Balloon Bookshop (St. Paul, MN)
You have a good idea for an event, but it’s not catching fire. You’ve sent out emails, created fliers for the store, and have even posted on all of your store’s social media channels, so what gives? In this session, marketing and events managers teach attendees:
Nichole Cousins, White Birch Books (North Conway, NH); Joy Preble, Brazos Bookstore (Houston, TX); Colin McDonald, Seminary Co-op Bookstore (Chicago, IL); Stephanie Heinz, Print: a Bookstore (Portland, ME)
Enjoy lunch with reps and learn about great upcoming titles from the Ci7 publisher sponsors. Seats are assigned; table numbers are printed on bookseller badges. Booksellers are expected to attend.
Developed for author guests at ABC Children's Institute, this lunch panel features booksellers who have formulated best practices for creating events that benefit both stores and authors. This session will cover a number of issues, from author publicity to dealing with pre-event nerves.
The Consultation Station offers booksellers the opportunity to meet with representatives from ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers.
The Town Hall is an opportunity for open discussion about industry and association issues. ABA Board President Jamie Fiocco (Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC) will facilitate the meeting. Members of the ABA Board will respond to questions and comments from all booksellers. Booksellers are encouraged to submit their comment or question prior the Town Hall by emailing [email protected]
This new event replaces the broad Bookseller Focus Groups with a series of 15 more intimate meetings between participating publishing sponsors and booksellers, thereby providing opportunities to more productively address issues of concern one-on-one. Participating sponsors and bookstores will meet one-on-one with each other (one sponsor/one bookstore per table) for five minutes each in a reverse speed dating format where booksellers will travel from sponsor to sponsor as participating publishers and distributors remain stationed at their tables. Tables 1-7 and 20-25 will be located in the Social Promenade. Tables 8-13 will be located in Mellon. Tables 14-19 will be located in Thompson.
Thanks to the generosity of ABA’s publisher sponsors, many authors and illustrators will be on hand to chat with booksellers and autograph new and forthcoming titles at the Author Reception. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.
Come join Scholastic and an amazing group of authors to kick off the summer with drinks and delicious desserts! Booksellers will meet fall 2019 authors, get a first look at their upcoming books, and take home gifts! Featured authors include:
Come by the Welcome Desk to chat with Member Relationship Managers Elizabeth Roberts and Daniel O’Brien who will be available to answer your questions about ABA or Ci7.
Indies Introduce is about what independent booksellers do best: Discovering exciting debut authors and sharing the best with readers across the country. You will hear about the title selection process from the bookseller panelists who curated the list and many of this season’s debut authors will be present to read a short passage and answer a question posed by one of the panelists.
IndieCommerce and IndieLite are ABA’s online platforms for marketing events and author appearances as well as selling books and other merchandise. Both users and non-users of IndieCommerce and IndieLite are invited to schedule a one-on-one time with a program specialist from the IndieCommerce team. Space is limited, but walk-ins are welcome. Hours are offered Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Attendees may schedule their appointment by completing the form on www.Bookweb.org.
The Quiet Room is intended to provide a quiet, calm space where conference attendees can spend time away from noise, light, and other stimuli of conference spaces. The quiet room is not available for conversations or meetings.
The always-popular Galley Room is filled with ARCs of upcoming titles from Ci7 sponsors. The room will open after the morning breakfast keynote on Wednesday and will remain open for the duration of the Institute.
Ship your galleys from Ci7 with FedEx instead of lugging them home. Bring pre-printed FedEx shipping labels to ease your way at the PartnerShip shipping desk. FedEx is charging a $5 handling fee per box, so pack carefully! Visit PartnerShip.com/07ABA to enroll. Questions? Contact PartnerShip’s Keith Korhely at 800-599-2902 x2254 or by email.
Booksellers will have the opportunity to meet with small and mid-size publishers for informal conversations. These publishers will have sample copies of their books as well as additional copies for giveaways at their discretion. Publishers include Baker & Taylor Publisher Services, Barefoot Books, Clavis, Flyaway Books, Independent Publishers Group (IPG), Magination Press, NorthSouth Books, Papercutz, Peachtree Publishing Company, and The Quarto Group.
The ABACUS benchmarking report is designed to provide easy-to-understand guidelines for identifying independent bookstore business performance improvement opportunities. If you have never participated in the survey and would like to learn more about reporting to ABACUS-19, which will open in spring 2020, this session will teach you:
Dan Cullen, ABA (White Plains, NY); Sarah Hutton, Village Books (Bellingham, WA); Tina Ferguson, Face in a Book (El Dorado Hills, CA); Andy Perham, Books Inc. (San Francisco, CA)
Everyone wants to be a book influencer on social media, but it takes more than logging in and sharing a photo. Instagram influencer and debut author Hafsah Faizal will teach attendees:
Hafsah Faizal, Author; Sara Grochowski, McLean & Eakin Booksellers (Petoskey, MI)
Market research shows that teens have money to burn, but that they are spending it on clothing brands like Adidas and Nike, tech products like the iPhone, and food. During this roundtable discussion, booksellers will brainstorm how to harness the buying power of the teen market as well as what types of programming can lure teens away from their phones and get them inside your bookstore.
Kristen Gilligan, Tattered Cover (Denver, CO)
Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales, The Little Prince, Pippi Longstocking, Asterix — what do they all have in common? They are all beloved classics that have been translated from the authors’ original languages and have enriched the U.S. children’s book landscape as well as readers of all ages. In this informational session, publishing personnel will share with attendees:
Marika McCoola, Porter Square Books (Cambridge, MA); Claudia Bedrick Zoe, Enchanted Lion Books (Brooklyn, NY); Jen Kraar, City of Asylum (Pittsburgh, PA); Nicholas Miller, NorthSouth Books (Vestal, NY); Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Author
If you'd like to share questions, feedback, and ideas about integrating your POS system with your IndieCommerce website, plan to attend the POS/IndieCommerce Integration User Group. Representatives from your POS system and IndieCommerce will be present at these discussions. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and gain insight into maximizing the use of your POS system and your IndieCommerce website.
Representation matters. #OwnVoices matters. As bearers of knowledge and information for children, it is imperative that a bookstore’s inventory reflects the experiences of all kinds of people to cultivate cultural awareness and engender empathy in youth. One step toward a more inclusive collection of books is to conduct a diversity audit on your store’s inventory. This session will teach attendees how to:
BrocheAroe Fabian, River Dog Book Co. (Beaver Dam, WI); Dr. Belinda Boon, Kent State University (Kent, OH); Molly Gilroy Olivo, Barstons Child's Play (Washington, D.C.); Clarissa Hadge, Trident Booksellers & Cafe (Boston, MA)
This year, the American Booksellers Association is partnering with Well-Read Black Girl founder Glory Edim to bring book club meetings to independent bookstores nationwide with the goal of amplifying diverse voices and supporting emerging writers of color. Booksellers are invited to sign on to serve as ambassadors and host Well-Read Black Girl book clubs in their stores throughout the year. Learn more about the partnership.
Enjoy lunch while hearing about great upcoming titles from more of Children's Institute publisher sponsors. Seating is unassigned for this lunch.
Booksellers will have the opportunity to meet with small and mid-size publishers for informal conversations. These publishers will have sample copies of their books as well as additional copies for giveaways at their discretion. Publishers include Baker & Taylor Publisher Services, Barefoot Books, Clavis, Flyaway Books, Independent Publishers Group (IPG), Magination Press, NorthSouth Books, Papercutz, Peachtree Publishing Company, and The Quarto Group.
Chat with the publishers who presented during today's lunch, including
Barefoot Books, blue manatee press, Boyds Mills & Kane Press, Cameron Kids, Clavis, Creston Books, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, Greystone Kids,
Independent Publishers Group (IPG), minedition, Papercutz, Quirk Books, Triangle Square, and Yonder.
You know you want to bring authors to your store and into area schools, but how do you begin to ask publishers? Two words: “Author Grids.” In this session, panelists who have mastered the author grid will share with attendees:
Joy Dallanegra Sanger, ABA (White Plains, NY); Lara Phan, Random House (New York, NY); Samantha Hendricks, Schuler Books (Grand Rapids, MI); Emily Hall, Main Street Books (St. Charlse, MO); Melissa Campion, Macmillan (New York, NY)
Optimize your bookstore search and reordering process by implementing tags and keywords for categories and sub-categories in your point-of-sale system, Edelweiss, and in staff reference documents. Attendees of this session will learn:
Kelsey April, Savoy Bookshop and Cafe (Westerly, RI); Stephanie Appell, Parnassus Books (Nashville, TN); Jamie Thomas, Women and Children First (Chicago, IL); Drew Sieplinga, Wild Rumpus (Minneapolis, MN)
Over 50% of Generation Z (people between the ages of 13 and 20) identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and a recent survey by the Human Rights Campaign shows that many of them have fears and anxiety regarding their personal safety. In this session, booksellers will have the chance to share ideas, programs, and actions they have taken to make their store an inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment for today’s LGBTQ+ youth.
Caitlyn Morrissey, Bank Street Bookstore (New York, NY)
There’s nothing like walking into your favorite bookstore and being on a first-name basis with the staff. Why not say, “Thank you for being a friend,” and reward customers’ loyalty with a frequent buyer card, membership subscription, or other benefit program that will keep them coming back over and over again? A panel of booksellers with robust customer loyalty programs will share:
Cathy Fiebach, Main Point Books (Wayne, PA); Bethany Strout, Tattered Cover (Denver, CO); Dave Richardson, Blue Marble Books (Fort Thomas, KY); Dane Ferguson, Ferguson Books and More (Grand Forks, ND)
If you'd like to share questions, feedback, and ideas about integrating your POS system with your IndieCommerce website, plan to attend the POS/IndieCommerce Integration User Group. Representatives from your POS system and IndieCommerce will be present at these discussions. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and gain insight into maximizing the use of your POS system and your IndieCommerce website.
With hundreds of subscription boxes to choose from, how will a customer know that yours is the right one for them? Attendees will learn the following from bookstores that have successful subscription box programs:
Sami Thomason, Square Books (Oxford, MS); Lauren Savage, The Reading Bug (San Carlos, CA); Kathy Burnette, The Brain Lair (South Bend, IN); Kim Tano, Powell's Books (Portland, OR)
Elizabeth Acevedo is the author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. She is a National Poetry Slam champion and holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland. She lives with her partner in Washington, D.C.
Bookstores that sell direct to schools are an invaluable resource to the local community and have made use of a successful strategy for increasing cash flow and profits. Bookseller panelists who have worked closely with their school districts will share with attendees how they, too, can foster a relationship with school districts and add to their store’s bottom line. In this session, booksellers will learn:
Rebecca Crosswhite, Rediscovered Bookshop (Boise, ID); Kenny Brechner, Devaney, Doak & Garrett (Farmington, ME); Lauren Casey, Second Star to the Right Books (Denver, CO); Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop (Athens, GA)
“Co-op” is a word booksellers often hear from publishers, but it can be quite confusing to try to decipher what it is. In this session, bookstores that maximize their spending using co-op dollars will share with attendees:
Jenny Cohen, Waucoma Bookstore (Hood River, OR)
Hosting a summer camp is a great way for a store to bring in more business during the summer months and to reach kids and parents looking for activities to keep them busy. With teachers encouraging — and often requiring — students to continue reading during the summer, booksellers have a prime opportunity to build excitement about books, grow a community of readers, and make money during the dog days of summer. In this roundtable idea exchange, booksellers will share and discuss how their stores:
Dave Shallenberger, Little Shop of Stories (Decatur, GA)
As the purveyor of young people’s literature, children’s bookstores and booksellers can be an aide to young readers as they navigate the world. Books and bookstores are in a unique position to speak for the underdog and lift silenced voices so that they are heard. In this special topics panel, children’s booksellers will share how they use their bookstore as a platform and a space to create opportunities for activism and young activists in their communities.
Gibran Graham, The Briar Patch (Bangor, ME); Denise Chavez, Casa Camino Real Book Store & Art Gallery (Las Cruces, NM); Stephanie Seales, Bookshop Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA); Jessica Hahl, Country Bookshelf (Boseman, MT)
If you'd like to share questions, feedback, and ideas about integrating your POS system with your IndieCommerce website, plan to attend the POS/IndieCommerce Integration User Group. Representatives from your POS system and IndieCommerce will be present at these discussions. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and gain insight into maximizing the use of your POS system and your IndieCommerce website.
In this session, a panel of diverse publishers will share their experiences in publishing, including how the industry is changing, where it still needs to grow, and efforts bookstores can take to raise awareness, lift voices, and support authors of color.
Hannah Oliver Depp, Loyalty Bookstore (Silver Spring, MD); Chris Myers, Make Me a World (New York, NY) ; Namrata Tripathi, Kokila Press (New York, NY); Rebecca Wells, Porter Square Books (Cambridge, MA)
Actress Alyssa Milano is a lifelong activist who is passionate about fighting for human rights. In addition to being named a National Ambassador by UNICEF and a 2017 Person of the Year by Time, Milano speaks to kids around the country about the importance of voting and teaches them how to fill out a ballot. Most recently, Milano popularized the #MeToo hashtag. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two kids.
The American Booksellers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization, works with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.
Independent bookstores act as community anchors; they serve a unique role in promoting the open exchange of ideas, enriching the cultural life of communities, and creating economically vibrant neighborhoods.
PRESS INQUIRIES: [email protected]
INDIECOMMERCE: [email protected]
ALL OTHER INQUIRIES: [email protected]
Copyright 2024 American Booksellers Association. BookWeb is a registered trademark of ABA.
Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Accessibility Statement
View Program at a Glance
require pre-registration.