Today, Friday, April 30, Oprah and her latest book club pick, Marilynne Robinson, will discuss the second in the Gilead novels quartet, Home. Remind your customers to stop by the Oprah Book Club website to watch.

ABA is exploring interest in space for our LGBTQIA+ booksellers and bookstore owners to come together for connection, support, community, resources, and networking. Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey by Sunday, May 2. Allies and those who do not identify as LGBTQIA+ should not respond to this survey.

Talk bookselling with colleagues at the next ShopTalk on Tuesday, May 4, at 3:00 p.m. ET. ABA will send the meeting link to the entire membership a few hours before the event. 

ABA is asking all bookstores that participated in Independent Bookstore Day to provide feedback about the event via this survey by Friday, May 7.

Thinking about changing your store's business model? Sign up for conversation with booksellers and experts about transitioning your existing bookstore to a co-op on May 13, at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Sign up now for the Buzz Books Editors Panel. The virtual event will be held on Wednesday, May 19, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Bestselling author Emma Straub, co-owner of Books Are Magic, will host. Find more information about the event and register here. 

The inaugural U.S. Book Show, held by Publishers Weekly, will take place virtually from Tuesday, May 25, through Thursday, May 27. ABA member booksellers can register using the promo code ABACOMP for free admission. Register here.

Booksellers, continue nominating children's book titles for the annual ABC Best Books for Young Readers consumer catalog through Edelweiss or by using the form on Bookweb.org.

Use ABA's one-click tool to urge your state lawmakers to support independent retailers as we begin the recovery phase of the pandemic. Your advocacy has the power to drive policy. Take action now. (It only takes 2 minutes!)

The results of the 2021 Board of Directors Election are now official. ABA Vice President Bradley Graham of Politics & Prose has been elected to serve a two-year term as ABA president, and Kelly Estep of Carmichael's Bookstore and Christine Onorati of WORD Bookstores will serve as ABA co-vice president/secretary. Joining the board as directors are: Danny Caine of Raven Book Store; Jake Cumsky-Whitlock of Solid State Books;  Melanie Knight of Books Inc.; and Angela Maria Spring of Duende District in Albuquerque and Washington, D.C. Read more about the results here.

Four booksellers have been appointed to ABA’s Booksellers Advisory Council. Joining the council are: Camden Avery of The Booksmith; Christina Ciampa of All She Wrote Books; Donya Craddock of The Dock Bookshop; and Zsamé Morgan of Babycake's Book Stack (mobile) in St. Paul, Minnesota. Find more information here.

The first new e-newsletter design for the Indie Next List will launch on Thursday, May 6. As part of the launch, new downloadable assets are now available to share starting May 6. These include blank shelf-talker templates for each of the indie lists, social media images for the Indie Next List and Kids’ Next List #1 Pick, as well as customizable templates for each list, including the Reading Group List.

Save the date: This year’s Annual Meeting and Town Hall will occur on Thursday, May 27, starting at 2:00 p.m. ET. (The Annual Meeting starts at 2:00, followed immediately by the Town Hall.) Watch BTW for details to come. 

Take a look at some of the new titles added to ABA’s Pre-Order Calendar. Some highlights added in recent weeks include: The Summer of Lost and Found by Mary Alice Monroe (Gallery Books); Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur (Etch/HMH Books for Young Readers); Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion); and more.

Here's what fellow booksellers are saying about ABACUS. It's “one of those rare tasks that pays off over and over again” because it's an “essential tool in my decision-making” that provides “perspective on how our bookstore is doing and helps our bookstore set financial goals for the coming year.” Plus, “submitting to the survey has gotten easier over the years — I think this might have been the easiest one yet.” (Thanks to Melissa DeMotte of The Well-Read Moose, Susan Hans O'Connor of Penguin Bookshop, Holly Weinkauf of the Red Balloon Bookshop, and Jenny Cohen and Muir Cohen of Waucoma Bookstore for sharing your experiences.)

To get this great tool look for an email your store received from Michael Becher of Industry Insights, with the subject line “ABACUS Benchmarking Survey,” which has all the necessary information. And here's more information on ABACUS.

 A dozen authors and illustrators have joined together to create a matching pool of $40,000 to drive the next stage of fundraising for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation’s Survive to Thrive grant program. Read more about the initiative and donate here.