Owners, managers, and buyers: The American Booksellers Association is thrilled to share a confidential opportunity with booksellers about Oprah’s Book Club. As part of Oprah’s Book Club’s upcoming announcement for their newest summer pick, they are inviting independent bookstores to join them in announcing the selection. Contact your Hachette Book Group sales rep or email [email protected] by May 10 for more information and a copy of the NDA to sign.

And on Friday, May 7, Oprah and Marilynne Robinson will discuss the third in the Gilead novels quartet, Lila. Remind your customers to stop by the Oprah Book Club website to watch.

Sign up now to receive a Banned Books Week kit for Banned Books Week 2021. The deadline to sign up is June 11. Important: All bookstores (including stores that already signed up in the past) MUST sign up to receive a kit this year.

ABA is planning for Winter Institute in Cincinnati to be held from February 13, 2022, through February 16, 2022. Registration will open in September. We'd love to know what you're thinking. Would you plan to attend?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure

Join a Marketing Meetup on Thursday, May 6, at 1:00 p.m., focused on marketing ideas for nontraditional format stores. Sign up at the bottom of BookWeb.org’s Meetups page here.

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

Both new and new-ish members are welcome to register for the next ABA New Member Series: Store Ownership 101 on Monday, May 10, at 1:00 p.m. ET. This session will provide new and prospective bookstore owners with an opportunity to ask questions of seasoned bookstore owners/staff. Once registered use this form to submit questions ahead of time.

Thinking about changing your store's business model? Sign up for conversation with booksellers and experts on May 13, at 3:00 p.m. ET about transitioning your existing bookstore to a co-op. (And view a recording of a recent session on transitioning to a nonprofit business model here.)

IndieLite stores: Sign up for the second in a two-part series on switching credit card processors on May 19, at 1:00 p.m. ET. This session will focus on new tools and features available to stores after they switch to their own credit card processor. 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.

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. 

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.

Recordings are available for ABA’s A Universe of Wishes four-part reading series. Booksellers can access  the recordings using the links below (Passcode: @WNDB2021):

• Part 1 with Victoria Schwab
• Part 2 with Tochi Onyebuchi
• Part 3 with Samira Ahmed
• Part 4 with Zoraida Córdova

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.

Maggie Shipstead, author of May Indie Next List top pick Great Circle talked craft with Bookselling This Week. 

The May/June Kids’ Indie Next List is now available on BookWeb.org; the titles are also available as an Edelweiss collection here.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Countering Ransomware webinar with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, May 5, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. The webinar will provide specific guidance and resources for what small businesses can do to protect themselves better. Register here.

The virtual event series Indie Shindig, first launched in 2020, will be returning for 2021. This year, Indie Shindig will consist of six one-hour themed events occurring on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, from Monday, May 10, through Monday, July 26, at 4 p.m. ET. View the schedule and sign up here.

Each event will take place on Zoom. Participating publishers will split a donation of $20 per bookseller attendee for each event between The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation and We Need Diverse Books (WNDB). Booksellers can also find digital assets here.

Read a recap of last week’s session on transitioning to a nonprofit model in BTW here. 

A recording of last week’s Marketing Meetup on Bookshop.org can be found on the Education Resource page on BookWeb.org. Read a recap in BTW here.

A recording of the CAE’s session on handling microaggressions in the workplace, as well as a recording of their session on de-escalation, can be viewed here. The recordings will be available until June 15. Read a recap of the session on microaggressions in BTW here, and take a look at these handouts: De-escalation Strategies; Calling in Microaggressions Terminology Sheet; and Calling in Strategies.

The submission period for the annual ABACUS financial survey is open.  As bookstores rethink strategies and operations in a post-COVID world, the insight from the ABACUS financial survey showing how your store compares with others — whether in terms of key expense categories or sales performance — has never been more important. 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.

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!)