Get ready for Children’s Institute! The ninth annual event (Ci9) will take place virtually in Hopin Monday, August 30, through Wednesday, September 1. New and exciting things in store for you include storytime interludes from your favorite authors, receptions like you’ve never seen before, and astounding author appearances. Registration will open on June 16 with a complete schedule of education. This is an institute you won’t want to miss!

Get the most out of Ci9 education! The ABC Group is asking booksellers to complete a brief survey on what they would like to discuss during roundtables. Submit your answers by Friday, June 18. The responses to the survey will inform the agenda created for each roundtable.

The next meeting space for BIPOC — for Black, Indigenous, or People of Color — booksellers will be held on Wednesday, June 9, at 7:00 p.m. 

Sign up at the bottom of the ABA Meetups page. BIPOC allies and booksellers who do not identify as BIPOC should not plan to attend.

Join a Technology Meetup on Patreon this Thursday, June 10, at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Booksellers interested in attending should sign up at the bottom of the ABA Meetups page.

On Thursday, June 10, at 7 p.m. ET  LGBTQIA+ booksellers and bookstore owners are invited to gather for connection, support, community, resources, and networking. Sign up at the bottom of the ABA Meetups page. To ensure that this space belongs to the attendees, ABA staff will not be in attendance and another attendee will act as the host.

Allies and those who do not identify as LGBTQIA+ should not attend.

Read a recap of last week’s Marketing Meetup, which focused on marketing genre titles.

Is your bookstore planning to celebrate Banned Books Week this year? Sign up for a Banned Books Week kit by June 11! Important: All bookstores (including stores that already signed up in the past) MUST sign up to receive a kit this year.

What have you been reading recently? ABA would love to know! Email ABA’s Emily Behnke to be featured in an upcoming series of book recommendations on social media. We are especially interested in genre titles, backlist, small press recs, and books by marginalized authors.

Looking to learn more about Juneteenth? Find reading lists and more here.

Edelweiss Bookfest begins today! Stop by ABA’s booth, join ABA's Indies Introduce session, and more.

Daron Mueller has joined the IndieCommerce team as an IndieCommerce support specialist. IndieCommerce and IndieLite stores may see Mueller responding to inquiries in the coming weeks. 

Here are the titles for the July/August Kids’ Indie Next List. Top pick: Cat Problems by Jory John and Lane Smith (Illus.) (Random House Studio).

On June 17 at 3:00 p.m., ABA will hold an education session called “Consigning Books and Other Products to Local Retailers.” All members are welcome to join!

The American Library Association is offering ABA members discounted registration for the 2021 ALA Annual Conference’s Library Marketplace. For $69, attendees can enjoy chatting with peers in the Coffee Talk author sessions; spotlight sessions from leading publishers; and hear from notable authors on eight genre-specific presentation stages, headlined by notable keynote presenters like Danny Trejo and Gabrielle Union. Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman will open the Library Marketplace on June 23. This offer only applies to The Library Marketplace, not the full conference. Register for The Library Marketplace here. Booksellers interested in attending the full conference can upgrade their registration by clicking any session not included in the Library Marketplace to receive further instructions.

The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) will be hosting its 2021 Marketplace and Academy from August 5–8 in Minneapolis. This trade show and education conference features industry leaders and hands-on product demonstrations. The conference draws more than 450 exhibits and includes more than 30 hours of education. ASTRA is offering ABA members full conference access at the ASTRA member rate. Interested booksellers should contact ASTRA's Sue Warfield.

Bookstores in need of capital should consider contacting their local community development financial institution (CDFI). CDFIs provide affordable loans to small businesses underserved by mainstream finance. CDFIs are key for pandemic recovery. For instance, Charter Communications recently announced that its Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund has invested $1 million in the Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF), a non-profit CDFI servicing North Carolina. The investment is part of a $22 million commitment to support small and minority-owned businesses in 41 states.