Children’s Institute registration is underway, and those who sign up can look forward to a keynote with an amazing lineup: Jason Reynolds, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Hanif Abdurraqib in a session moderated by Tami Charles. During this once-in-a-lifetime conversation, these authors will share how musicians and music have inspired their work and lives, and how music can be a gateway for young readers to gravitate toward books and enacting change.

#BoxedOut is back just in time for Prime Day! Grab new assets from ABA’s website to share on social media. See how your fellow booksellers are promoting #BoxedOut on Twitter and Instagram, and remind your customers to shop local!

Look for an email from [email protected] with the subject “ABA Call to Action: Tell Your Representative to Vote Yes on Antitrust Bills,” which was sent to booksellers whose representative (based on store location) is on the House Judiciary Committee. The Committee is expected to vote on five important antitrust bills that would level the playing field for independent bookstores, and Amazon and Big Tech lobbyists are putting the bills’ futures at stake. Urge your representative to vote yes by using ABA’s one-click tool in that email!

Many bookstores celebrated Juneteenth on Saturday — check out the festivities from coast to coast.

Watch the video of ABA’s latest education session on consigning books to local merchants, which enables stores to reach different locations and markets while strengthening the quality of their brand.

Mark your calendar for events this week:

• Tuesday, June 22, at 3:00 p.m.: ShopTalk on operating stores with restaurants and cafes
• Wednesday, June 23, at 12:30 p.m. ET: Understanding Trends in the Kids’ Book and Licensing Market
• Wednesday, June 23, at 1:00 p.m. ET: IndieCommerce webinar on “Keeping Up With New Features”
• Thursday, June 24, at 8:00 p.m. ET: Evening ShopTalk

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) is awarding grants to 115 independent bookstores and comic shops as part of its Survive to Thrive initiative. These one-time grants, in values of $7,500 and $10,000, total $1.1 million.

July Meetups and ShopTalks are on the calendar! All times Eastern.

• July 1 at 1:00 pm: Social Media Series: Need-to-Knows and Best Practices
• July 6 at 3:00 pm: ShopTalk
• July 7 at 7:00 pm: BIPOC Meetup/Quarterly Forum
• July 8 at 1:00 pm: Social Media Series: All About Video
• July 13 at 3:00 pm: New Member Session: Intro to Benefits
• July 15 at 1:00 pm: Social Media Series: Getting Organized
• July 15 at 7:00 pm: LGBTQIA+ Meetup
• July 20 at 3:00 pm: ShopTalk: ABC Group
• July 22 at 1:00 pm: Social Media Series: How Do I Know It’s Working?
• July 29 at 1:00 pm: Social Media Series: Ask Anything!
• July 29 at 8:00 pm: ShopTalk

Ariana Paliobagis of Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, Montana, spoke with Indies Introduce author Catherine Raven about her new book, Fox & I.

The American Independent Business Alliance has expanded its Shop Indie Local holiday campaign into a year-round initiative. The grassroots initiative provides a platform to highlight work done in communities across North America and provide open-source tools and resources to communities, organizations, and small businesses.

The New York State COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program is now open for applications. The program will provide flexible grants to currently viable small businesses and micro-businesses in New York that have experienced economic hardship due to the pandemic. Grants are calculated based on annual gross receipts for 2019 and are capped at $50,000. 

The University of Southern Maine has developed a COVID-19 Workforce Protection Training module for retail workers. The free online training provides up-to-date information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help retail workers stay safe from COVID-19. The training is about 90 minutes in length and allows users to start and stop the training at their convenience.