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Wednesday, February 2, 2022  
 
Christine Onorati Assumes Role as ABA Board President
 

Christine Onorati (WORD Bookstores), one of ABA’s two Vice Presidents, has been selected to assume the role of ABA Board President effective immediately. On this transition, ABA’s CEO Allison Hill said: “Thank you to Christine for stepping up in this moment. This is an exciting time for the ABA Board and I know we all look forward to her leadership. Change is always a great opportunity to re-assess and identify new ways to move forward.” 

The ABA bylaws state that in the case of the president stepping down for any reason the vice president succeeds the president. Christine will succeed Brad Graham and Co-Vice President Kelly Estep (Carmichael’s Bookstore) will continue as Vice President/Secretary.

This change follows Brad's notification to the Board of Directors that he is stepping down from the Board in order to “turn [his] full attention to achieving productive contract negotiations” with the union for his store and to prioritize other upcoming store projects. 

Brad has contributed to ABA in many ways over the past five years as a board member. ABA is particularly grateful to Brad for his leadership in authorizing more funds for a major upgrade of IndieCommerce, his strengthening of ABA’s governance by updating ABA policies and procedures, and his assisting with the board’s important groundwork to recognize the invaluable role bookstore staff play in ensuring the sustainability of their stores by creating new ABA policy language. Brad also served as Vice President when the Board voted to expand the board to allow for more diverse representation. 

“These past two years I have seen first-hand Brad's extraordinary commitment to ABA and to the members,” said Hill. “We're grateful for the ways he's helped us move forward.” 
Action Items

Register for the Winter/Spring 2022 Indies Introduce Presentation, which will be held on Tuesday, February 8, at 3:30 pm ET. Many of the debut authors selected will be present to read a short passage and answer a question posed by one of the panelists.

Add your voice to urge Congress to create an e-commerce assistance program for indie retailers! ABA's newly launched petition calls for assistance for indie retailers to build viable e-commerce websites or enhance their existing websites through increased access to capital and training in cybersecurity, online marketing, and technical assistance. Booksellers are encouraged to share the petition with their indie retail neighbors.

This Friday is the last day to submit orders for Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 30! Note, we will be unable to accept or change orders after this Friday, February 4.

Meet ABA’s DEIA Membership Relations Manager, Elisa Thomas!

Register for Three DEIA Workshops — Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone: Knowing Better Means Doing Better, taking place February 14–16. The deadline to register is February 10.

Register for Snow Days by February 23! This virtual bookselling retreat will take place March 8–10.

We’ve lined up an exciting and diverse program: From a generative and refreshing future-planning session with Jane McGonigal to keynotes dedicated to the importance of poetry and bookselling in the cultural moment, and a finale with Alicia Keys, this isn’t an event you’ll want to miss. And registration is only $35!

 

Little, Brown and Company, in partnership with the American Booksellers Association, invites ABA member bookstores to participate in a one-night virtual event with legendary music icon Dolly Parton and the world's number one bestselling author James Patterson to celebrate the publication of Run Rose Run (on-sale March 7, 2022). This can't miss LIVE virtual event will take place on Sunday, March 6, at 7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT. Participating bookstores will organize and manage their own ticket sales. The event will be fully bundled using the “one book, one ticket” model, and the cost of the event ticket will include a copy of Run Rose Run. Find more information and assets to promote the event here. Booksellers can sign up for the event.
Save the Date

Check out this week’s events: 

And, take a look at the Meetups page on BookWeb for changes to the 2022 Meetup registration procedure.
What to Know

Here are the 25 Indie Next List and 6 Now in Paperback picks appearing on the March 2022 Indie Next List flier. Top pick for March? One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. Additionally, to mark the start of the new month, the February Indie Next List social media assets are available on BookWeb.org.

From ABA’s health coverage partner LIG Solutions, this is what you need to know about staying healthy this winter. Resources include health insurance options outside of open enrollment and information on the No Surprises Act which aims to protect consumers from surprise medical bills and took effect in 2022.

Last week, ABA signed a letter with the Small Business Majority and 12 other business organizations urging the White House, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin to reignite negotiations around the Build Back Better package for the good of small business. Read the full letter.

On January 26, Stacy Mitchell, ILSR Co-Director, held a conversation featuring guests: Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; and Tim Wu, Special Assistant to the President for Technology and Competition Policy, National Economic Council, the White House. Jayapal and Wu both discussed how important it is for progressive policymakers to support small businesses to achieve an equitable economy. Watch the recording.

Here, Kim Fay, author of February 2022 Indie Next List top pick Love & Saffron, discusses her writing process with BTW.

Lisa Stringfellow is the author of A Comb of Wishes, a Winter/Spring 2022 Indies Introduce middle grade selection. Here, Susan Williams of M. Judson Booksellers interviewed Stringfellow about her book.

ICYMI: Watch the recording of the latest Buzz Books Editor Panel, co-sponsored by Publishers Lunch and ABA.

Here is the Indie Romance Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending January 30, 2022.
 
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