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Wednesday, August 3, 2022  
 
Final ABACUS Deadline: August 10
 

Did you submit ABACUS for a chance to win a full Winter Institute scholarship yet? 

It's not too late to participate in this year's free ABACUS financial survey and receive all the ABACUS reports and tools. If you are having trouble trying to figure out where to access information or finding the time to report, on Monday, August 8, at 3:30 pm ET, you can join ABA Chief Financial Officer (and former bookseller) PK Sindwani for a special ABACUS Q&A webinar to help you jump-start your submission by providing line-by-line instructions on filling out the ABACUS questionnaire and answer any questions that may be slowing you down so you can submit before the deadline on August 10.

Bring your final (year-end) P&L, balance sheet, or tax return along with your year-end Z report to the session. We’ve created this infographic as a quick guide to ABACUS for reference.

You can also contact ABA Chief Financial Officer PK Sindwani at [email protected] or Sophia Rizzi at [email protected] for help!

 
Complete the ABACUS Survey
Question of the Week
Janet from Avid Bookshop posed a great question concerning antitrust rules. We think this is a question or concern to a great many booksellers.
 

We consulted with the ABA's general counsel and others concerning the ABA’s antitrust statement and whether it was still “accurate” and “current.” They assure us that ABA's antitrust statement is still an important and necessary part of every ABA event and meeting. It protects the ABA and its members and mitigates the risk of liability. As Allison Hill mentioned during Town Hall, it’s not about the market share, it’s more about collusion. A potential violation could arise out of something as simple as a bookseller standing up at Town Hall and stating that they think everyone should boycott an entity. If some booksellers act on that idea, everyone could be implicated. In some situations, this could mean jail. Continue reading the response on BookWeb.
 
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Action Items

On Wednesday, August 10, 10:30 am–11:30 am ET, New Voices New Rooms (NVNR) will feature the virtual panel session, Banned Books, which will focus on the fight to keep literature accessible to all, most especially children. The panel will be hosted by David Grogan, Director, ABFE, Advocacy and Public Policy for ABA, and features panelists Sam Dickinson, co-owner, Aaron's Books, and A.S. King, author, The Attack of the Black Rectangles. NVNR takes place from August 8 to August 10 and features programming for NAIBA and SIBA members.

Announcing the return of the Macmillan Professional Development Scholarships from the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) and Macmillan Publishers! This scholarship program provides $500 to booksellers traditionally underrepresented within the industry to attend their region’s fall trade show. Each scholarship can be used to cover the cost of travel, lodging, and meals for one bookseller at each regional independent bookseller association’s fall trade show. The deadline to apply is August 15, 2022 by 5:00 pm ET.

Celebrate Book Lovers Day on August 9! Encourage your customers to put down their phones and celebrate reading and literature. Take a look at the 7 ways you can prepare for the day and join in the celebration!

In case you missed it, authors Kate DiCamillo, Ann Patchett, Will Schwalbe and Garth Stein announced they will match new gifts fo the Book Industry Charitable Foundation's #ReadLoveSupportBinc campaign. Join these authors today to double the impact of your gift!

There is still time to support the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Join the over 174 booksellers who have already sent 554+ messages to Congress! Let's flood their email inboxes. We've made the process quick and easy. Urge U.S. House and Senate lawmakers to bring The American Innovation and Choice Online Act to the floor for a vote!
Save the Date

Note: There will be no Tech Meetups for August.

Save the date for these upcoming events:
What to Know

Here are the 25 Indie Next List and 6 Now in Paperback picks on the September 2022 Indie Next List flier. Top pick? Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood. And, to mark the start of a new month, August Indie Next List social media assets are live on BookWeb.

Here is the Indie Mystery and Thriller Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending July 31, 2022.

After over a year of development, last week the IndieCommerce team began the process of creating the first group of stores on IndieCommerce 2.0. If you are interested in moving your bookstore to the new IndieCommerce 2.0 platform, check out this article and add your information to the form.

Winter Institute 2023 Registration is coming this fall! Members of our team were out in Seattle last week planning for the event, and we cannot wait to share more. Check BTW in the coming weeks for more information and announcements.
 
 
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