Winter Institute 2025, February 23 to 26 in Denver, CO. Scholarship applications open June 27!
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Wednesday, June 19, 2024
ABA staff are out today in honor of Juneteenth.
IndieCommerce will continue to monitor sites over the holiday.
Nominate titles for the best books for young readers catalog.
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Happy Juneteenth!
Happy Juneteenth
 

Happy Juneteenth from all of us at ABA!

Check out how some of our member stores are celebrating Juneteenth this year!

Thank you to these stores for sharing their Juneteenth plans with us! Whether you’re holding events, attending local celebrations, or taking a well-deserved rest, we hope you have an excellent holiday.

If you’re looking for more resources to understand and celebrate Juneteenth, the National Museum of African American History and Culture offers a history of this holiday as well as a digital toolkit with social media assets, activities, and a reading list.
 
See Stores' Juneteenth Plans
American Booksellers Association is partnering with League of Women Voters to Get Out the Vote
Get Out the Vote!
 

ABA has partnered with the League of Women Voters to help educate and empower voters in 2024.

The collaboration is part of ABA’s member and community campaign, “Get Out the VOTE,” which aims to help independent bookstores mobilize and empower voters in their communities.

Visit ABA’s Vote411 page for tools to help readers register to vote, check their registration, or find out what’s on their ballot!

You can read the full press release about this partnership on BookWeb.
 
Learn More
 
Save the date for these upcoming events:
 
 
Visit Events Calendar
 
ABA Children's Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 10-12.
Thank You for Joining Us in New Orleans!
 

We were so happy to see everyone who joined us in New Orleans, and we hope the experience was valuable to you!

A huge thank you to Ingram and all of the publishers who generously sponsored this event. Thank you to our presenters who shared their knowledge and experience. Thank you to the authors who shared their time and hard work. And thank you to all our attendees.

We hope to see you all next year for Children's Institute 2024, June 12–14, in Portland, OR!

If you attended Children’s, please remember to fill out the post-event survey by Friday, June 28.
 
ABACUS 2023
Have You Completed ABACUS Yet?

Have you completed ABACUS, ABA’s free annual financial benchmarking survey? 

This ABACUS reporting cycle will cover your store's performance in 2023. 

Booksellers have until July 21 to submit their responses!

Check your email for the subject line “ABACUS Benchmarking Survey” to get started. (This year’s survey was sent from [email protected].)

If you would like assistance, or are participating for the first time, sign up now for one of our step-by-step ABACUS workshops!
Learn More
Book Biz Book Club, June 26
Book Biz Book Club

There’s still time to sign up for the upcoming Book Biz Book Club meeting. 

On June 26, at 3:00 pm ET, join Author (and bookseller) Paul Yamazaki in conversation about his book, Reading the Room: A Bookseller's Tale (9781958846698).

Yamazaki is a bookseller and book buyer for City Lights Books in San Francisco, CA. Don't miss this opportunity to talk with him about the book business!
Register Now
Author Briony Cameron beside her new book, The Ballod of Jacquotte Delahaye
Indies Introduce Q&A with Briony Cameron

Briony Cameron is the author of The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye, a Summer/Fall 2024 Indies Introduce selection. Here, Cameron and Kelly Evert of Village Books in Bellingham, WA, discuss The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye.

You can also visit the ABA podcast, BookED, to listen to this interview.
Read Interview
Author K. A. Cobell beside their new book, Looking for Smoke.
Indies Introduce Q&A with K. A. Cobell

K. A. Cobell is the author of Looking for Smoke, a Summer/Fall 2024 Indies Introduce Kids’ selection. Here, Cobell and Kromeklia Bryant of Solid State Books in Washington, DC, discuss Looking for Smoke.

You can also visit the ABA podcast, BookED, to listen to this interview.
Read Interview
Take the Binc Survey
Take the Binc Survey

The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation has launched a survey to gather feedback. Your responses will allow Binc to better help the employees and owners of bookstores and comic shops with unforeseen emergencies such as housing stability, disasters, medical expenses, and mental health needs!

The deadline to complete this survey is June 30. 
Read Interview
Rise Bookselling
Frankfurt Book Fair 2024 with RISE Bookselling

Applications are now open to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, October 16–20, through RISE Bookselling.

Booksellers can visit RISE Bookselling to learn more and apply. Applications are due June 28.
Apply Now
The Library Marketplace at ALA Annual
Library Marketplace at ALA Annual

ALA invites you to the Library Marketplace at the ALA Annual conference in San Diego, June 27–July 2. With 570+ exhibitors showcasing products and new titles, new and established authors on eight live stages, a Meet the Authors area, ARCs, and the new STEAM Pavilion, it's the opportunity of a book lover's lifetime!
Register today for an Exhibits Only Pass at alaannual.org.
Register Now
Advocacy Updates
Advocacy Updates

Right to Read Handbook

The ABA Right to Read Handbook: A Reader's Guide to Fighting Book Bans is now available for pre-order on Ingram’s ipage. The Handbook, which will be published September 16 â€” in time for Banned Books Week — is geared to consumers and will provide a comprehensive guide to resisting the epidemic of book censorship through local organizing and engaged citizens. 

Designed for those who want to get involved but may only have a few hours to spare each month, the Handbook:

  • Identifies the causes, actors, motivations, and strategies of groups attempting to ban books across the country. 
  • Offers step-by-step guides for voting in a school board election, understanding a school board's policies, contacting elected officials, and more. 
  • Features interviews with free expression advocates like Jonathan Hamilt of Drag Story Hour, Maggie Tokuda-Hall of Authors Against Book Bans, and Lauren Groff of The Lynx in Gainesville, FL. 
The ABA Right to Read Handbook
 
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