Winter Institute 2025! The program is now live!
Stay up to date with the world of independent bookselling.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Binc's Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship. Apply now!
ABA Board nominations are open. Nominate a bookseller now.
Indies Introduce Publisher Specials. Learn more.
Enter the 2024 Banned Books Week Display Contest
 

Share your Banned Books Week display on social media for a chance to win up to $500!

Take a photo of your Banned Books Week display and post it to your store’s Instagram. Tag @AmericanBooksellers and @ABFEFreeExpression and use #BannedBooksDisplayContest and #BannedBooksWeek to enter. 

This contest runs September 22–28.

You must be an ABA member bookstore to enter. Visit BookWeb to see contest details!
 
See Contest Rules
 
Save the date for these upcoming events:
 
 
Visit Events Calendar
 
Winter Institute 2025
Winter Institute Registration Opens Next Week
 

Registration for Winter Institute 2025 (Wi2025) will open on Thursday, September 19, at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT!

Winter Institute sells out quickly! Mark your calendars and/or set an alarm so you can secure your spot when registration opens. Winter Institute 2024 sold out in under an hour, so don't wait to register!

If Wi2025 sells out before you get a chance to register, please join the waitlist. In the past, we have been able to get a significant portion of the waitlist registered for the event, and we will work to do so again this year.

This infographic breaks down everything you need to know, so you can move through the registration form quickly and easily. You can also visit the Wi2025 website to see the event program!
 
Visit the Wi2025 Website
 
Right to Read Handbook Bookstore Events

ABA’s Advocacy Associate Manager, Philomena Polefrone, will be hosting events with indie bookstores across the country to celebrate the release of The ABA Right to Read Handbook and to discuss the fight against book bans! 

The first event will be held at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC, on September 15.

Check out the full list of Right to Read Handbook events on BookWeb!
Learn More
Your Vote Matters. Visit Vote411.org/ABA.
National Voter Registration Day

September 17 is National Voter Registration Day!

Remind your community to register to vote (or check their registration!) by sharing our Get Out The Vote assets and linking to VOTE411.org/ABA.
Get Out The Vote
ABA Children's Group Advisory Council
Welcome New Children's Group Council Members

Join us in welcoming Paul Swydan (The Silver Unicorn), Megan Howe (Alice, Ever After), Sydne Conant (Ink Cap Books), Allie Cesmat (Changing Hands), Carrie Custer (Vroman’s), and Leah Johnson (Loudmouth Books) to the ABA Children’s Group Advisory Council.

Children’s Council members serve for two years. The current Council also includes Nicole Brinkley (Oblong Books), Diane Capriola (Little Shop of Stories), Danielle Pernell (King’s Books), and Kai Burner (Bookworm of Edwards).

Visit BookWeb to learn more about the Children’s Group Advisory Council.
Learn More
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Tell Us Your National Hispanic Heritage Month Plans!

National Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15–October 15! 

If your store is holding an event or creating a display for National Hispanic Heritage Month, we’d love to know more!

Email [email protected] and share your store's plans for National Hispanic Heritage Month and/or photos of your store's display. We’ll share them in a future BTW!
Email BTW
Best Books for Young Readers Catalog
Best Books for Young Readers Catalog

If you ordered Best Books for Young Readers Catalogs for your store, they’ll be shipped at the end of the week!

While you wait for your catalogs to be delivered, take advantage of the catalog marketing assets on BookWeb. Assets include a digital copy of the catalog, customer order form, social media images, and a link to the Edelweiss collection.
View Assets
Prioritizing Cash Flow: ABA Regional Education Assets
Prioritizing Cash Flow: Regional Education Assets

You can now access the assets for ABA’s regional education session on BookWeb!

ABA will be presenting “Prioritizing Cash Flow: 10 Areas to Review for Improved Cash Flow and Profitability” at each annual regional tradeshow, so be sure to join the ABA team at your local event. 

If you won’t be attending regionals, you can register for the live virtual encore on Thursday, October 24, at 3:00 pm ET.
View Assets
2024 Fall Reading Group Guide
Fall Reading Group Guide

The Fall Reading Group Guide is now available! This guide includes the following categories: Dazzling Debuts, Family and Coming of Age, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction & Memoir, and Small Bites.
Get the Guide
A blue house with a sign that says "Plot Twist Books."
Spend the Night at Plot Twist Books

This time last year, Plot Twist Books in South Charleston, WV, announced the addition of an Airbnb to their bookstore. The fully furnished room adjoining the bookstore boasted a private entrance and 24/7 access to the shop.

Bookselling This Week met with Plot Twist co-owner, Matt Browning, to learn more about him, the bookstore, and the Airbnb.
Read Interview
WithFriends
Withfriends Discounts for ABA Members

Withfriends works with most popular software options (Square, Basil, etc.) to help you easily create and manage a membership program, and they’re offering an exclusive discount for ABA members! Use Withfriends to offer curated book-of-the-month clubs, exclusive member events, in-store discounts, online discounts, monthly book deliveries, and more without adding work for your staff.

Visit BookWeb to learn more.
Learn More
Advocacy Updates
Advocacy Updates
 

Banned Books Week Honorary Chair

As a member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) is thrilled to announce that award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay has been named honorary chair for Banned Books Week 2024 (September 22–28). DuVernay will be joined by youth honorary chair Julia Garnett, a student activist who fought book bans in her home state of Tennessee. DuVernay is the groundbreaking writer, director, and producer behind acclaimed films and television projects such as Selma, 13th, Queen Sugar, and When They See Us. She is an Academy Award nominee and winner of Emmy, BAFTA, NAACP, GLAAD, Critics Choice, and Peabody Awards. DuVernay and Garnett will lead virtual programs during Banned Books Week. Details on their events will be shared on BannedBooksWeek.org as they are confirmed. 

Banned Books Week Survey

Banned Books Week is right around the corner, and we want to know your plans! Fill out this survey to help us shout out the amazing work ABA members are doing and create bookseller-specific Banned Books Week resources.
 
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