We’re thrilled to announce the amazing keynote speakers who will be joining us in Denver for Winter Institute 2025!

Char Adams is a reporter for NBC News. Her writing on race and identity has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Vice, and many other places. 
Book: Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore (Tiny Reparations)

Brian Selznick's books have sold millions of copies and garnered countless awards worldwide. His many books include The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Big Tree, and Kaleidoscope. 
Book: Run Away With Me (Scholastic Press)

Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and Time Is a Mother, as well as the novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. 
Book: The Emperor of Gladness (Penguin Press)

Maura Cheeks is the author of Acts of Forgiveness and was named one of “10 Writers to Watch” by Publishers Weekly. She is the owner and general manager of Liz’s Book Bar in Brooklyn.

Jake Cumsky-Whitlock is co-owner of Solid State Books in Washington, D.C., the store he co-founded in 2017, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for ABA and Bookshop.org. 

DJ Johnson is a visionary entrepreneur, community leader, and advocate for social change. He is the founder of Baldwin & Co., NOLA Art Bar, and the Baldwin & Co. Foundation, cultural hubs that intersect literature, social justice, and community engagement.

Janet Webster Jones is the owner of Source Booksellers and a retired educator from the Detroit Public Schools, where she spent a 40-year career. She has been in the bookselling business since 1989. 

Other featured speakers include:

Mark Ahern is a business appraiser, SBDC consultant, and affiliate finance professor at Regis University. He frequently speaks on financial literacy, cash flow, exit planning, and enhancing business value. 

William Ames is a Portfolio Director on Emerson Collective’s Philanthropy team, where he supports independent bookstores, libraries, and literary arts organizations. 

Marc Brackett, Ph.D., is the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, a professor in the Child Study Center at Yale University, and the author of Permission to Feel. 
Book: Dealing With Feeling (Celadon Books)

Brenna Connor, Industry Analyst, Circana Books, has been working with data and analytics for a decade in roles including marketing, research, and insights. She is a recognized thought leader on trends in the book industry. 

Elnian Gilbert is a Keynote Speaker and Trainer for ZingTrain in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With 18+ years of experience at Zingerman’s and as the most tenured trainer on the team, she has trained on every content area ZingTrain offers. 

Minda Harts is the bestselling and award-winning author of The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table as well as Right Within: How to Heal from Racial Trauma in the Workplace. 
Book: Talk to Me Nice (Flatiron Books)

Liz Henry is a seasoned nonprofit grants consultant with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and education fields. Her skills in grant writing, strategic planning, and program development, have helped numerous organizations secure vital funding to advance their missions. 

Laura Nguyen is an experienced marketing executive and entrepreneur with an extensive background in data-driven marketing, digital marketing and communications for Fortune 500 companies. 
Book: Career Break Compass (The Collective Book Studio)

Devon Price, PhD, is a social psychologist, professor, author, and proud Autistic person. He is the author of Unmasking Autism, Laziness Does Not Exist, and Unlearning Shame. 
Book: Unmasking for Life (Harmony)

The following editors will also appear at the Editors Buzz Lunch: Rakia Clark (HarperCollins Publishers), Ruqayyah Daud (Hachette Book Group / LBYR), Christa Désir (Sourcebooks), Jennifer Greene (Nosy Crow), Carina Guiterman (Simon & Schuster), Jen Sookfong Lee (ECW Press), Irene Vázquez (Levine Querido), and Han Zhang (Riverhead).

Visit the Winter Institute website to see the full lineup of exciting guests.

And check back next week to see the list of speakers lined up for IGNITE: BIPOC Bookseller Pre-con!

• Thursday, December 5 at 2:00 pm ET: Neurodiverse Community Affinity Group
• Monday, December 9 at 2:00 pm ET: LGBTQIA2S+ Affinity Group
• Wednesday, December 11 at 2:00 pm ET: BIPOC Affinity Group
• Friday, December 20 at 2:00 pm ET: Disability Community Affinity Group

ICYMI: Yesterday was Giving Tuesday. American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) needs your support now more than ever as we face an escalation of the already-disastrous book ban scourge in 2025. Help us defend your free expression at bookweb.org/donate.

This Week in Book Challenges

A hearing was held Tuesday in the Ohio House of Representatives on HB 556, a bill removing liability exemptions for teachers and school librarians who “pander obscenity.” No vote was held, and the only testimony was by the bill’s sponsor, who grossly misrepresented the nature of literature in schools. If passed, the bill would threaten teachers and school librarians with new liability for educational material, remove educational value exemptions, and would certainly create an environment of confusion, fear, and book removals in Ohio schools — regardless of whether there are legally obscene books in schools (spoiler: there are not). 

In Florida, motions for summary judgment were filed in the case against Escambia County by the authors of And Tango Makes Three, a book about two male penguins raising a penguin chick together. In South Carolina, the State Board of Education restricted Crank by Ellen Hopkins and requested more information on two additional books. In Texas, a fundraiser gala held by the conservative nonprofit America First Legal raised over $80,000 they claimed would pay Llano County’s legal fees in a book ban case; instead, the Austin American-Statesmen claims, the funds disappeared and taxpayers footed the bill. Also in Texas, serial book-banners at Katy ISD have banned 14 more books, including Slaughterhouse Five, The Kite Runner, and books by Margaret Atwood.