American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) stands with the Educational Bookshop, which was raided by Israeli police on Sunday, and its owners, Palestinian booksellers Ahmad and Mahmoud Muna, who are currently serving five days of house arrest and a 20-day ban from their store. Despite the pretense of “inciting violence,” the raid of the popular East Jerusalem bookshop was nakedly political, as the books confiscated show. The Munas must be released immediately and allowed to return to the Educational Bookshop. Erosion of the right to read anywhere threatens the right to read everywhere.

ABA is thrilled to announce the 31 booksellers who have been awarded scholarships to Children’s Institute 2025!

These scholarships cover the registration fee, hotel stay, and reimbursement for travel expenses (up to $600) for each winner.

We hope you join us June 12–14 in Portland, OR, for Children's Institute 2025 (Ci2025)!

Registration for Ci2025 will open in March. Keep an eye on BTW in the coming weeks for more details.

• Thursday, February 13 at 3:00 pm ET: Bookseller Lightning Talks
  
• Monday, March 3 at 8:00 pm ET: Black Community Affinity Group
• Tuesday, March 4 at 3:00 pm ET: ShopTalk
• Thursday, March 6 at 8:00 pm ET: Neurodiverse Community Affinity Group

Congratulations to Bookshop.org for five incredible years!

"Bookshop.org is a force for good for independent bookstores and the readers who want to support them,” said ABA CEO Allison Hill. “In a world dominated by big tech and billionaires, Bookshop.org — and the indie bookstores it champions — offer readers a meaningful alternative: the opportunity to spend their money in a way that shapes the world they want to live in — one where neighborhood indie bookstores thrive, not corporate monopolies. We're incredibly grateful to Bookshop.org founder and CEO Andy Hunter for his extraordinary vision, execution, and commitment, as well as to the entire Bookshop.org team for their amazing support and everything they've done for independent booksellers and readers.”

ABA Fly-In

Last week, the American Booksellers Association’s Advocacy team went to DC to advocate on behalf of independent bookstore members. Key issues discussed with lawmakers included ABA’s support for the Credit Card Competition Act, ABA’s opposition to meritless ADA website compliance lawsuits targeting small businesses (see more details below), and the need to end Amazon’s partnership with the Small Business Administration. ABA also met with representatives of the Federal Trade Commission to discuss antitrust issues pertinent to its independent bookseller members.

ADA Website Compliance Lawsuits

ABA has been urging legislators to strengthen the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to stop unscrupulous lawyers from taking advantage of disabled people and small businesses by filing meritless lawsuits regarding small businesses’ websites. Across the country, a few shameless lawyers have been taking advantage of outdated ADA regulations to file frivolous lawsuits against small businesses’ websites, including a number of ABA’s independent bookstore members. The lawyers who file these complaints are not doing so to benefit people with disabilities or to bring websites into compliance. They do it for one reason: to line their pockets at the expense of honest people who cannot afford to fight baseless charges in court.

ABA met with Illinois State Senator Laura Murphy in September to discuss this issue. Last week, Murphy introduced IL SB 1942, which looks to put an end to these meritless lawsuits for Illinois-based businesses. 

Illinois bookstores should have received an email providing them with an easy way to reach out to their Illinois lawmakers in support of the bill. SB 1942 would provide businesses with 90 days to fix any compliance issues with their websites, and an 180 day grace period before a law firm can file a complaint. The bill will protect Illinois-based businesses from meritless lawsuits that could potentially close a small business.