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Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Sign up now for Children's Book Week, May 5–11.
Tell us your store's indie bookstore day plans.
Check out the Indie-to-Indie National Poetry Month playlist.
Children's Institute 2025 will be held in-person June 11–14, in Portland, OR.
Children’s Institute Registration Opens Next Week!
 

Mark your calendars! Registration for Children’s Institute 2025 (Ci2025) will open on Thursday, March 20, at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT. 

Ci2025 will be held in-person June 11–14, in Portland, OR. 

The Institute will open the afternoon of June 11 with a Buddy Meet & Greet and a mixer for Black, Indigenous, AAPI, Latina/o/x, Chicana/o/x, Hispanic, and BIPOC Attendees. This will be followed by 3 days of educational programming, keynotes, and author receptions.

Visit BookWeb to see the full Ci2025 schedule!

Keep an eye on your inbox! We’ll send registration reminders as we get closer to March 20.

We hope to see you in Portland!
 
See Ci2025 Program
ABA Condemns Second Raid of the Educational Bookshop
 

For the second time in a month, Israeli police have raided the Palestinian-owned Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem. As reported in The Guardian, on Tuesday police detained 61-year-old shop owner Imad Muna, whose son Ahmad Muna was detained last month. Books seized in the raid included anything that seemed related to Palestine, such as works by Banksy and Noam Chomsky. The incitement for the raid is being reported as a tip that a visitor to the store “had observed books containing inciting content,” similar to the raid last month in which police cited a children’s coloring book as evidence of “terrorism.” 

Bookselling is not terrorism. Carrying books about Palestine is not terrorism. It is imperative that booksellers around the world stand together to reject politicized raids of bookstores, wherever they occur. ABA once again stands with the Educational Bookshop and demands a cessation of raids and due process for the booksellers. 
 
Save the date for these upcoming events:
 
 
Visit Events Calendar
 
11 Ways to Get Involved with ABA
11 Ways to Get Involved with ABA

ABA is grateful to the booksellers who help ensure that ABA's programs, resources, education, and advocacy are as relevant and valuable as possible.

If you would like to be involved with ABA, we've created a list of 11 easy ways to do so. 

These opportunities range from long-term commitments like serving on the Board of Directors to specialized task forces that meet only once. 
Learn More
125 Years of ABA: Q&A with Danny Caine
125 Years of ABA: Q&A with Danny Caine

This year marks ABA’s 125th year of helping indie bookstores thrive. As part of our 125th anniversary celebration, we’ll be sharing interviews with key figures in the industry and exploring how the organization has changed since its inception in 1900.

Danny Caine is a former bookseller and former co-owner of the Raven Book Store in Lawrence, KS. During his time as a bookseller, he served on the ABA Board of Directors, and also published several successful titles defending small businesses and encouraging people to buy local. 

This week, Bookselling This Week sat down with Caine to discuss his unique perspective on the industry and the part bookstores play.
Read Interview
How to Prepare for an ICE Raid
How to Prepare Staff for Possible ICE Raids

Here are a few resources to help bookstores prepare their staff for the possibility of ICE raids: 

ABA is also working on a virtual session to help members prepare for this possibility. Keep an eye on BTW for more updates.  
Download Resources
Publisher Survey
Take Our Annual Publisher Survey

Our annual Publisher Survey is your chance to be heard by publishers!

Although ABA meets with publishers throughout the year to advocate on behalf of indie bookstores, once a year we have our official annual meetings with publishers, including key decision-makers. 

Your survey responses determine what concerns, comments, and suggestions we will bring to the 2025 meetings.

Last year’s survey responses resulted in additional discounts for Indies First and the holiday season, publishers signing on to Batch for Books, improvements with damages, critical changes in middle readers, and publisher participation in IGNITE at Winter Institute 2025. 

Please fill out the survey by Monday, April 7.
Take Survey
Apply Stickers
Apply Stickers Discount for ABA Members

Apply Stickers has partnered with ABA to offer special discounts to ABA members!

Apply is a Brooklyn-based creative studio that makes extraordinary stickers designed to inspire the artist in each of us. Inspired by the museums, galleries, and gritty stickered streetscapes of their hometown, Apply Stickers lets everyone be their boldest, brightest self. 

Visit BookWeb to learn more about the exclusive ABA member offer.
Learn More
Indies Introduce author Vijay Khurana with his debut title, "The Passenger Seat."
Indies Introduce Q&A with Vijay Khurana

Vijay Khurana is the author of The Passenger Seat, a Winter/Spring 2025 Indies Introduce selection. Here, Khurana and Kim Brock of Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH, discuss The Passenger Seat.

You can also visit the ABA podcast, BookED, to listen to this interview.
Read Interview
Indies Introduce author Alice Austen with her debut title, "33 Place Brugmann."
Indies Introduce Q&A with Alice Austen

Alice Austen is the author of 33 Place Brugmann, a Winter/Spring 2025 Indies Introduce selection. Here, Austen and Austin Carter of Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA, discuss 33 Place Brugmann.

You can also visit the ABA podcast, BookED, to listen to this interview.
Read Interview
Spring 2025 Reading Group Guide
Spring 2025 Reading Group Guide Preview

The Spring 2025 Reading Group Guide preview is now available!

This guide includes the following categories: Dazzling Debuts, Family & Coming of Age, Historical Fiction, Nonfiction & Memoir, and Small Bites.
View Guide
Indie SciFi/Fantasy Bestseller List
Indie SciFi/Fantasy Bestseller List

Here is the Indie SciFi/Fantasy Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending March 9.
See Bestsellers
Faire's Small Business Grant
Faire's Small Business Grant

Faire’s small business grant program is designed to help small businesses stock their stores with items from Faire. Selected stores will be awarded $5,000 in Faire credit.

Visit Faire to learn more and apply for this grant.
Apply Now
Advocacy Updates
Advocacy Updates
 

Advocacy Webinars

On March 18 at 7:00 pm ET, Philomena Polefrone will join Madison Markham and Laura Benitez from PEN America and Peter Bromberg from EveryLibrary for “Speak Out For Books! Testifying to State Legislative Committees.” At this event, they'll be discussing how to be as effective as possible when testifying on state legislation related to the right to read. Register now!

On March 6, Philomena joined YA author and Authors Against Book Bans organizer Maureen Johnson to brief New York authors and booksellers about anti-book ban legislation in New York, testifying on state legislation, how New Yorkers can support folks in other states, and collaborations between authors and bookstores. The recording is available on BookWeb.

VoterVoice

American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) can tell you when your action is needed on book ban-related legislation and more, but only if you sign up for our VoterVoice updates. We send updates targeted by state, so the information you receive will be current and relevant. 

Direct Support

This week ABFE helped a Southern bookstore dealing with coordinated harassment. A reminder to please reach out to [email protected] when you are experiencing harassment or other free expression challenges.
 
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