Children's Institute 2020

Indies Introduce is all about what independent booksellers do best: Discovering exciting debut authors and sharing the best with readers across the country. You will hear about the title selection process from the bookseller panelists who curated the list and many of the debut authors will be present to read a short passage and answer a question posed by one of the panelists. Afterwards, authors will move to the signing area, where booksellers can meet the authors and get galleys signed.

Come by the Ask ABA desk to chat with your Member Relationship Manager, who will be available to answer your questions about ABA or Ci8.

The Quiet Room is intended to provide a quiet, calm space where attendees can spend time away from noise, light, and other stimuli of conference spaces. The Quiet Room is not available for conversations or meetings.

Thanks to the generosity of ABA’s publisher sponsors, many authors and illustrators will be on hand to chat with booksellers and autograph new and forthcoming titles at the Author Reception. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

The Town Hall is an opportunity for an open discussion about industry and association issues. Members of the ABA Board will respond to questions and comments from all booksellers. Booksellers are encouraged to submit their comment or question prior to the Town Hall by emailing [email protected].

Let the Meet the Presses Ci8 sponsors introduce themselves to you while you refuel for the afternoon. This informal networking event gives you the opportunity to check out the publishers not participating in Speed Dating Lunch or Lunch Presentations. While you’re there, set up appointments for Meet the Presses the following day and explore new titles.

If you’d like to share questions and feedback about your POS system representatives will be present for a discussion. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and gain insight into maximizing the use of your POS system.

Marketing is absolutely necessary for a business to be successful, and even more important for small, independent businesses. Without thoughtful marketing, your store may only be recommended a few times by people who happen to find you — but that’s it; there’s no real customer growth. In this session, you’ll hear from four guest speakers from small bookstores, who will share what works for their stores in a variety of marketing areas, including social media, newsletters, events, and general marketing.

Owners and managers, your staff is the best in biz! They love books and they are great with customers. This panel will feature bookstore owners and managers who have found unique ways to help staff grow professionally and personally, all while setting them up for a long-term career in bookselling.

Have you ever wondered what goes into running a not-for-profit bookstore? Look no further to hear from booksellers who have adopted a nonprofit business model in place of traditional for-profit retailing business models.

All you need is love…and representation! A panel of booksellers with a deep passion for YA romance will share their favorite LGBTQ+ YA romance titles, best practices for marketing the stories, and how they work to expand readership outside of the LGBTQ+ and teen community.

ABACUS is the essential independent bookstore benchmarking tool that helps stores leverage the survey results against their numbers and make plans to ensure a more profitable future. It is critical for children’s book retailers to participate so that their impact is clearly represented in the industry. In this session, bookstores that have never reported before, or consider themselves new to the process, will learn how to prepare their systems, from POS to QuickBooks, so that when it comes time report, they are set up for success.

The Consultation Station offers booksellers the opportunity to meet with representatives from ABA’s business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers. The full list of Consultation Station participants will be available on BookWeb and in the event app. Be sure to check BookWeb frequently, as new participants are added regularly, and make appointments in the coming months.