ABA at BEA 2011: Focus on Change and Innovation

More than a thousand indie booksellers representing approximately 400 ABA member stores are participating in this week’s BookExpo America at New York’s Javits Convention Center. Joining experienced booksellers are 18 prospective booksellers who took part in an Introduction to Retail Bookselling Seminar, sponsored by the American Booksellers Association and facilitated by Paz & Associates, at the ABA member hotel, the Holiday Inn Midtown, on Sunday, May 22.

Many ABA members kicked off BEA 2011 on Sunday night at a hospitality suite in the Holiday’s Inn’s Skylight Lounge sponsored by the Random House Publishing Group. Booksellers enjoyed light refreshments and mingled with some of their favorite Random House authors.

Booksellers were welcomed to Monday’s ABA Day of Education, sponsored by the Ingram Content Group, by the association’s new president, Becky Anderson of Anderson’s Bookshops in Naperville, Illinois. Anderson noted that all of the booksellers gathered for the opening plenary session, featuring nationally recognized entrepreneur and speaker Christopher J. Zane, recognized that the future of indie bookselling rests on innovation and new business models. “From cutting-edge sessions on how to effectively sell e-books and how to turn mind share into market share in the children’s market, the 14 sessions and roundtables running throughout the Day of Education are focused squarely on assisting indie booksellers in their goals for retail innovation and success,” she said.

The day’s jam-packed schedule of educational programming “would not be possible without the support of Ingram,” said Anderson. “We at ABA are extraordinarily grateful for their sustained and gracious support of ABA’s educational efforts throughout the year, including the Winter Institute.”

Looking ahead and in light of recent corporate bookstore closures, Anderson told attendees, “ABA and Ingram are spearheading a new project to help provide incentives to new and expanding bookstores in targeted markets, in an effort to increase the relevancy of the independent bookstore segment within our industry and for consumers.” The project, which is a collaboration of ABA, Ingram, and an array of other companies, aims to provide products and services to bricks-and-mortar booksellers. “The vehicle will be a complete package, at a discounted rate, to potential and existing ABA members,” said Anderson. A formal announcement and details will be forthcoming, but booksellers with questions can contact either ABA or Ingram.

Highlights of the Day of Education programming were Christopher Zane’s opening plenary presentation, “Reinventing the Wheel: The Science of Creating Lifetime Customers,” and the closing plenary featuring poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist Margaret Atwood, who presented a highly entertaining talk on the “Three BEA Speeches I Didn’t Quite Manage to Pull Off.” (See this week’s related stories on the presentations by Chris Zane and Margaret Atwood.)

In between the two plenary sessions, booksellers had a choice of ABA education sessions on everything from e-books to selling non-book products in the children’s department to making nonfiction sexy, and roundtable discussions for children’s booksellers, for large stores, and for small and mid-size stores. (Watch for reports on ABA’s education sessions in upcoming editions of BTW.)

Following an extremely busy day, ABA members decompressed at a party at the Holiday Inn featuring dozens of authors from 12 independent presses.

Tuesday morning began with BEA’s Children’s Book and Author Breakfast, and then booksellers hit the trade show floor. (See related story on the Kids’ breakfast.)

Lunch for many ABA members on Tuesday was a festive affair that celebrated the spirit of indie bookselling and the winners of the Indies Choice Book Awards, which for the first time include the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards. Booksellers were welcomed to the Celebration of Bookselling & Author Awards Luncheon by ABA’s new vice president, Steve Bercu of BookPeople in Austin, Texas, who told the audience that among them were an amazing line-up of 36 authors and illustrators. “The work of each one has been chosen by you and your bookseller colleagues as an Indie Next List Great Read,” said Bercu, “and we are very grateful to our Publisher Partners for arranging to bring together such a stellar group of our favorites to celebrate with us.” (See related story.)

All BEA attendees had the opportunity to preview artwork to be auctioned off to the benefit the ABFFE Fund for Free Speech in Children’s Books at Wednesday evening’s ABC Children’s Group Silent Auction and Reception.

At the end of the day, ABA members gathered for the association’s annual Town Hall and Membership Meetings. Responding to what has been “a period of unprecedented change and staggering challenges,” ABA CEO Oren Teicher broke from tradition at the Membership Meeting and rather than focus on the past year, he shared some of his thoughts and observations about the keys to responding to those challenges, and how he believe booksellers and publishers can work more closely together in the common goal of selling more books. (See related story.)

As always, the ABA Members-Only Lounge was a place to retreat from the packed show floor, as well as to have books autographed by favorite authors, recharge their laptops, have a snack, and relax in a comfy chair.

Watch for more on ABA at BEA in next week’s issue of BTW.