ABA Programming at BookExpo America Unveiled

Today, the American Booksellers Association announced its educational programming and special events for BookExpo America 2014 via a dedicated mini-site on BookWeb.org. This year’s ABA programming will take place over all four days of the show, from Wednesday, May 28, to Saturday, May 31, at the Javits Convention Center.

ABA member booksellers are eligible to receive complimentary badges for entrance to the trade show. Booksellers can register — and purchase tickets for BEA’s Author Breakfasts — on the BookExpoAmerica website. To receive free badges, booksellers must provide an ABA member number. (If you forgot to register as an ABA member, contact an ABA Member Relationship Manager.)

The BookExpo America 2014 mini-site on BookWeb features a complete ABA program schedule at a glance with links to session/event descriptions. Several of this year’s ABA education sessions are being presented in conjunction with BEA, including a look at how to manage a store’s social media using Hootsuite and a panel of industry experts who will share their insights on Common Core opportunities for booksellers and librarians.

New this year are two opportunities that focus on the interactions between publishers and booksellers: Meet the Editor and One-on-One Publisher Meetings. Meet the Editor meetings will take place on Wednesday morning, May 28, with an introduction to the program, followed by small group meetings at various publishing house offices for 75 to 90 minutes. One-on-One publisher meetings are available to bookstore owners and managers only and are modeled after the popular “speed-dating” format. These meetings aim to give individual booksellers and publishing executives the opportunity to discuss topics of mutual interest. Booksellers must sign up for each event separately, and space is limited. Registration closes on May 5, 2014.

ABC Children’s Group events include the return of ABC/CBC Illustrator Studio Tours, which will give attending booksellers a behind-the-scenes peek into the creative lives of today’s top talent on Wednesday, May 28. ABC Group members are also invited to the ABC/CBC Speed Dating Lunch With Children’s Authors on Friday, May 30, and the ABC/CBC Tea With Children’s Authors and Illustrators on Friday, May 30. All three events are for ABC Group members only. Pre-registration and prepayment is required. Space is limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A list of participating authors and illustrators, along with event descriptions, is available on BookWeb.

Once again this year, ABA will host the annual Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch, which will take place on Thursday, May 29. Reservations for the lunch will open on Thursday, March 20, and close on Friday, May 9. Reservations are limited to three booksellers per store location. Watch for the opening of reservations in next week’s BTW.

BEA will also feature the ABFFE Children’s Book Art Silent Auction on Wednesday evening, May 28. Proceeds will benefit ABFFE, the Kids’ Right to Read Project, and Banned Books Week. Tickets to the auction will go on sale on April 1 via the ABFFE website.

Information and reservations for ABA’s programming can be found on the BookExpo America 2014 min-site on BookWeb. Some sessions are awaiting further details, so booksellers are encouraged to check back from time to time.

The deadline for reservations at the exclusive hotel for ABA member booksellers, the Grand Hyatt New York, at 42nd Street and Grand Central Terminal, is Monday, March 31. Reservations can be made via the hotel’s dedicated ABA webpage. ABA members may also call Hyatt Central Reservations at 1-888-421-1442 and ask for the American Booksellers rate.

Every ABA member store in good standing that books at the Grand Hyatt by March 31 will be entered into a random drawing for free hotel nights, courtesy of BEA. There are 56 prizes; one winner per bookstore member is allowed.