ABA Unveils Speaker Roster for Keynote & Day of Education Sessions

The American Booksellers Association's May 28 Day of Education at BookExpo America offers an impressive lineup of authors, publishing execs, and booksellers at the forefront of the industry. The all-day program at the Javits Convention Center, sponsored by Ingram Book Group/Ingram Publishers Services, starts with a keynote panel discussion focusing on the importance of the relationship between authors and independent bookstores, and exploring how that relationship can continue to grow and prosper in challenging times. Moderated by Roxanne Coady, owner of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, Connecticut, the panel will feature four of today's bestselling authors:

• A much-honored author, poet, and filmmaker, Sherman Alexie is the winner of this year's inaugural Indies Choice Book Award for Most Engaging Author. Among his many literary honors are a Pushcart Prize for Poetry, a National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Young People's Literature, and the PEN/Hemingway Award for Best First Book of Fiction.
  
  Alexie's works are a staple on national and indie bestseller lists. In October 2009, Grove Atlantic will publish War Dances, a collection of Alexie's short stories that range from the heartbreaking to the hilarious.

• Jon Meacham is the editor of Newsweek and author of indie and New York Times bestsellers Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. His latest book, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, published by Random House last November, was named a Notable Book of 2008 by the New York Times and has appeared on numerous national bestseller lists.
  
  Meacham is the recipient of honorary doctorate degrees from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale; Emmanuel College, Boston; Loyola College in Maryland; and Wagner College, New York City.

• James Patterson is a finalist for the 2009 Children's Choice Book Awards "Author of the Year" for The Final Warning, the fourth book in his highly praised Maximum Ride series. He is an honorary chair for United Through Reading's 2009 Storybook Ball and the Spokesperson for the American Association of School Librarians' School Library Media Month (April 2009). Patterson is the author of the highly acclaimed Daniel X series as well as the forthcoming Witch & Wizard (December 2009), a book he has spent four years writing.
  
  This past year, Patterson's passion for books and reading led him to launch a new web site, ReadKiddoRead.com, an easy, hassle-free place for parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians to find the very best books to turn their kids into lifelong, dedicated readers.

• Lisa Scottoline is the author of more than 12 legal suspense novels, which have appeared on national bestsellers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times. Scottoline recently demonstrated her support of local independent booksellers by announcing a special promotion for her latest book, Look Again (St. Martin's), to help boost sales at bookstores throughout the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association region.
  
  A graduate (cum laude) of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, she is the recipient of numerous awards including an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America; a Paving the Way Award from the University of Pennsylvania, Women in Business; and il Leone Di San Marco Award, Italian Heritage and Cultural Committee of New York, for promoting positive images of Italian-Americans.

All badged BEA attendees are invited to the keynote panel and to attend ABA's education sessions.

Below is a look at the Day of Education presenters, panelists, and moderators. The schedule, complete session descriptions, and more are available on BookWeb.org.

ABA E-Commerce Solution: The New System

• Ricky Leung, director, ABA E-Commerce Solution
• Len Vlahos, ABA chief program officer

Book Club Brainstorming

• Becky Anderson, co-owner, Anderson's Bookshops, Naperville, Illinois
• Karen Corvello, head buyer, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, Connecticut
• Jennifer Laughran, book fair coordinator and children's specialist, Books Inc., San Francisco
• Carol Fitzgerald, president, The Book Report Network (moderator)

Bookstore as the Third Place: Making Your Store a Community Center Through Innovative Events

• Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, events coordinator, McNally Jackson Booksellers, New York City, and co-owner of Greenlight Bookstore (yet to be opened), Brooklyn, New York
• Kelly Justice, owner, The Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, Virginia
• Robert Sindelar, managing partner, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, Washington
• Oren Teicher, ABA chief operating officer (moderator)

Give It Away to Get It Back: Using "Thought Leadership" Marketing to Build Your Children's Business

• Diane Capriola, owner, Little Shop of Stories, Decatur, Georgia
• Shannon Mathis, children's book buyer, Books Inc., San Francisco
• Shelly Plumb, owner, Harleysville Books, Harleysville, Pennsylvania
• Kristen McLean, executive director, Association of Booksellers for Children (moderator)

Going Digital: An Industry Discussion on Selling E-Content

• Mark Nelson, digital content strategist, National Association of College Stores, and vice president, strategy and development, NACS Media Solutions
• Jenn Northington, events and marketing manager, The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Andrew Savikas, vice president of digital initiatives, O'Reilly Media, and program chair for O'Reilly's Tools of Change for Publishing Conference
• Len Vlahos, ABA chief program officer (moderator)

Handselling: Customer Service With Results

• Joe Drabyak, Chester County Book & Music Company, West Chester, Pennsylvania
• Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA chief executive officer

Independents Week: Creating a Community-Wide Local First Celebration at Any Time of the Year

• Carla Jimenez, co-owner, Inkwood Books, Tampa, Florida
• Lucy Kogler, manager, Talking Leaves Bookstore, Buffalo, New York
• Paige Poe, ABA IndieBound outreach liaison
• Meg Smith, ABA chief marketing officer
• Other panelists to be announced

Social Media and the Independent Bookseller

• Stephanie Anderson, manager, WORD Bookstore, Brooklyn, New York
• Ann Kingman, district sales manager, Random House
• Megan Sullivan, head buyer, Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Len Vlahos, ABA chief program officer (moderator)

Using Multimedia to Market Your Store

• Alex Beckstead, owner, 4sp Films and director, Paperback Dreams

Viral Marketing in Our Viral Culture

• Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine, inventor of the flash mob, and author of And Then There's This (Viking)

Large-Store Roundtable

• Cathy Langer, lead buyer, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver (moderator)

Small and Mid-Size Store Roundtable

• Sue Boucher, owner, Lake Forest Book Store, Lake Forest, Illinois