Colorado Bookseller Wins Grand Prize Hotel ABA Stay

Cheryl Lucas of Crystal Books & Gifts in Grand Junction, Colorado, is the grand prize winner of a free four-night hotel stay (room and tax) at Hotel ABA — the Grand Hyatt New York, located at 42^nd Street and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan — courtesy of BookExpo America.

Fifty-five additional prizes were awarded to ABA members, also courtesy of BEA, including:

• 5 second place prizes of three free hotel nights (room and tax)
• 15 third place prizes of two free hotel nights (room and tax)
• 35 fourth place prizes of one free hotel night (room and tax)

Every ABA member store in good standing that booked a room at Hotel ABA by April 1 was entered into the random drawing for free hotel nights. In recognition that New York City hotel rates are high, BEA created the prizes to help reduce ABA members’ expenses to attend the show.

Hotel ABA will once again be the site of publisher-sponsored parties that are open exclusively to ABA member booksellers. Whether they are staying at the Grand Hyatt New York or not, all ABA bookseller members are invited to mingle with authors at evening parties at the hotel. On Tuesday, May 28, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., the Gallery on Lex, on the Lobby Level, will be the site of a BEA Welcome Party hosted by Random House Publishing Group. And on Wednesday, May 29, the same venue is where indie presses — Beacon Press, Black Dog & Leventhal, Blue Apple Books, Lonely Planet, Milkweed Editions, Other Press, and Quirk Books — will celebrate indie booksellers from 9:00 p.m. to midnight.

To receive complimentary badges to the trade show, ABA member booksellers must register at BookExpoAmerica.com.

Bookselling Today & ABA Education will start at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29, at the Javits Convention Center with the plenary “Publishing, Bookselling, and the Whole Damn Thing: A Conversation With John Sargent.” The hour-long event in Rooms 1E14/1E15/1E16 will feature Macmillan CEO John Sargent and ABA President Becky Anderson in a discussion about the book industry, the challenges it faces, recent key events, and what the future may hold. The plenary, and all ABA education that follows, is open to all BEA registrants.

The ABA Town Hall and Annual Membership Meeting will be on Thursday, May 30. Complete ABA program details are available here.