A Letter From ABA’s CEO

Dear Bookseller,

Though the blue skies of Seattle (yes, it’s true!) during the Winter Institute are a far cry from the cold, ice, and snow back here on the East Coast, the memories of the institute are vivid. It was great having the opportunity to see and talk with so many of you at Wi9.

All of us here at ABA want to thank you for the amazing energy, vitality, and engagement you brought to the event. We completely understand that the key to the Winter Institute’s success is the vibrant participation of you and your fellow independent booksellers — the input in planning, participation as panelists and moderators, and the enthusiastic interaction as attendees.

All of us at ABA are very grateful to you, as well as to our lead sponsor, Ingram, and all the Winter Institute publisher sponsors.

Having said that, we know that the event can always be improved. Many of you shared ideas with me or my colleagues in Seattle, and many thanks! Those of you who were at Wi9 are about to receive an e-mail from ABA with a link to a post-event survey. I hope you will take a few moments to complete the survey. We take your feedback very seriously, and I strongly encourage you to share any suggestions, insights, or ideas you might have regarding the institute, especially how it might be improved to better meet your needs. Your input is the foundation for our planning for the next institute. And in the coming weeks and months as we plan for Winter Institute 10 in Asheville, North Carolina, next February, you can e-mail me directly, or my colleagues Dan Cullen or Lisa Winn.

Looking ahead, we are very excited about another major educational event that will occur very soon — ABA’s first stand-alone Children’s Institute, set for April 6 – 7 in San Antonio. One of the clear goals following the approval of the ABC membership of the ABC/ABA merger was to expand and to strengthen ABA’s educational programming for children’s bookselling, and we think the Children’s Institute contributes directly to that goal.

There will be a lot going on in San Antonio — from opening plenaries with bestselling authors Brad Meltzer and Tim Federle to six educational sessions, bookseller roundtables, a rep picks session over lunch, and a featured author event and a closing reception with authors. Here are links to the Children’s Institute home page, event descriptions, and the day’s full program at a glance.

We are extremely grateful to lead sponsor Baker & Taylor for their support of the Children’s Institute, and to the many publisher sponsors that are helping us make this event possible.

Registration is open to booksellers at all ABA member stores, and I encourage you to review the program. With the help of our sponsors, ABA will be offering scholarships to the Children’s Institute. All registrants will be entered into the scholarship drawing, and all ABA members — whether they are registered or not — are invited to enter their names in a drawing for publisher-sponsored scholarships to the institute. Here’s a link to the latest BTW update on the institute and scholarships.

We do understand that multiple trips away from the store are not possible for all members, and that every store can’t attend every event. Our goal continues to be to offer a range of options for booksellers. We look forward to seeing many of you in San Antonio at the Children’s Institute, and we will be working to share as much material as possible with you on BookWeb.org and in Bookselling This Week after the event.

The other big thing on the ABA calendar in the upcoming weeks is the kickoff of the 2014 Spring Forums.

Beginning in early March, in conjunction with the regional trade associations, ABA will be hosting 11 Booksellers Forums in various parts of the country. For many years now, the spring forums have been an invaluable opportunity for ABA to hear directly from you regarding important issues, providing us with essential feedback on ABA policies and initiatives, as well as new ideas. Our conversations with you at these forums play an integral role in keeping ABA on course and as responsive as possible to your needs.

In addition, each forum will include a new educational session, “Conversations That Work,” which will explore what to say and how to handle a variety of irksome situations in the bookstore, including showrooming, aggressive customers, and questions from customers about pricing.

And looking a little bit further down the road, planning is well underway for BookExpo America 2014, which is scheduled for May 29 – 31. Look for information in the coming weeks about both the ABA hotel and event programming that will provide enhanced opportunities for bookseller-publisher interaction.

I very much hope I’ll have the chance to say hello to you at either the Children’s Institute or one of the upcoming Booksellers Forums. But if that’s not the case, I encourage you to reach out via e-mail or phone. It’s always great to talk!

Sincerely,
Oren Teicher
CEO, American Booksellers Association