A Letter From ABA’s CEO

Dear Booksellers,

Spring is a busy time at ABA!

As of this writing, in conjunction with our colleagues in the regional trade associations, we have hosted six of our 10 scheduled forums, and I’m very pleased to report they have been productive and constructive meetings. The biggest reason for this success has been your attendance and active participation. On behalf of my ABA colleagues who are joining me at the forums — as well as those back at the office whose work in education development and planning make these meetings possible — I wanted again to say many thanks. The sharing of good ideas during our education presentation on “Exploring New Markets” has enriched that session a great deal. In addition, when you voice your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions during the open forum, you are helping make sure that ABA is doing the best we possibly can to support indie bookselling.

Here’s a link to the schedule for the remaining Spring Booksellers Forums. I certainly hope that I’ll have the chance to say hello to you at one of these upcoming events and to hear how things are going in your store, as well as how you think ABA might better meet the needs of you and your fellow booksellers nationwide.

ABA’s third annual Children’s Institute will be held from April 19–21 in Pasadena, California. If you are registered for the institute, thanks for your participation — all of us at ABA look forward to seeing you there. It will be a full and, we hope, fulfilling schedule. There will be opportunities to hear from engaging and insightful authors, to deepen our professional knowledge at a number of education sessions, and, of course, to meet with old friends as well as new colleagues.

As you undoubtedly know, the children’s market has been one of the most robust segments of our business for a number of years, and I know your passion and dedication — which has fueled that growth — will be on center stage at Ci3. The commitment of indie booksellers to fostering an engaged young readership and to expanding the audience for a diverse range of writing is what makes this event and, more importantly, indie bookselling such a unique and powerful force.

The overall news about the state of indie bookselling remains good. At each forum, I’ve asked how your business has been in comparison to past years and the overwhelming majority of stores present have reported improved results. All of us at ABA acknowledge and understand that every store is not doing better, but I am delighted to report that, overall, the indie resurgence is continuing.

And, finally, I hope that if you have not yet made your plans to attend BookExpo America — running from May 27–29 in New York City — you will do so. BEA is an unparalleled nexus event for our industry — a valuable professional crossroad, where booksellers, publishers, wholesalers, authors, and others can connect and interact. As a venue for introductions and meetings both planned and impromptu, BEA offers innumerable opportunities to strengthen and grow your businesses.

ABA’s goal at BEA is to help you more successfully network and connect. To that end, our programming again offers you the opportunity to experience the book editing process through in-person visits with New York book editors and, new this year, to meet one-on-one with publicists from a number of publishers for focused, productive conversations. Those are only two of the many opportunities. Here’s a link to the full list of ABA and selected BEA programming, including programming for children’s booksellers.

Believe me, we at ABA fully understand that you and your colleagues must carefully evaluate how you spend your business’ dollars. But we believe a well-planned attendance at BEA can pay exceptional professional dividends.

Finally, wherever you are, I hope it’s stopped snowing and spring has arrived!

I hope to see you in the coming weeks…

Sincerely,

Oren Teicher
CEO, American Booksellers Association