A Letter from the ABA Board of Directors Regarding Palestine and Our Commitment to Equity

We are grateful, as always, for all those who had the courage to speak up at the Community Forum, in person or via questions submitted beforehand, and to those who spoke to the ABA Board Members at our Office Hours throughout Winter Institute. As we work toward doing better as an organization and as individuals, issues can come up that can be uncomfortable. It’s not easy. But as the last few years and the necessary activism of so many have taught us, this discomfort is a functional part of community change, and we are committed to doing that work with you.

We continue to work toward making the Community Forum a place where as many voices as possible can be heard in an atmosphere of safety and mutual respect. We commit to working on the big issues we heard expressed at this year’s forum: clear responses, improved communication, and increased transparency.

During this year’s forum the issue of the ABA’s response to Palestine was once again raised. In particular, members asked ABA to stand with authors and bookstores who have experienced silencing, cancellations, and hate. We agree.

The ABA Board, along with the staff of American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) and ABA, condemns all attacks on bookstores, in particular the targeting of bookstores who have chosen to highlight Palestinian books and authors in their stores. Each bookstore’s curation is their own expression of their freedom of speech, and verbal attacks, demands to carry or not carry certain titles, and threats to stores are not acceptable.

ABA, through ABFE, has supported and will continue to directly support booksellers who need support during times of persecution, harassment, curation challenges, and other attacks on booksellers and stores. ABFE is an arm of ABA, and their statements and work are the statements and work of ABA.

As Allison wrote in her letter from the CEO April 4, 2024: “…we are buoyed by your work in your communities and focused on our position to support it, preserving ABA’s resources to support you, your stores, and your right to free expression so that you in turn can play your positions.”

ABA will continue to offer stores and booksellers resources, training materials, crisis communications advice, and support, as envisioned in the Board’s Ends Policies: “Regular members will have resources to be successful, including: skills, technology, community, and support of their right to freedom of expression.”

The Board and the ABA staff heard your call for greater transparency. ABA’s policies on compensation have evolved in the interest of equity and accessibility in recent years. “Are bookseller panelists and speakers paid for their time and expertise?” was included in the Wi2025 FAQ. While the staff does their part in managing the logistics of future conferences, the ABA Board will keep transparency in mind as a guiding principle for how we communicate to you, our members.

We also heard many wonderful things at the Community Forum and at our Board Office Hours: praise for the IGNITE pre-conference and the feelings of joy and connectedness that many felt (along with specific suggestions for how to evolve and improve on this first year); ideas for future education and policy advocacy; gratitude for structure of the conference including the longer breaks between sessions; and even love for the hotel food! We spoke to members over many hours across the conference about local issues facing their stores, from climate change closures to book bans to dealing with contractors. We heard ideas about integrating and streamlining our technologies, and thoughts about how to bring folks back offline and into our physical stores. This feedback has been passed along to the ABA staff with the information or expertise to answer them, and many of the topics will be incorporated into the Board’s future discussions on policies and priorities.

Booksellers came to the forum and office hours to share their needs and ideas, ask questions, talk shop, volunteer, and raise concerns. As we heard at the Community Forum, so many members of the independent bookselling community have engaged in a kind of mutual aid by offering their expertise and opinions in a variety of contexts — and there are many more ready to step up. We are grateful for everyone who shared a suggestion, who said thank you to the staff, and who said they might be willing to give some time in the future. We are a powerful community because we hold each other accountable, and because we hold each other up. We look forward to continuing this work together with you.

Please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] with any follow-up questions or concerns.

— Tegan Tigani, Diane Capriola, Cynthia Compton, Jake Cumsky-Whitlock, Christina Pascucci-Ciampa, Lisa Swayze, Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Raquel Roque, Brein Lopez, Holly Weinkauf, Talia Whyte, Jenny Cohen