Registration to Close January 10 for Special Events and Programs at Winter Institute

Booksellers can visit BookWeb.org now to register for a range of special events and programming taking place at the American Booksellers Association’s 15th annual Winter Institute in Baltimore. Special event registration will close on Friday, January 10, which is also the last day that W15 Day Passes will be available for purchase.

Registration is open now for:

• Antitrust Symposium in Washington, D.C. (Tuesday, January 21, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, $25): Be part of a special symposium on growing monopoly power in the retailing and tech sector, with a focus on the extraordinary market dominance of Amazon. *This event is open to all booksellers, regardless of Winter Institute attendance.
• Paz & Associates Workshop: Introduction to Retail Bookselling (Tuesday, January 21, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, $129): This is a one-day crash course on the essentials of opening a new bookstore or buying an existing one. Attendance at Winter Institute is optional but admission is guaranteed; a separate registration fee applies.
• IndieCommerce Institute (Tuesday, January 21, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, $59): Separate interactive, classroom-style workshops will be offered for users of ABA e-commerce platforms IndieCommerce and IndieLite. Each seminar will include step-by-step instructions for the topics covered, and participants will be assigned their own test site to use and follow along with. (Wi15 registration not required to attend.)
• Publishers by Appointment (Tuesday, January 21, 9:30 am to 4:15 pm): This new programming initiative allows booksellers to sign up for 15-minute slots to meet with participating publishers of their choice.
• Baltimore-Area Bookstore Tour for International Guests (Tuesday, January 21, 10:00 am to 3:25 pm, $30): This tour for international guests offers a chance to experience U.S. independent bookstores in and around the city of Baltimore. (Bookstore tours for U.S. booksellers are scheduled for Friday, January 24.)
• Advanced: A Workplace Divided: Understanding the Climate for LGBTQ+ Workers Nationwide (Wednesday, January 22, 10:40 am to 11:40 am): An educator from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation will present data on how to make your business a more inclusive place and provide an environment for reflection and discussion on how to make positive changes in your workplace culture.
• Advanced: Work-Life Balance for Managers and Owners (Wednesday, January 22, 3:35 pm to 4:35 pm): In 2019, the World Health Organization included burnout in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases. A professional in the field will lead a session to help all attendees identify workplace stressors in their environments and consider possible solutions.
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (Friday, January 24, 1:45 pm to 3:00 pm): Join bestselling and award-winning authors Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds in conversation on the history of racist ideas in America and how to better navigate these complex realities. Reynolds and Kendi’s Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, March 2020) delivers a timely YA reimagining of Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped From the Beginning.
• Bookselling Bootcamp (Friday, January 24, 1:45 pm to 5:00 pm): This in-depth, interactive seminar for frontline booksellers will cover blurb writing, personal finance, hand-selling strategies, and career management.
• Employee Manual Workshop (Friday, January 24, 1:45 pm to 5:00 pm): This workshop will cover a number of sections critical to an employee manual, including workplace culture, general employment information, benefits, code of conduct, disciplinary procedures, and more.

Winter Institute will take place January 21–24, 2020, at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. Booksellers who are seeking hotel accommodations can contact ABA Meetings & Planning Officer Jill Perlstein. Questions about Winter Institute can be directed to [email protected].