Share Your Wi11 “Book Swap” Backlist Favorite by November 20

Winter Institute 11 (Wi11) will feature the first-ever Backlist Book Swap, a festive event that will give booksellers, publishers, and other attendees the chance to share their favorite under-read book with friends and colleagues. The Book Swap will be held on Saturday, January 23, following the Wi11 Welcome Reception, and all participants are encouraged to bring a copy of their backlist favorite to share, and swap, at the event. To enable ABA to get a sense of how many tables will be needed for title displays, those planning to participate are asked to RSVP by completing the Wi11 Book Swap form available here by November 20. Backlist titles should be at least five years old and still be in print.

Party-goers will don an “Ask Me What I’m Swapping” badge and those who bring a book will get to go home with a new one at the end of the night. Participants will also be able to take home a commemorative Winter Institute photograph from the Backlist Book Swap photo booth, which will be set up near the ABA Registration Desk at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel throughout the day and evening on Saturday.

This fall, the American Booksellers Association is launching the Revisit & Rediscover program to give the independent bookstore channel new opportunities to showcase and support favorite backlist titles. The initiative responds to requests from booksellers and publishers to find new ways of highlighting the strong backlist works that provide a foundation for both bookstores and publishing houses.

Following the Book Swap, ABA will compile and share the complete list of favorite backlist titles with all Wi11 attendees, the media, and publishers. Submit your favorite Backlist Book now.

The Backlist Book Swap will take place in the Sheraton’s Plaza Foyer from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m on January 23.

The Book Swap is part of a larger ABA initiative to provide members with new opportunities to share, showcase, and support favorite backlist titles. A second part of the initiative is the Indie Next List’s new Revisit & Rediscover feature, which debuts this week with the December list. All monthly and quarterly Kids’ Indie Next lists will now feature three backlist titles deemed by booksellers as critical inventory for indie bookstores.