Wi13 Offers Full Schedule of Parties and Receptions

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

The upcoming Winter Institute 13 (Wi13) in Memphis, Tennessee, features a wide array of parties and receptions for booksellers, publishers, and authors to socialize throughout the four-day event.

On Monday, January 22, Winter Institute scholarship recipients should plan on meeting and thanking their publisher sponsors at the Meet & Greet for Scholarship Winners before the Wi13 Welcome Reception.

Winter Institute logoThe 45-minute event starts at 4:30 p.m. at The Cadre, 149 Monroe Avenue in downtown Memphis, an event venue in a 1928 historic landmark building.

Shuttle buses will run between the Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel and the Cadre every 15 to 20 minutes between 4:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. In addition, booksellers who show their badge can ride the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) Trolley for free between January 22 and 25. The Trolley provides easy access to the Memphis Cook Convention Center and downtown hotels, restaurants, attractions.

The Cadre is also the site for the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute Welcome Reception, once again co-sponsored by Shelf Awareness, which begins at 5:00 p.m. and ends at 7:00 p.m. Wi13 attendees can enjoy cocktails, snacks, and the company of colleagues.

Later that same night, the Young Professionals After Party will take place back in the Sheraton’s Magnolia Ballrooms I and II from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. New or young book industry professionals are encouraged to attend to make new friends and meet members of Indies Forward, an organization dedicated to supporting young booksellers.

The event is sponsored by Lit Hub/Bookmarks and the National Book Foundation with help from all nine regional booksellers associations: NEIBA, NAIBA, SIBA, GLIBA, MIBA, MPIBA, PNBA, NCIBA AND SCIBA.

Andrews McMeel Publishing is sponsoring entertainment at the event from Typewriter Rodeo, a group of poets who bring along vintage typewriters to produce original poems on the spot based on suggestions from partygoers. 

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance is hosting the SIBA Hospitality Suite, open to booksellers from all regions, in the River Bluff room on the mezzanine level of the Memphis Cook Convention Center. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and 9:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. All attendees are encouraged to stop by to relax for a moment and grab a beverage. 

On Tuesday evening, January 23, from 6:20 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Ingram Content Group, Wi13’s lead sponsor, is inviting booksellers to socialize and relax at the Ingram Drinks & Hors d’Oeuvres Open Reception in the Sheraton’s Heritage Ballroom Foyer.

Later that night, Scholastic is providing drinks and desserts at the Scholastic Meet & Treat After Party from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. in Sheraton’s Magnolia Ballrooms I and II. Scholastic authors and illustrators will be on hand to sign books and say hello to all Wi13 attendees.

On Wednesday, January 24, the always-popular Author Reception, thanks to the generosity of publisher sponsors, will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Ballroom A&B at the Memphis Cook Convention Center. Nearly 100 authors and illustrators will be on hand to chat with booksellers and autograph new and forthcoming titles. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

On Thursday, January 25, booksellers can enjoy lunch and meet authors from Winter Institute’s small and university press sponsors and participating Meet the Presses publishers during the Small Press Lunchtime Author Reception. The event is from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Grand Lobby of the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

The final social event of Wi13 will immediately follow the live presentation of the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, which will be from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday in Ballroom C&D at the convention center. Thacker Mountain ​Radio is​ a weekly live radio show featuring author readings and an array of musical performances.

The Closing Reception from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Ballroom Foyer outside of Ballroom C at the Memphis Cook Convention Center will be a chance to meet and get signed books from the guests from the radio show, including authors Elizabeth Acevedo and Charles Frazier, and singer/author Dar Williams.

The Closing Reception will also feature an interactive fundraising game sponsored by ABA to benefit the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc). 

Throughout Wi13, attendees will be encouraged donate to Binc by purchasing a flashing pin that celebrates the musical history of Memphis with guitar and note shapes. Wearing the pin will show support for Binc and also give attendees a chance to enter a game to win a $500 gift card. A $20 donation buys one pin and one chance to win, and a $35 donation gets two pins and two chances.

Everyone wearing a pin will gather to play “Heads or Tails” at the Closing Reception, a game played by a series of coin flips. Each time the coin is flipped, players must guess the result by placing their hands on their “head” or “tail.”

Those who guess right stay in the game for another round, until the last one standing wins. It takes no special skill to play the game, which will take about 10 minutes. The more pins you purchase, the longer you can stay in the game.

The pins will be sold at the Ask ABA desk and at Binc’s table at the Consultation Station.

The 2018 Winter Institute is made possible by support from lead sponsor Ingram Content Group and from publishers large and small. Questions about Winter Institute can be addressed to [email protected].

Categories: