Winter Institute 2023

Check out gift vendors, ABA business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers at the expanded Vendor Showcase (formerly the Consultation Station). Check the Wi2023 site on BookWeb.org often for the full list of participating vendors and to make appointments.

Meet with small and mid-size publishers for informal conversations. These publishers, many of which are first-time ABA event sponsors, will have sample copies of their books, and some will have additional copies for giveaways.

Batch for Books is an electronic invoicing system created for booksellers and publishers in the U.S. The software-assisted service helps initiate payments between vendors and bookstore retailers at no cost to bookstores. Register for a one-on-one appointment here: Slot 1 or Slot 2 or drop by our table at the Vendor Showcase.

IndieCommerce, IndieLite, and IndieCommerce 2.0 are ABA’s fully transactional, content-rich e-commerce platforms designed specifically for independent bookstore websites. Both users and non-users of IndieCommerce, IndieLite, and IndieCommerce 2.0 are invited to schedule one-on-one time with a program specialist from the IndieCommerce team. Space is limited, but walk-ins are welcome. Booksellers will be able to sign up for appointments starting Wednesday, January 18 here

Enjoy lunch and meet an additional lineup of authors and illustrators who will be on hand to chat with booksellers and autograph their new and forthcoming titles.

The always-popular Galley Room is filled with ARCs of upcoming titles from Wi2023 sponsors. A limited supply of book totes will be on hand. The PartnerShip/FedEx Shipping Desk will also be open to assist in shipping your galleys back to your bookstores.

The Affinity Groups are closed spaces for booksellers and bookstore owners who identify as members of the BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, Disability, and/or Neurodivergent communities to gather for connection, support, community, resources, and networking. While allies are greatly appreciated, those who do not identify personally as a member of the BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, Disability, and/or Neurodivergent communities should not plan to attend that group’s coinciding meetup.
Please find the locations for each affinity group below:
BIPOC - Cedar A
Disability - Madrona
LGBTQIA2S+ - Cedar B
Neurodiverse - Juniper

The Quiet Room is intended to provide a quiet, calm space where attendees can spend time away from stimuli such as noise, bright light, and other stimuli of conference spaces. Put your feet up and relax. This space is not available for conversations or meetings. Also, please note that there are additional places to sit throughout the Seattle Convention Center.

Employers use diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to create a more equitable, inclusive, and dynamic workforce. Designing and developing a DEI program involves four main phases:
1) Data collection and analysis to determine the need for change;
2) Strategy design to match business objectives;
3) Implementation;
4) Evaluation and continuing audit of the plan.
This session will be lead by Jason Thompson, author of Diversity and Inclusion Matters: Tactics and Tools to Inspire Equity and Game-Changing Performance (Wiley). Booksellers will leave this session with practical implementation ideas to begin a DEI program for their store.

Join Michelle MiJung Kim, award-winning author of The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change, and Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Bookstores for a thought-provoking conversation about how each of us can — and must — be a part of creating a more equitable world. Drawing upon her lived experiences as a queer immigrant woman of color and her work across various industries, Michelle MiJung Kim will share how to move beyond performative allyship to building real solidarity toward social change. Known for her compassionate criticality, Kim’s session is one you won’t want to miss.

Whether your store or a portion of your bookstore is classified by the IRS as a nonprofit or not, you can still raise funds by applying for grants. Come to this session to learn more about the art and science of grant writing for both nonprofit and for-profit bookstores.

What is a book fair if not a mobile and pop-up bookstore appearing at different times at various locations? In this session, bookstores with robust and successful book fair programs will share how to apply their book fair business principles of inventory management, set up, and execution to the inventive business models of pop-up and mobile bookstores. Presented by the ABC Children’s Group for all booksellers.

This session is a celebration of the symbiotic relationships between independent bookstores and other literary institutions. Featuring representatives from Town Hall Seattle and Hugo House, as well as booksellers who have relationships with these institutions. The panelists will highlight how their partnerships began and will discuss the creative and successful results of these ongoing collaborations.

Many bookstores have found creative financial stability and community buy-in through the nonprofit model. Others have added a nonprofit component to their business. By recognizing the intrinsic social and community benefits of independent bookstores, these bookstore owners have moved beyond the retail model and transitioned some or all of their business into a nonprofit organization. Hear from a panel of booksellers who will walk you through a brief overview of how and why they chose to operate in this way.

If you are a user of Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, and you haven’t yet examined your user analytics from these platforms, today is the day! This workshop will teach you how to access analytics on each of these platforms and interpret the data in order to spot trends. Bring your laptop and get ready to dive into your data. But wait, there’s more! Bring what you learn in this workshop to the session tomorrow at 9:05 am, Using Your Social Media Data to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan, and learn how to use your social media analytics data to create a more personalized and relevant marketing plan.