BookED

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting short talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. In February of 2024, Ryan Clark of Gibson's Bookstore (Concord, NH) discussed celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with Bookstore BINGO and #BookHaul Photo Booths. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore edu...

From the Archive: Recorded virtually on August 31, 2021 for Children's Institute 2021 (Ci9) Is your store composed of a staff of three people or fewer or a footprint of 1,000 square feet or under? This discussion just might be for you. An example of how small/micro store bookstore employees can utilize this roundtable discussion is to share how they make in-store operations work and seek advice on...

ABA's  Indies Introduce  interview series spotlights debut authors handpicked by booksellers from around the country. In each episode, a bookseller from the Indies Introduce panel interviews an author featured in the program to celebrate the release of their book. In this episode, Kim Brock from Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH interviews Vijay Khurana, author of The Passenger Seat , avai...

From the Archive: Recorded virtually on April 29, 2021 for ABA's Top 10 Things to Know About webinar series Whether your store is new or long established, it can be profitable to consider how your store could be structured differently than your current business model. Join a conversation with booksellers who will provide information on starting a new nonprofit bookstore or transitioning an existin...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting short talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On February 13, 2025, ABA's Independent Bookstore Day Program Director, Courtney Wallace, discussed celebrating  Independent Bookstore Day . Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources can be...

From the Archive: Recorded virtually on February 19, 2021 for Winter Institute 2021 (Wi16) Join bestselling authors Lauren Groff, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Colson Whitehead for a discussion on the state of literature and what the future holds for the novelist in the aftermath of political upheaval. Moderated by Michelle Malonzo, buyer at Changing Hands Bookstore. Session Video & Resources   Additiona...

ABA's  Indies Introduce  interview series spotlights debut authors handpicked by booksellers from around the country. In each episode, a bookseller from the Indies Introduce panel interviews an author featured in the program to celebrate the release of their book. In this episode, Austin Carter of Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, PA interviews Nussaibah Younis, author of  Fundamentally , available...

ABA's  Indies Introduce  interview series spotlights debut authors handpicked by booksellers from around the country. In each episode, a bookseller from the Indies Introduce panel interviews an author featured in the program to celebrate the release of their book. In this episode, Sophie Chen of Belmont Books (Belmont, MA) interviews Holly Brickley, author of  Deep Cuts , available February 25, 20...

From the Archive: Recorded virtually on February 16, 2022 for Winter Institute 2022 (Snow Days) Led by author and expert Jason Thompson, this session will help stores be effective in their commitment to representation, equity, and access. A DEI audit checklist will help stores look at every aspect of their business — from hiring and training to signage, social media, and inventory — through a DEI...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting short talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On February 13, 2025, Susan Tunis of  Bookshop West Portal  (San Francisco, CA) discussed celebrating  Independent Bookstore Day with unique events. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources...

From the Archive: Recorded on January 26, 2016 at Winter Institute 2016 (Wi11) in Denver Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and  New York Times  bestselling author of 21 books, and the recipient of the 2015 John Newbery Medal for his novel  The Crossover . His next book is  Surf's Up , a picture book from NorthSouth Books. The founder of two literacy organizations, Book-in-a-Day and LEAP for Gha...

In our brand new Business Book Club series, ABA's Director of Education, Lee Hooyboer, sits down with a business book author to chat about big ideas, smart strategies, and real-world insights that will help booksellers stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of bookselling. We're thrilled to launch our new interview series with a conversation with Seth Godin, author of This Is Strategy . Booksellers...

Join ABA's Chief Financial Officer (and former bookseller), PK Sindwani, and Greg Mann, VP of Industry Insights, to review key takeaways from the 2023 ABACUS financial benchmarking report, identify opportunities for improving your store's profitability, and discuss ways you can use ABACUS in your advocacy efforts for your store.   ABACUS is a free annual report filled with detailed information hig...

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's  American Booksellers for Free Expression  celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read. Ramunda Lark-Young is the co-founder and owner of Mahogany Books in Washington, DC. Ramunda and her husband founded Mahogany Books to continue the work Ramunda began when working at th...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting short talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On February 13, 2025, Kim Behzadi of Read It & Eat Bookshop (Buffalo, NY) discussed celebrating  Independent Bookstore Day as a culinary bookstore. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources...

From the Archive: Recorded on January 24, 2019 at Winter Institute 2019 (Wi14) What if everyone read James Baldwin? He's one of our most acclaimed 20th century thinkers, his writing exploring countless facets of American society and diving into subjects like sexuality, politics, marriage, police brutality, the Church, race, and love. He observed and critiqued humanity in a way that still resonates...

Will Wi2025 be your first time at an ABA Institute? Been a while since your last Institute? Tune into our virtual meet and greet to help you navigate Winter Institute 2025, meet some ABA team members who will be around during the event to guide you, and hear from fellow booksellers with their own tips for making the most of the event.  Session Video & Resources   Recorded virtually on January 24,...

ABA's  Indies Introduce  interview series spotlights debut authors handpicked by booksellers from around the country. In each episode, a bookseller from the Indies Introduce panel interviews an author featured in the program to celebrate the release of their book. In this episode, Suzanne Lucey of Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC interviews Alasdair Beckett-King, author of Montgomery Bonbon: Murd...

From the Archive : Recorded on February 22, 2023 at Winter Institute 2023 in Seattle Join a conversation with your bookselling colleagues to discuss the returns process and how best to navigate the what, when, and how of returns. Are you pulling by section or publisher, and why? Are you pulling quarterly, monthly, daily, and why? How do you manage staff scheduling and minimize your freight costs?...

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's  American Booksellers for Free Expression  celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read. Jeannine Cook is the shopkeeper of Ida's Bookshop , Harriet's Bookshop , and Josephine's Bookshop in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Paris, France. Black history is more than a one-month...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting short talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. In February of 2024, Erin Ball of Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park, WA) discussed Seattle's annual bookstore crawl , held in celebration of  Independent Bookstore Day . Session Video & Resources   Additional bookst...

From the Archive : Recorded on January 24, 2020 at Winter Institute 2020 (Wi15) in Baltimore In the 1960s and 1970s, scores of Black bookstores opened in the U.S. Founded by activist entrepreneurs, these indie stores served as a refuge and intellectual center for communities in search of books by and about Black people. This Wi15 keynote event will be a wide-open conversation about the history and...

From the Archive: Recorded virtually on March 8, 2022 for Winter Institute 2022 (Snow Days) This will be a candid and balanced information session on the nuts and bolts of unions from both an employer and employee perspective by attorneys with experience with both sides of this issue.  Jon Hiatt is a union-side labor lawyer. From 1995 to 2017 he was General Counsel and then Chief of Staff at the A...

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's  American Booksellers for Free Expression  celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read. This week, Laney Hawes from the Texas Freedom to Read Project is back to talk about what lawmakers are cooking up in Texas to attack the freedom to read in the 2025 legislative session...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting short talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On January 9, 2025, nat eastman of Chevalier's Books (Los Angeles, CA) discussed their store's Books-to-Prison Program.  Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources can be found at  www.bookwe...