BookED

To highlight new titles from authors and characters from historically underrepresented groups, Ci2024 children's publishers will demonstrate their best handselling skills! Come learn about books from Black and BIPOC authors, Trans and LGBTQIA2S+ authors, and authors and characters with disabilities, as well as upcoming sci-fi and romance titles written by those authors. An Edelweiss collection of...

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. Lion's Tooth is a small, indie bookstore in Milwaukee, WI that specializes in alternative graphic novels and radical nonfiction. The store and the community it's rooted in are independ...

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 October 10, 2024, Lily Rugo of Harvard Book Store (Cambridge, MA) discussed Book Clubs and Bookstores. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources can be found at  www.bookweb.org .   Theme...

Developed for author guests in the early stages of their writing careers, this panel features booksellers who have formulated successful practices for creating events that benefit both stores and authors. This session will cover a number of issues, from author publicity to dealing with pre-event nerves. Session Video & Resources   Recorded June 11, 2024 at Children's Institute 2024 in New Orleans,...

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, Lily Taliaferro of Eagle Harbor Book Co. (Bainbridge Island, WA) interviews Kalela Williams, author of Tangleroot , av...

Rex Ogle and Mark Oshiro are inspirational authors of young people's literature writing about queer adolescents overcoming real-life and fantastical obstacles. Both depict examples of acts of heroism, community-building, trust, generosity, reciprocity, and queer culture. During these unprecedented times of book bannings and challenges predominantly impacting the LGBTQIA2S+ community, young readers...

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, Kristin Saner of Fables Books (Goshen, IN) interviews Nico Lang, author of American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Survi...

How you plan your calendar impacts the flow of business. Knowing what's coming down the pike can better help you navigate surprises. This session asks you to review what you can anticipate during any calendar year and plot the constants (holidays, frontlist ordering windows, weekly bestseller reporting, ABACUS, national and regional events) so that when variables (staff vacations, events & book fa...

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.   From our friends at Libro.fm , today's Free Expression Friday features a special episode of the Libro.fm Podcast featuring ABA's Philomena Polefrone, PhD! In this episode, Philomena d...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On September 12, 2024, Cathy Berner of Blue Willow Bookshop (Houston, TX) discussed how to run an author event signing line in your store. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources can...

This workshop is designed to empower bookstore managers and owners with the knowledge and tools to cultivate truly inclusive environments. Over the course of two hours, this interactive session will guide participants through the nuances of recruitment, hiring, and onboarding through the lens of anti-racism, inclusivity, and accessibility. Building on the principles advocated by RISEwithUS (Radica...

Measuring turns is a good indicator of the vitality of your children's department or bookstore. The session will explain turns in terms of your business' health, compare children's bookstore and children's categories' turns to general bookstores and non-children's categories, teach booksellers how to measure turns, and the importance of watching them. With a foundational understanding, attendees w...

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. When Caroline Richmond was young, she experienced firsthand the impact of seeing herself represented in literature for the first time. Now, as Executive Director of We Need Diverse Boo...

ABA's Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On September 12, 2024, Erin Matthews of The Last Word (Mt. Airy, MD) discussed the Dos and Don'ts of Small Business Loans. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources can be found at  www...

With young adult and middle-grade readers enjoying romance, it's no secret that romance is good for business and good for young people who are exploring their identities and feelings. Whether it's their first crush or a big love song-worthy experience, this discussion-based session will examine how reading about romantic relationships can be a young person's first experience with different express...

This session will teach booksellers how to calculate the cost of goods sold (COGS) and maximize gross profit/margin. Panelists will lay the foundation for an understanding of COGS so that booksellers can confidently compare their information to ABACUS data. During this session, booksellers will be given time to examine what they've learned and identify areas in their own business for better COGS m...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On September 12, 2024, Philomena Polefrone of ABFE discussed Observing Banned Books Week in Your Store. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources can be found at  www.bookweb.org .   T...

Helping staff succeed is the primary role of a leader, though many leaders struggle with exactly how to do that. In this seminar, ZingTrain shares practical, tactical tools for leaders to use to tackle performance problems, give future-focused feedback, and manage their teams more effectively.  Session Video & Resources   Recorded June 10, 2024 at Children's Institute 2024 in New Orleans, LA Addit...

We don't believe in training just for training's sake, or just because it's the right thing to do. We firmly believe that the best and most successful training positively changes behavior and, therefore, positively affects our business' bottom lines. We'll share key elements of how we design and deliver our staff training as well as other tips we've learned over the years. Presented by ZingTrain ....

Book access programs for banned and diverse books are essential. In places where books are banned from public institutions like schools and libraries, these programs may be the only way low-income kids can see themselves reflected in literature. In this episode, the American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) introduces the Set Books Free Project, a book donation initiative to create a pipelin...

ABA's  Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On March 14, 2024, Bregette Poore ( Child's Play Toys & Books ) discussed buying and sourcing toys. Session Video & Resources   Additional bookstore education resources can be found at  www.bookweb.org .   Theme...

Join Ron Smithson and Marsha Wood as they discuss how Ingram is investing in indie bookstores through new warehouse improvements, and how the recent ipage enhancements can help increase productivity while decreasing downtime. Session Resources   Recorded June 12, 2024 at Children's Institute 2024 in New Orleans, LA Additional bookstore education resources can be found at  www.bookweb.org .     The...

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, Sally Sue Lavigne of Story Book Shoppe (Bluffton, SC) interviews Steven Banbury, author of The Pumpkin Princess and th...

Reading is on the decline. We've all heard it and we're all worried. It will take a bookstore organizing and community effort to relight the spark of literacy in not just kids, but also their parents. Bookstores with active reading programs will share models that work for them that booksellers can implement in their bookstores. This session will include time for a discussion on how the collective...

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. Willie Carver Jr. was once Kentucky's educator of the year. But when state education guidelines were put in place targeting LGBTQ+ students and forcing teachers to participate in censo...