Registration for the 2015 ABC Children’s Institute is expected to reach maximum capacity within the next several days; booksellers who want to attend should register now.

Bestselling author Jon Scieszka, a nationally recognized reading advocate and the founder of Guys Read, has joined the Children’s Institute panel “Reaching Reluctant Readers.”

ABA member booksellers who have not attended BookExpo America since 2012 have just a few days left to fill out an application for a chance to win one of 60 BEA Scholarships of $435 each.

This Friday, February 27, is the deadline for applications for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation’s 2015 academic scholarship program. Two scholarships of $10,000, 50 scholarships of $3,500, and the inaugural Karl Pohrt Tribute Scholarship of $5,000 will be awarded.
 

Booksellers are invited to join American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher and Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger at an ABA Spring Forum in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, March 11, or Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, March 12.
 

Here are the titles on the April Indie Next List flier, on its way to ABA member stores in the IndieBound movement.

The March Indie Next List’s 12 “Now in Paperback” titles are featured with bookseller quotes on a downloadable flier and shelf-talkers.

At Winter Institute 10, Publishers Weekly presented ABFE with a check for $13,600, a portion of the money raised by PW's Tribute to Freedom of Expression in its January 19 issue.

Leslie Hawkins of Spellbound Children’s Bookshop, Kerri Poore of Politics & Prose, and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo of Greenlight Bookstore discussed how to implement and manage book-of-the-month clubs and online registries at a Winter Institute session moderated by Holly Weinkauf of Red Balloon Bookshop.

“How to Create an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy and Track the Results,” presented by JB Media Group's Sarah Benoit at Winter Institute 10, provided booksellers with tips and tricks to make the most of social media.

Six past ABA presidents came together at Winter Institute 10 for a conversation about the last 10 years in bookselling, a decade that has wrought many changes and created new challenges in the industry.

Booksellers who have been providing health insurance to their employees should remember that the Affordable Care Act includes federal tax credits for small businesses.

The debut novel by bookseller Jeremy Hawkins of Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has been named to April's Indie Next List. The Last Days of Video tells the tale of Star Video's quirky staff and owner, who try to keep their store in business after a Blockbuster moves in next door.

The official 2015 Children’s Book Week poster, commemorating the 96th year of the reading and literacy celebration, was designed by Grace Lee, a storybook artist for Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Colin Barrett is the author of the short story collection Young Skins, a Winter/Spring 2015 Indies Introduce Debut Authors selection. Seth Marko, formerly of UC San Diego Bookstore, called Young Skins “a blazing, outstanding debut by a very talented young writer who I can’t wait to see more from.”

Victoria Aveyard is the author of Red Queen, the first book in a new trilogy and a Winter/Spring 2015 Indies Introduce New Voices selection. Jill Hendrix of Fiction Addiction noted, “Red Queen is an unbelievable debut YA novel that will leave you waiting desperately for the next entry in the series.”

Wi10’s Consultation Station proved to be a popular venue for booksellers seeking information from ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and other service providers. Here’s information on each participant for booksellers who would like to follow up on contacts made at the Winter Institute.

In preparation for the credit card industry’s transition to EMV chip cards by October 2015, Bancard Systems, ABA’s affiliated credit card processing company, is providing its small business clients with a detailed flier looking at how merchants should plan for the switch.

ABA Regular store members that renew their dues for 2015 can choose to receive a fresh copy of the classic vertical “Eat Sleep Read” poster design or one of two new designs — the classic styling in a horizontal format or a smaller, vertical poster with different styling.

The winners of the 2015 WNBA Pannell Award will be chosen by the Pannell Awards jury from 18 nominees in the general bookstore category and eight in the children’s category.

Booksellers to discuss future of Bay Area bookstores on City Visions; Battle Creek Books eyes March opening; Greenlight Bookstore launches second season of Book/Plate series; Green Arcade bookstore featured for unique focus

NYT article on indie bookstores shared with millions of Twitter fo