Booksellers Forums in Colorado, Georgia & Oregon at End of March

February 20, 2008

An American Booksellers Association's Booksellers Forum program will be held on Thursday, March 27, in Estes Park, Colorado, followed by programs on Saturday, March 29, in Atlanta, Georgia, and in Portland, Oregon. The owners and staff of all ABA member stores, as well as those of the respective regional associations, are invited to attend. The events will feature an education component and an opportunity to discuss concerns and hear the latest news about the association's programs and initiatives from ABA senior staff and Board members.

Estes Park, Colorado

The ABA Booksellers Forum program will be held in conjunction with the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) Spring Meeting, which runs from Wednesday, March 26, through Friday, March 28, at Rocky Mountain Park Holiday Inn (101 South Vrain Avenue, Estes Park, CO 80517).

On Thursday, March 27, ABA will present a Booksellers Forum and "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store." ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, COO Oren Teicher, and Board member Cathy Langer of Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore will participate in the program.

Here's the schedule of ABA and MPIBA programming to date:

Wednesday evening, March 26

• 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: MPIBA Cocktail Party at Macdonald's Bookshop

Thursday, March 27

• 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.: MPIBA Breakfast With Simple Prosperity author David Wann
  
• 9:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.: ABA's "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store" The concepts of localism, independence, and sustainability are gaining traction with consumers. In this session, booksellers will hear how the retail market place has evolved to allow these phenomena to take root and grow. They'll also learn how to leverage and exploit these powerful tools to more effectively market and promote their stores.
  
• 11:15 a.m. - Noon: Breakouts to discuss prior seminar topics
  
• 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.: ABA Booksellers Forum Over Lunch Domnitz, Teicher, and Langer will provide members, and prospective members, with updates on association programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity to voice concerns and offer input on the future direction of the association. Owners and store staff are encouraged to attend to gain a broader perspective on how their stores fit into the larger industry, as well as to exchange ideas with their fellow booksellers.
  
• 2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.: MPIBA's "Nothing's Greener Than Cash" Panel discussion of MPIBA programs that can drive consumers to the bookstore and increase sales. Including website and Winter Catalog revelations.
  
• 3:15 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.: Breakouts to discuss prior panel topics
• 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: MPIBA Advisory Council Meeting
  
• 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.: MPIBA Cocktail Party
  
• 7:30 p.m.: MPIBA Author Dinner with David Wroblewski and Amy Irvine

Friday, March 28

• 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.: MPIBA Children's Author & Illustrator Breakfast
  
• 9:15 a.m. - Noon: MPIBA Pick of the Lists
  
• 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.: MPIBA Box Lunch and Panel: "Paperless Marketing and Digital Support for the Books You Love to Sell" Panelists will include Art Carson from Ingram Book Company (on the iQuest Kiosk project); Dave Weich of Powell's Books (on the Out of the Book film project); and marketing representatives from publishers (on reading group guide websites, existing digital marketing materials and live chats).
  
• 1:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Breakouts to discuss prior panel topics
  
• 2:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: MPIBA Pick of the Lists and Rep/Bookseller Meetings
  
• 5:30 p.m.: MPIBA Informal cocktails

Questions about ABA programming should be addressed to sarah@bookweb.org; questions about MPIBA programming should be addressed to info@mountainsplains.org. For planning purposes, booksellers who will be attending the ABA forum program are asked to RSVP to sarah@bookweb.org.

Atlanta, Georgia

An ABA Booksellers Forum program is being held in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Spring Meeting and the Spring Book Show to be held from Friday, March 28, through Sunday, March 30. (Editor's Note: Due to storm damage, which occurred after this article was published, the show has been moved from the World Congress Center to the Hilton Atlanta -- 255 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta; 404-659-2000.)

On Saturday, March 29, ABA will present a Booksellers Forum and "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store." ABA COO Oren Teicher and Chief Marketing Officer Meg Smith will participate in the program.

Here's the schedule of ABA and SIBA programming to date:

Friday, March 28

• 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.: SIBA's "Strength in Numbers," With Jeff Milchen, American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) Based on the Independent Business Alliance model successfully pioneered in Boulder, Colorado, and incorporating the experiences of subsequent efforts in other communities, this workshop introduces the benefits of building an alliance among community-based businesses, citizens, and community organizations in your home town and offers an introduction to how IBAs work.
  
• 10:45 a.m. -11:45 a.m.: SIBA's "EESY CHIT: Easy, Effective, Strategies That You Can Happily Implement Today" Presenter: SIBA and Page & Palette President Karin Wilson shares a treasure trove of great ideas that you can implement in moments with a great return on time invested. An idea-packed session not to be missed.
  
• Noon: Spring Book Show Opens
  
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: SIBA Resource Roundtables
  
• 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: SIBA's "Deeper Understanding Conversation With Robert Gray at Spring Book Show! What Do Baby Boomers Want (to Read)?" Call it a conversation starter for 2008.
  1. What are your thoughts about long-term marketing to Baby Boomers?
  2. By the year 2018, will boomers still be shopping in bricks-and-mortar bookstores or primarily online?

Saturday, March 29

• 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: ABA's "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store" The concepts of localism, independence, and sustainability are gaining traction with consumers. In this session, you'll hear how the retail marketplace has evolved to allow these phenomena to take root and grow, and will learn how to leverage and exploit these powerful tools to more effectively market and promote your store.
  
• 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: ABA Booksellers Forum Over Lunch ABA's Teicher and Smith will provide members, and prospective members, with updates on association programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity to voice concerns and offer input on the future direction of the association. Owners and store staff are encouraged to attend to gain a broader perspective on how their stores fit into the larger industry, as well as to exchange ideas with their fellow booksellers.

Questions about ABA programming should be addressed to sarah@bookweb.org; questions about SIBA programming should be addressed to info@sibaweb.com. For planning purposes, booksellers who will be attending the forum program are asked to RSVP to sarah@bookweb.org.

Portland, Oregon

The ABA Booksellers Forum program in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association will be held at Heathman Hotel (1001 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97207) on Saturday, March 29. The ABA program, which will include the education session "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store," will be followed by PNBA's 2008 Book Awards Presentation Party. Participating in the ABA program will be CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, Chief Program Officer Len Vlahos, and President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana.

Here's a look at the schedule to date:

Saturday, March 29

• 11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. ABA Light Buffet Lunch
• 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.: ABA's "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store" The concepts of localism, independence, and sustainability are gaining traction with consumers. In this session, you'll hear how the retail marketplace has evolved to allow these phenomena to take root and grow, and will learn how to leverage and exploit these powerful tools to more effectively market and promote your store.
• 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.: ABA Booksellers Forum Domnitz, Vlahos, and Lawrence will provide members, and prospective members, with updates on association programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity to voice concerns and offer input on the future direction of the association. Owners and store staff are encouraged to attend to gain a broader perspective on how their stores fit into the larger industry, as well as to exchange ideas with their fellow booksellers. Snacks will be provided.
• 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: PNBA's 2008 Book Awards Presentation Party Attendees will enjoy hors d'oeuvres and a complimentary beer and wine bar at the presentation of the PNBA Book Awards, which will be followed by a book signing and complimentary books provided by the publishers. The reception is a ticketed event, with space restrictions limiting the head-count. Tickets are $30 per person. Information and an order form for tickets are available on the PNBA website, www.pnba.org. Questions about the PNBA event should be addressed to larry@pnba.org.

For planning purposes, booksellers who will be attending the ABA Forum program are asked to RSVP to sarah@bookweb.org.

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