IndieCommerce Institute to Feature ABA's New E-Book Program

Following this week's announcement of the e-book agreement between the American Booksellers Association and Kobo, ABA has announced that the upcoming IndieCommerce Institute (ICI) -- set for Thursday, September 13 -- will feature a special plenary focusing on the new ABA/Kobo e-book program.

The plenary will kick off a full day of programming, and it will feature presentations by ABA, Kobo, and the national distributor for Kobo's eReaders. ABA will be sharing a full update on the new program at all the upcoming regional trade shows -- and answering questions at the ABA Booth at the shows -- but the ICI plenary will give attendees an opportunity to hear directly from Kobo about the program and to ask questions. (Here's more BTW coverage of the ABA/Kobo e-book program.)

“The experience of the more than 400 IndieCommerce stores makes clear that the difference between the highest- and lowest-earning websites is not the size of the bookstore, but, rather, how well each store uses tools available to build and market their sites,” said Neil Strandberg, ABA director of member technology. “And we are very grateful to our new partners in our e-book solution for participating in this opening plenary, which will give the ICI attendees a great introduction to the new program.”

The registration deadline for ICI is Friday, August 31, but a limited number of spaces are still available. Enrollment is capped at 100 booksellers, and there is a maximum of three attendees per store to help create an engaging and interactive learning environment. Enrollment in the ICI advanced workshop is now closed.

The ICI’s educational programming is designed to help booksellers maximize their IndieCommerce websites, the event will also feature an opening reception on the evening of Wednesday, September 12. In addition, there will be opportunities for hour-long one-on-one sessions with IndieCommerce staff on Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning, September 14.

This year’s ICI will feature all-new programming based on bookseller feedback, as well as success stories from high-performing stores. There will also be networking opportunities and action-item takeaways.

Registration is open to stores whose IndieCommerce websites are already live, or will be live before September 1. All participants in ICI must have a fundamental understanding of the tools for managing content and processing orders on their websites.

The ICI registration fees is $99.

More information, including a detailed agenda and hotel information, is available on the ICI page on BookWeb.org.

Registration Continues for Events Institute

In addition, registration continues for ABA’s first-ever Events Specialty Institute, which will bring booksellers from around the country to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a full-day of education on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.

The Events Institute will be held at The Depot in Minneapolis prior to the Great Lakes (GLIBA) and Midwest (MIBA) independent booksellers associations’ Heartland Fall Forum. An opening reception on Tuesday evening, October 2, will provide Events Institute registrants with the opportunity to greet fellow booksellers, as well as meet a few notable authors in a casual, informal setting.

Wednesday’s program, which runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., includes an opening plenary, four breakout sessions, a special lunch featuring senior publishing executives, and roundtable discussions.

The registration fee for the Events Institute is $59. Enrollment is open exclusively to ABA members and capped at 100 booksellers. To take advantage of the special ISI hotel rate, reservations must be made by Monday, September 3.

For more information and to register, visit the Events Specialty Institute page on BookWeb.org; questions about the Events Institute should be addressed to esi@bookweb.org.