New Wi8 Sponsors and Scholarship Winners Named

This week, the American Booksellers Association announced the addition of Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers and The New Press to the list of Small Press sponsors of the eighth annual Winter Institute (Wi8), to be held Kansas City, Missouri, from February 22 - 25, 2013.

Wi8’s program of more than 25 education sessions, plenary speakers, peer advisory groups, reps’ picks lunches, publisher meetings, and special events, is made possible by the overall support of the Ingram Content Group, Wi8’s lead sponsor, and the support of more than 40 large and small publishers.

Also this week, Eileen Fesco of Book Mouse in Ottawa, Illinois, was named the winner of the Wi8 publisher-sponsored scholarship from Disney Publishing Worldwide, part of the list of 50 scholarships announced last week. 

In addition, Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, Alabama, has been named the winner of Rainy Day Books’ A Good American challenge. In February, Rainy Day co-owner Vivien Jennings announced that the Fairway, Kansas, bookstore would demonstrate its belief in the title, set in Missouri and authored by Alex George, by awarding a scholarship to Winter Institute 8 to the ABA member store that sold the most copies of A Good American between then and mid-November.

“We loved the book from the beginning,” said Rainy Day’s Geoffrey Jennings, “and were excited that it was chosen as a number-one Indie Next List pick. We’re happy that other independent booksellers picked up our challenge, and now we’re looking forward to seeing a representative from Alabama Booksmith at Wi8.”

Alabama Booksmith’s Mike Persons will be attending Wi8 on the Rainy Day-sponsored scholarship.

A Good American is Winter Institute 8’s “One Institute, One Read” title, and all bookseller registrants will be receiving a copy in January, courtesy of Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, an imprint of the Penguin Group. Booksellers are encouraged to arrive in Kansas City prepared to discuss A Good American with their Wi8 colleagues, and all attendees are invited to an interview and Q&A with George on Saturday, February 23.

For a look at the growing number of authors who will be taking part in Wi8, visit the Author Appearance page on the Winter Institute website. New authors are being added each week.

The Winter Institute and the host hotel, the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center, are both sold out. Booksellers can add their names to a waiting list for Bookseller Event Registration and for the Host Hotel. Registered booksellers who are no longer planning to attend and anyone with hotel reservations that are no longer needed are asked to contact ABA as soon as possible so that waiting booksellers can fill their places. Those on the waiting lists will be contacted on a first-come, first-served basis when cancellations are received.