Registration Opens for Winter Institute 7

Registration is now open for the American Booksellers Association’s Seventh Annual Winter Institute.

Wi7, sponsored by the Ingram Content Group, will be held from Wednesday, January 18, through Friday, January 20, 2012, at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans’ French Quarter. The program, open exclusively to ABA bookstore and provisional members, offers 32 education sessions, special events, and a new format for some programming that is designed to create more interaction, more opportunities for organic learning and a fuller hands-on approach to education and professional bookseller development.

“We are extremely excited about this year’s Winter Institute — both because of the wealth of educational and networking opportunities — including some innovative programming — and all of the cultural riches that New Orleans offers, and we are very grateful to Ingram for their continued generous support of ABA’s educational programming” said ABA Content Director Dan Cullen. “From all the comments and feedback we have received from member booksellers, we expect very strong immediate registration for Wi7, and we encourage booksellers to sign up for this year’s institute soon if they plan to attend.”

Registration for the Winter Institute is capped at 500, and space will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Past Winter Institutes have been fully registered, and Wi7 in New Orleans is expected to fill up fast. Members who want to attend are encouraged to register as soon as possible.

Wi7 registration is free and limited to four booksellers per ABA bookstore member.  There is a $75 non-refundable meal fee to offset some of the food costs. (Attendees will be served two breakfasts, three lunches, and lots of coffee, and there will be a welcoming reception on Tuesday, January 17, at The Cabildo — Louisiana State Museum, an author reception on Thursday, and a closing reception on Friday.) Registration will close as soon as 500 booksellers have registered.

To provide easy access to both Wi7 registration and all of the event details, ABA has created a new Winter Institute website:  wi7.bookweb.org. Booksellers and Wi7’s publisher sponsors will register for the event on this new site, and it’s here that they will find the complete Wi7 schedule along with session descriptions, presenters, other important information, and updates.

Reservations at the host hotel, the Astor Crowne Plaza, at the special rate of $129 per night are available only to booksellers, publishers, and authors who have registered for Wi7.

After Wi7 event registration is successfully completed, registrants will receive an e-mail confirmation that includes a special rate code and link to the Astor Crowne Plaza web page, where they must then make their hotel reservations. The special hotel rate is available for the nights of Monday, January 16, through Friday, January 20, 2012. Only registered attendees of Wi7 will be able to book rooms at the Astor Crowne Plaza at the special Wi7 rate.

The new programming format at this year’s Winter Institute includes the opportunity for booksellers to work together to strategize creative ways to take a case-study bookstore to the next level.  Attendees will receive a briefing with all the necessary background about the case study when they check in at the Wi7 Welcome Desk.

Wi7’s festivities will begin with an opening reception on Tuesday evening, January 17, at The Cabildo — Louisiana State Museum, just a short walk from the Wi7 hotel.

On Wednesday morning, educational programming begins with opening plenary sessions featuring Ingram President and CEO Skip Prichard and bestseller author (and new indie bookseller) Ann Patchett. The afternoon will be focused on three important topics:  an in-depth analysis of bookstore finances — including the latest results of the ABACUS 2010 survey, a targeted look at the business implications of a changing demography, and an insightful update on key industry analytics.  These three foundation courses will be offered simultaneously through the afternoon so that every bookseller will have the opportunity to attend each of these valuable sessions.

Wednesday will end with a plenary session featuring award-winning historian Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (HarperPerennial) and other notable works of nonfiction. Brinkley will talk about the cataclysm of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

On Thursday, Wi7 will feature wall-to-wall education, but with a key change.  In addition to eight 90-minute sessions, the day’s programming will include 16 new 30-minute “best practices” sessions.  These shorter sessions are geared to highlight great ideas and best practices on a wide range of business topics — from marketing your store as a digital location to working with your accountant and managing returns. 

Thursday will end with the always popular, and not-to-be-missed, Winter Institute Author Reception.

Friday is the day when everything booksellers have learned will come together as they work together to collectively explore new solutions in bookselling for a model case-study bookstore. Wi7 will end on Friday with a closing reception at the Astor Crowne Plaza featuring authors from small presses.

Other Winter Institute features returning again this year include two Rep Picks speed dating lunches and the galley room.

Information on travel discounts to New Orleans from American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and Amtrak are available on the Wi7 website.

An airport shuttle to the hotel leaves every half hour from the baggage claim area at the Louis Armstrong International Airport. The current cost is $20 per person or $38 per person for a round-trip ticket.  Cabs currently charge a flat rate of $33 for up to two passengers; three or more will cost an additional $14.  Valet parking is available at the Astor Crowne Plaza’s Canal Street entrance. The fee is $31.60 per night including tax. There is no self-parking. Prices are subject to change.

ABA Publisher Partners are sponsoring more than 20 Wi7 bookseller scholarships. Scholarship winners will be selected from all ABA bookstore members. Booksellers who drop off a business card at the ABA booth at any of the regional trade shows can earn an extra entry in the scholarship awards process. Scholarships include up to four nights hotel accommodations at the Astor Crowne Plaza, and airfare up to $350. Previous scholarship winners are not eligible. Winners will be announced no later than November 15.

All Wi7 attendees will be shipped a free copy of Frommer’s New Orleans Day by Day, courtesy of John Wiley & Sons, and, new this year, the “One Winter Institute Reads” selection, All the King’s Men, courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, by December 1. “We are grateful to Wiley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for their generous support with these appropriate titles,” said ABA’s Cullen. “Given the rich historical and literary heritage of New Orleans and Louisiana, booksellers suggested that this is the year to launch a One Book, One Institute reading program. Now is the perfect time to read — or to re-read — Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and to share it with other Wi7 attendees throughout the event.”

Follow Bookselling This Week and the Twitter hashtag #Wi7  for Winter Institute news and updates.

For complete details and to register for Wi7, visit wi7.bookweb.org now.