BEA Offers Booksellers Chance to Win Travel Stipend or Lunch

BookExpo America [1] has created two special offers exclusively for ABA member booksellers planning to attend the 2011 trade show, to be held at NYC’s Javits Convention Center from May 23 - 26.

• Three $500 Travel Stipends for BEA 2011
  If you’re a bookseller who has not been to the trade show in the past two years, BEA wants to welcome you back in 2011 with the opportunity to win one of three $500 travel stipends to help defray the cost of your trip.
  
  Interested booksellers should send an e-mail to Colleen Griffin [2] describing in two sentences what they want to get out of BEA and why they think it’s critical for them to attend this year. E-mails must use the subject line: I Want to Attend BEA 2011 and be received by March 25. All entries will be reviewed by the BEA team, and two winners will be chosen and be notified by e-mail by March 31.

• 50 Complimentary Lunches at BEA 2011
  If you’ve been a loyal attendee of the show for the past two years, BEA wants to thank you and treat you to lunch at BEA 2011with a $20 lunch voucher.
  
  Booksellers should send an e-mail to Colleen Griffin [2] confirming that they have attended BEA in 2009 and 2010 and that they have registered for BEA 2011 (a registration badge number must be provided as proof). E-mails must use the subject line: Complimentary Lunch at BEA 2011 and be received by March 25. Attendance will be verified by the BEA team. The first 50 entries will be chosen and be notified via e-mail by March 31.

All ABA Regular Bookstore and Provisional members that register for BEA 2011 [3] are eligible for a number of free badges. (Details of the free badge offer are available to members here [4].)

A six-digit ABA Member ID number must be supplied at the time of registration to qualify for the free badges. (Booksellers who don’t know their Member ID number should send an e-mail with the store name, address, and key contact to their ABA Member Relationship Manager [5].)

This year’s schedule starts on Monday, May 23, at the convention center with ABA’s Day of Education, BEA conferences, and special events. The trade show floor will be open from Tuesday, May 24, through Thursday, May 26.

The Holiday Inn on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan has been secured by BEA exclusively for ABA bookseller members attending this year’s show. The special low rate for ABA bookseller members ($175 for one or two beds, single or double occupancy; $190 for triple occupancy; and $205 for a quad) is good until May 3. (Learn more about the hotel and obtain the ABA member booking code here [6]; other hotel options are available via the BEA website [7].)

Watch BTW for updates on the ABA Day of Education, the Town Hall and Annual Membership Meeting, the Celebration of Bookselling Author Awards Luncheon, the ABA Booksellers Lounge, and more.