Winter Institute 7: Some Important Reminders

In less than a week, the seventh annual Winter Institute [1], sponsored by the Ingram Content Group, will be underway at the Astor Crowne Plaza in New Orleans. There’s a lot packed into the three-day event, which features a restructured education program that emphasizes productive networking, best practices, and actionable items, as well as a number of special events. To help you get the most out of your time in New Orleans, we’ve put together some program highlights and timely reminders.

Complete event details are available at wi7.bookweb.org [1]. Newly added to the site is a downloadable schedule of events with a hotel map [2] and a listing of the area’s independent bookstores [3] with a map indicating those in proximity to the hotel.

A Few Education Program Highlights

Wednesday, January 18

10:00 a.m. Opening Plenary: After a welcome by ABA President Becky Anderson of Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville, Illinois, and opening remarks by ABA CEO Oren Teicher, Ingram President and CEO Skip Prichard will provide a look at the future of bookselling and brand-new indie bookseller and author Ann Patchett will share her thoughts on her new profession. Booksellers are asked to sit with other booksellers in their working groups [4] during the opening plenary in the Grand Ballroom. (Group names, which were provided in a December e-mail to all attendees, will be arranged alphabetically by table. Group names are also on the Working Groups memo, which all bookseller attendees will receive at the Wi7 Welcome Desk.)

Noon to 12:45 p.m. Lunch With James Patterson, who will discuss how our industry can encourage young readers with Cathy Langer of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado, and Bill Reilly, co-owner of The River’s End Bookstore in Oswego, New York. The event will take place in the Grand Ballroom and a box lunch will be provided.

4:45 p.m. Closing Plenary: Award-winning historian Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (HarperPerennial), will be interviewed by Bob Minzesheimer of USA Today. Locally brewed Abita Beer, Barq’s Root Beer (Barq’s Brothers Bottling was founded in 1890 in the French Quarter), and light refreshments will be served. A limited number of copies of The Great Deluge will be available.

Thursday, January 19

9:00 a.m. World Book Night will be the focus of a breakfast featuring Carl Lennertz, executive director of U.S. World Book Night; Jane Streeter, founder of The Bookcase and president of the Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland; and ABA CEO Oren Teicher.

12:15 p.m. The Rep Picks Lunch will be held in the Grand Ballroom. Remember to bring your seat assignment, which was sent via e-mail this week from ABA’s Mark Nichols or Carolyn Bennett.

Friday, January 20

9:00 a.m. Small Press Breakfast in the Grand Ballroom, featuring eight small presses showcasing new and interesting titles. 

10:30 a.m. Working Group Activity in various locations. Remember to check your working group memo for room assignments, which vary by group.

12:30 p.m. Reps Picks Lunch

4:30 p.m. Summary of Working Group Activity and Industry Analysis by Dan Sheehan, vice president and general manager of the Ingram Content Group.

The Consultation Station
The Consultation Station will be open on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the Astor and Grand Galleries. Booksellers will be able to meet with representatives of ABA’s affiliated business solution partners, POS vendors, and others. A list of vendors is available here. [5]

The Galley Room
Books and ARCs from publisher sponsors will be available in Galley Room (Toulouse A&B). A full listing of Galley Room hours will be posted outside the room.

Getting to the Hotel
Information about ground transportation from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport is available here. [6] A cab ride costs about $33 from the airport to the Central Business District for one or two persons and $14 (per passenger) for three or more passengers. Shuttle service is available from the airport to the hotels in the CBD for $20 (per person, one-way) or $38 (per person, round-trip).

The Welcome Desk
The ABA Welcome Desk will be open from noon to 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday in the Astor Crowne Plaza’s St. Charles A/Lobby. Be sure to stop by pick up your badge and a Wi7 welcome bag, courtesy of Candlewick.  You’ll also receive a Moleskine journal for note-taking and be able to pick up an Institute schedule, a map of New Orleans indie bookstores [1], and directions to the Tuesday evening opening reception at The Cabildo, Louisiana State Museum.

You will also receive your VIP (Very Important Package) — the working group background memo [7]and your room assignment. Every bookseller will receive his or her own document so please be patient with ABA staff as we try to remember the alphabet while searching for yours! While not exactly homework, ABA encourages you to review the memo as time allows.

On Wednesday, the desk moves to the Grand Gallery and becomes the Ask ABA Desk. Hours will be 9:00 – 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday; 10:30 – 6:00 p.m. on Thursday; and 8:00 .a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

The Evening Receptions
Tuesday, January 17 – 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.: Opening Reception at the The Cabildo – Louisiana State Museum [8].  Located at 701 Chartres Street, Jackson Square, the museum is within convenient walking distance from the hotel. Wine and light refreshments will be served.

Thursday, January 19 – 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. : The Winter Institute’s signature Author Reception, which will be held in the Astor Crowne Plaza’s Grand Ballroom, will feature 62 authors and illustrators [9].  Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

Friday, January 20 – 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.: The Closing Reception, in the Astor Ballroom, will feature five authors from Wi7’s small and independent press sponsors [10]. Light refreshments will be served.

Shipping Books Home
Booksellers enrolled in PartnerShip, ABA’s Discount Shipping Program provider, will be able to ship books and other packages from the Astor Crowne Plaza at significant savings. For those not already taking advantage of this free ABA member benefit, more information is available here [11].

The Shipping Desk, which will be located in the Burgundy Room, near the Gallery Room. Shipping room hours will be 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Laptops, Handouts, Wireless, and Power
Winter Institute session handouts will be posted to the Wi7 website on Friday, January 13 (look for a prominent link on the homepage). If you have a laptop, ABA encourages you to bring it. Free wireless Internet access is available in guest rooms and in the Wi7 meeting rooms. Details will be provided on site.

One Institute, One Read
Come prepared to share your thoughts on the inaugural One Institute, One Read pick [12]: Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All The King’s Men, which was sent to all attendees in December, courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Now is the perfect time to read—or to re-read—this classic, replete with Louisiana history and politics, and to share it with other Wi7 attendees throughout the event.

A Big Thanks to Our Wi7 Sponsors
Wi7 is made possible by the generous support of the Ingram Content Group, the lead event sponsor, and support from more than 40 large and small publishers [13]. ABA extends sincere thanks to Ingram and to all of Wi7’s publisher partners and friends, whose gracious support makes this event possible.