ABA to End Fall Shows With E-Books & Literacy at SCIBA

The fall trade show season, which kicked off earlier this month, will end in Long Beach, California, on October 20, with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association Authors (SCIBA) Feast & Trade Show [1]. As with all eight of the season’s regional events, ABA staff will be at SCIBA to present education sessions, listen to booksellers’ concerns, and share updates on ABA’s programs and initiatives, including the new ABA/Kobo partnership.

ABA CEO Oren Teicher, Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, and Content Officer Dan Cullen will be on the Queen Mary to present two education sessions:

• “E-Books and Independent Bookstores,” which will provide an in-depth introduction to the Kobo eReading platform [2] available to all ABA member stores. Under an agreement announced on August 29, [3] ABA members will be able to offer their customers a full line of eReaders, eReading accessories, and eBooks from Kobo’s catalog of nearly three million titles. Session attendees will get the latest updates and will have an opportunity to ask questions.
   
• “Meeting the Literacy Needs of Your Community,” which will examine children’s booksellers’ role as literacy advocates. Attendees will learn how to look at both literacy needs and existing efforts in their own communities to determine how best to help to those who need it most. Presented by the ABC Group at ABA.

ABA will also be staffing a booth at the show, where booksellers can learn more about selling Kobo eBooks and eReaders [2] and how to participate in Thanks for Shopping Indie [4], the first-ever multi-publisher print-book promotion exclusively for ABA member bookstores, starting on Small Business Saturday (November 24, 2012).

The ABA booth will also feature information about the Eighth Annual Winter Institute to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, in February 2013. Booksellers who drop off a business card at the booth can earn an extra entry in a sweepstakes to win a Wi8 scholarship, covering up to four nights’ accommodations at the host hotel, a maximum of $350 in travel expenses, and the $75 Wi8 meal fee.

Bookstores that have not been members of ABA in the prior two years can join at the regional trade shows and enjoy a complimentary trial membership until February 28, 2013. Trial membership includes all the benefits of regular ABA membership (except for the monthly White Box mailing). Benefits include the ability to join IndieCommerce, access to ABA Education, and a chance to register for the February 2013 Winter Institute in Kansas City (Wi8).

Questions about ABA at SCIBA should be addressed to ABA Member Relationship Manager Kaitlin Pitcher [5].