Winter Institute Almost Completely Booked

Three weeks after registration opened, the American Booksellers Association’s Eighth Annual Winter Institute [1] (Wi8) is more than 90 percent booked. Wi8 is open exclusively to ABA bookstore and provisional members and is capped at 500 booksellers with a maximum of three registrants per member business to ensure a dynamic yet intimate educational program. ABA is strongly encouraging members who want to attend to register as soon as possible. Once the registration limit is reached, booksellers will be added to a waiting list.

Wi8, sponsored by the Ingram Content Group, will be held from Saturday, February 23, through Monday, February 25, 2013, at the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri. An opening reception, sponsored by Andrews McMeel Publishing, will kick off the event, on Friday evening, February 22, at Kansas City’s majestic Union Station.

The three-day education program features more than 25 sessions, plenaries with bestselling authors Malcolm Gladwell and Daniel Pink, peer advisory groups, reps’ picks lunches, publisher meetings, a galley room, special events, and more.

In addition, Wi8 includes a special trip for booksellers to the National Association of College Stores’ (NACS) 2013 CAMEX trade show [2], also in Kansas City. CAMEX will introduce ABA members to a diverse mix of gift and non-book items, and as part of the ABA/NACS cooperation, booksellers who take the field trip during Wi8, or visit CAMEX on their own following the institute, will receive a $100 rebate for placing an order of any size from a vendor exhibiting at the show.

When registering for Wi8, booksellers must pay a $75 non-refundable meal fee, which will offset some of the food costs for the event, which provides booksellers with three breakfasts, three lunches, two receptions, and lots of coffee.

The ABA group rate at the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center — $119 for singles and doubles — will be available for accommodations from Tuesday, February 19, through Thursday, February 28, 2013. Reservations must be made by 5:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, January 22, 2013, to receive the Wi8 rate. The room block could sell out before the reservation deadline, so booksellers are encouraged to make their reservations as soon as possible via the hotel website, www.starwoodmeeting.com [3]. The ABA group code is available on the Wi8 website [4].

Publisher sponsors [5] have contributed more than 20 bookseller scholarships to Wi8. Scholarship winners will be selected from all ABA bookstore members, including Wi8 registrants and non-registrants. 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. Scholarship winners from the past three years are not eligible for Wi8 scholarships. Scholarships cover the Wi8 meal fee, up to four nights’ hotel accommodations at the Westin Kansas City, and transportation costs up to $350. Winners will be announced in mid-November.

For complete details and to register for Winter Institute 8, visit wi8.bookweb.org [1]. The site, which features the schedule in both day-by-day and “at a glance” formats, is being updated on an ongoing basis.