The American Booksellers Association's eighth Winter Institute will be held in Kansas City, Mo., February 23-25, 2013. Bookselling This Week reported that attendance at Wi8 will again be capped "in order to ensure a dynamic and intimate event."
"We’re very excited to be going to Kansas City in 2013," said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. "Since launching the first Winter Institute, ABA has worked to move the location to various cities nationwide in order to help member stores in different regions attend. Kansas City offers a wide range of resources that we believe will help ensure a very productive and enjoyable institute for both booksellers and publishers."
He noted that the location choice will allow the ABA to coordinate schedules with the National Association of College Store’s Campus Market Expo (CAMEX), which will also be held in Kansas City over the same period. Teicher called the schedule coordination a "one-time experiment," which would be carefully evaluated after the event.
The ABA also named 37 booksellers as winners of publisher-sponsored scholarships to Wi7 in New Orleans this coming January. Scholarships cover the cost of up to a four-night stay at the host hotel, transportation costs up to $350, and the Wi7 meal fee.
"Thanks to the generosity of our Winter Institute sponsors, today we are announcing a record-breaking number of bookseller scholarship recipients," said ABA development officer Mark Nichols. "We encourage all ABA members to join in thanking our sponsors for their continuing support of independent booksellers."
