Registration for the ABA's 17th annual Winter Institute, to be held February 13-16 in Cincinnati, Ohio, opens today at 1 p.m. Eastern. Booksellers must be logged in to bookweb.org to register. In past years, the show has often sold out within hours.
The event fee is $225 per bookseller, with a maximum of three booksellers from any ABA member store. Beginning October 6, registrants will be able to make a reservation for the Winter Institute's hotel block at a group rate of $129 plus tax per night.
Booksellers will also be able to register for Paz & Associates' Introduction to Retail Bookselling workshop. The workshop is open to all booksellers but also limited to three booksellers per ABA member company. Admission to Winter Institute is optional but guaranteed; the $225 Winter Institute registration fee applies.
Winter Institute attendees must be fully vaccinated. Registration is limited to booksellers in North America. Registrants are advised not to make flight or other travel reservations until November, in case the in-person event is cancelled.
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In a related event, five bookstores in Columbus, Ohio, about an hour and a half drive north of Cincinnati, are hosting a tour of their stores and literary highlights, which will take place on Saturday, February 12, the day before Winter Institute begins.
The tour will feature events in the afternoon and evening at each of the participating bookstores--The Book Loft, Cover-to-Cover Children's Books, Gramercy Books, Prologue Bookshop and Two Dollar Radio Headquarters--and will include appearances by Columbus authors Hanif Abdurraqib, Saeed Jones and Maggie Smith, among others. There will also be pit stops for a meal and at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. A full schedule is forthcoming.
A free shuttle bus will be provided, though participants will be able to make their own arrangements and join events at bookstores.
Gary Lovely, manager of Prologue Bookshop in the Short North Arts District, said, "We couldn't be any more excited at the opportunity to give our bookselling friends and the publishing community as a whole a small taste of what makes the Columbus literary community so special."
Linda Kass, founder and owner of Gramercy Books, added: "We are thrilled to welcome booksellers across the country to Central Ohio, where they can explore our readers' favorite literary spots and meet acclaimed Columbus-based authors."