The American Booksellers Association has set its schedule for Snow Days, the virtual bookselling retreat that has been expanded since the cancellation of the Winter Institute, which had been scheduled for February 13-16 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Instead, Snow Days will be held March 8-10 and include a range of panels, workshops, roundtables, poetry readings, a publisher expo, a virtual galley room and community gatherings. Registration has opened.
Among the highlights:
A keynote with Grammy Award-winning recording artist Alicia Keys, whose new book is Girl on Fire, in conversation with Donya Craddock, co-owner of the Dock Bookshop, Fort Worth, Texas.
Jane McGonigal, author of Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything--Even Things that Seem Impossible Today, will speak on "How to Imagine the Future of Bookselling."
"Storytelling in the Cultural Moment," featuring Jennifer Egan, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, and Celeste Ng in conversation with Emma Straub, author and co-owner of Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Roundtables on such subjects as finances; best practices for optimizing store-branded merchandise; nonprofits and employee- owned co-ops; microstores; book banning challenges in schools and libraries; business adaptations from 2020 and 2021 worth keeping; mobile and pop-up stores; and genre book buzz.
Poetry readings, which include Danny Caine, who is also co-owner of the Raven Bookstore, Lawrence, Kan.
In addition, and separate from Snow Days, the ABA will hold a Town Hall on Thursday, February 17, 3-4 p.m. Eastern, at which booksellers can share "opinions, concerns, and ideas" with the ABA board. Those who want to submit questions in advance can do so via e-mail.