On the last morning of Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, Colo., booksellers convened for the American Booksellers Association's Community Forum. The event, which has come to replace the ABA's Town Hall, had a new structure this year and saw booksellers discuss the ABA's response to last year's Community Forum in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Ignite conference, legislation to protect independent bookselling, and more.

For a second year in a row, the largest topic of conversation at the Community Forum was Palestine. Once the floor opened to booksellers, the first remarks came from a Southern California bookseller who had spoken about the same topic last year in Cincinnati. She was joined at the microphone by other booksellers who had spoken, and asked "where has the ABA been?" She said that many who spoke out in Cincinnati have felt ignored, and she pointed to a contradiction in the way the ABA has "stood with and explicitly named other groups facing erasure" while remaining so quiet about Palestine aside from one statement in support of the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem, whose owners were recently arrested. She demanded the ABA stop ignoring ongoing discrimination and asked booksellers in attendance to stand in solidarity, with many in the room rising to their feet.

Allison Hill, with members of the ABA Board

ABA CEO Allison Hill said the organization has been supporting and providing resources to bookstores that have been harassed for their views and come under attack for selling books about Palestine or by Palestinian authors, to which two board members attested. Hill said that as a 501c6, the ABA has to represent everyone in the room, and there are "lots of viewpoints." With regard to the Educational Bookshop, Hill said the "erosion of the right to read" affects every bookseller, and that is within the ABA's mission as a trade association.

A Wisconsin bookstore owner expressed disappointment in the lack of a "clear, concrete response" from the ABA, and remarked that after so much time, hearing the same sorts of answers from the ABA about the same topic comes off as "disingenuous." It puts booksellers who volunteer their time for the ABA in a difficult position, she said, where they feel they are "not in alignment" with the association. She called for the ABA to be more intentional in its responses and warned that if these questions are not adequately addressed, people are going to get up and continue asking these questions "every year."

A bookseller who was on the board in 2017 recalled that after the Winter Institute Town Hall that year, when booksellers called for the ABA to diversify its board, the board went immediately into an emergency session and began making changes the next day. He contrasted the speed of that response with the lack of a response to last year's Community Forum in Cincinnati, and noted that in the intervening months bookstores have been attacked and intimidated. The lack of even a public statement saying it is not antisemitic for bookstores to "provide books to people who need them and want them," he said, hurts and offends.

Additionally, Nadia Alawa, owner of Mavey Books in Ardmore, Pa., discussed the pushback her 10-month-old store has faced for being Muslim-owned, and said that during a call in preparation for an ABA panel, there was a "direct request" to avoid talking about Palestine and Israel. Hill said she was not aware of the incident the bookseller mentioned and hoped to find out more information.

The co-owner of a bookstore and design studio in Denver, Colo., urged the ABA to develop relationships with "blue politicians" and help draft legislation that would reflect and assert the critical role independent bookstores play in the "experiment called American democracy." His suggestions included provisions that would protect the leases of independent bookstores, provide better banking terms, give bookstore employees eligibility for rent-controlled apartments, and see that indie bookstores receive the same tax benefits given to "massive corporations." When he asked others to stand in a show of support for the idea, nearly the whole room rose.

A bookseller who spoke out at last year's Community Forum urging the ABA to do more with regard to diversity took the floor Wednesday to "sincerely applaud" the ABA's efforts, particularly with the Ignite conference that preceded Wi, but stressed that things "cannot stop there." She further called for the ABA to compensate booksellers who perform DEI work for the organization, to show employee pay scales and wages, and to advocate for legislature similar to the laws in France that restrict the discounts on books. She also alleged "continued mistreatment" from the ABA, specifically related to conference attendance costs, which led to a tense exchange with ABA chief communications officer Ray Daniels.

In response to a question submitted prior to the Community Forum, Hill said the ABA is "100% committed" to continuing its DEI work, and that, if anything, the recent attacks on DEI have motivated the association to be stronger in its position and its work.

Fielding a pre-submitted question about Barnes & Noble's rapid expansion over the past few years, Hill asked for a show of hands to see how many booksellers have had new B&Ns open near them. Many hands were raised, and Hill noted that despite B&N CEO James Daunt's public comments about not moving into areas with indie bookstores, "we obviously know that's not true." While it's very clear that B&N is pursuing a strategy of aggressive growth, Hill said, indies have seen that before and have also seen the company close 1,000 stores. While Hill said she feels confident about indies in the long term, the ABA is actively trying to gather data on the exact impact that these openings are having on nearby bookstores. At the same time, B&N is "not doing anything illegal," so there is nothing the ABA can do from an advocacy point of view.

On the subject of tariffs and the impact they might have on booksellers, Hill said the association intends to lobby for exceptions, such as the exception on tariffs on children's books printed in China during Trump's first term, but things are "very much in motion" and she could not provide any concrete information. --Alex Mutter

[Editors' Note: Given the potential for harassment both online and off, Shelf Awareness has chosen to omit the names of many of the booksellers who spoke during the Community Forum. Should booksellers recognize their words and wish to have their name and bookstore mentioned, please reach out to alex@shelf-awareness.com]

The 20th Winter Institute was highlighted by the well-received inaugural Ignite conference for BIPOC booksellers last Saturday; a thoughtful, powerful keynote from Ocean Vuong on Monday; and the celebratory keynote breakfast panel on Black booksellers and bookselling on Tuesday--all of which addressed the current difficult political times. And then there were myriad panels, rep pick sessions, meetings, networking both formal and informal, all of which aimed to make booksellers better at their jobs. Tough questions were asked and discussed at the Community Forum, and overall there was a feeling that the book and bookselling community is strong and will endure and help lead the way in fighting darkness. As Brian Selznick, who worked at Eeyore's Books for Children in New York City in the early 1990s, said yesterday at the closing keynote, "I need to stay optimistic and feel hope. I need to keep moving forward. And everything that I need to know started at the bookstore.... Eeyore's showed me the true meaning of a safe space and how bookstores create community with stories.... We all have a very long road ahead of us, but we will survive. I know you've got my back, and I've got yours."

ABA staff ran a smooth show as usual, making all the challenges that go into staging a conference for some 1,600 people look easy. Congratulations and thank you!

The 21st Winter Institute will take place February 23-26, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pa. See you there!

The always-popular Galley Room.
(photo courtesy Princeton University Press)

Dennard Dayle, author of the novel How to Dodge a Cannonball (Holt, June 17), with Steve Iwanski of Charter Books, Newport, R.I.

Kenneth Oppel, author of the YA novel Best of All Worlds (Scholastic, June 3), with Timothy Otte, Wild Rumpus Books, Minneapolis, Minn.

Shelley Read, author of Go As a River (Spiegel & Grau), with Kira Quirk, Maria's Bookshop, Durango, Colo.

Emily Arrow presented her picture book Dear Bookstore, illustrated by Geneviève Godbout (Candlewick, March 11) to booksellers at a Walker Books Group dinner. She performed her tune, also called "Dear Bookstore," that inspired the book.

Binc once again played its popular "Heads or Tails" fundraising game. The winner was Emilie Sommer from East City Bookshop in Washington, D.C., who donated her winnings back to Binc, which raised $7,128 to help booksellers in need. Pictured: (from left) runner-up Lauren Tiedemann of Book Ends, Winchester, Mass.; Sommer; Binc's Kathy Bartson, director of development, and executive director Pam French; and Amy Kaneko, director of sales at Arcadia Publishing, who tossed the coin during the game.

The Story Garden children's bookstore will have a soft opening on Saturday, March 1 at 832 14th St. North in Historic Uptown St. Petersburg, Fla. Founder and owner Megan Kotsko told St. Pete Rising that the shop will carry more than 1,500 titles, and a major focus will be events, including story times, book clubs for kids, art classes, and more. There will also be a program for toddlers called Play Me a Story, featuring a read-aloud followed by intentional play experiences tailored to extend the story's content. 

"I want to be driven by our mission, which is really to have every child be able to come into our store and find a book that reflects their life, be it their culture, their religion, their ethnicity, their passions, and their interests," she said. "This was always a dream of mine. After watching You've Got Mail years ago, I fell in love with the dream of one day running a children's bookstore like The Shop Around the Corner--one that puts children's interests and their innate gravitation toward immersing themselves into the world of story first; a store that was established for and fueled by the love of books for the youngest of readers." 

The Story Garden offers cozy reading nooks and benches throughout the shop, which will also sell games, toys, cards, and reading accessories. There is also an outdoor patio, St. Pete Rising noted.

Kotsko added that she is glad she and her husband, Jason Kotsko, were able to restore the old building, which had been empty for years before the bookstore's arrival: "Since I've lived on 14th Street, it's been pretty much vacant. You never saw anybody coming and going, but there was old stuff in it."

In a recent Instagram post, she noted: "We’re thrilled to invite you to our soft opening, where you can browse our shelves, discover new stories, and find the perfect books for your little readers. This is just the beginning--our Grand Opening Week is happening later this March, and we have some exciting surprises, special events, and fun activities in store! Stay tuned for more details!"

Israel's State Prosecutor's Office criticized the police regarding a recent raid on two Educational Bookshop stores in East Jerusalem and the arrest of the co-owners, Haaretz reported. In a letter to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, deputy state prosecutor for special tasks Alon Altman wrote that the police had not requested an investigation into suspected incitement be launched before the raid, as required by law.

Mahmound Muna (l.) and Ahmad Muna

Educational Bookshop co-owners Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad Muna were held in detention for two days, after which they were put under house arrest. 

"As soon as the office learned the details of the incident, it held a discussion with police commanders with the goal of ensuring such incidents don't happen again," Altman wrote, adding that his office has begun fine-tuning the guidelines for cases of suspected incitement whose investigation requires approval by the State Prosecutor's Office.

Attorney Hagar Shechter of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said the case was an example of the police taking the law into their own hands: "The State Prosecutor's Office made it clear in its response to us that the police raid on the bookshop and the arrest of two booksellers... was done without permission and contrary to regulations."

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Jonathan Perdoni and Sarah Benton

Sarah Benton and Jonathan Perdoni have been appointed as joint CEOs of Bonnier Books U.K. following the departure of Perminder Mann, who was recently named CEO of Simon & Schuster International, the Bookseller reported. Benton, who is currently managing director of the adult trade division, will also become an executive director of the U.K. Group, joining Bonnier's current COO/CFO Perdoni, as well as Håkan Rudels and Jim Zetterlund, on the board. Perdoni has been at the company for 15 years and was appointed COO/CFO in 2018.

"This exciting change of leadership is an important milestone for Bonnier Books UK and it brings me great pleasure to announce Sarah and Jonathan as joint CEOs," said Jim Zetterlund, chair of BBUK and COO/CFO of Bonnier Books globally. "I look forward to this dynamic new chapter in our ambitious expansion plans for the U.K. business."

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In France, La Fête de la librairie will be celebrating literature in April with an unusual book. Sortir à Paris reported that in partnership with Editions Gallimard, five books have been brought together in a single volume, Esprit es-tu là?, printed in a limited edition of 26,000 copies, and offered free to customers of independent bookshops across France taking part in the event.

Nearly 700 bookstores across the country "are hoping to pass on the history and culture of the book through the publication of a particular work, in collaboration with all the links in the publishing chain," Sortir à Paris wrote. "This edition aims to unravel the mystery of the indecipherable destiny of works tracing their way through a week or centuries."

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"Our new arrivals are giving us... Spring Fever!" That was the seasonally hopeful sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Canadian bookseller Nottawa Cottage Bookstore, Nottawa, Ont., which noted: "Spring is on the horizon, and our new releases are giving us serious spring fever! In just a few short weeks, the bookstore porch will be the perfect spot to cozy up with a book, a hot coffee, and a sweet treat from @nottawageneral. We can't wait!" --Robert Gray

Barnes & Noble has chosen Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (Simon & Schuster) as its March national book club pick. In a live virtual event on Tuesday, April 1, at 3 p.m. Eastern, Hall will be in conversation with Lexie Smyth, category manager for fiction at B&N.

B&N described the book this way: "Set in a small-town farming community, the novel follows Beth and her husband Frank. As Beth's past and present begin to collide through the reignition of a teenage flame, layers of her life resurface that she's long since buried, and deadly secrets threaten to tear her world at the seams as she copes with the consequences of her past. Brimming with all the raw emotion and anticipation one book can contain, Hall masterfully delivers a standout story in her U.S. debut that our readers are certain to devour."

Click here to join the April 1 event.

The University of Chicago Press and the Chicago Distribution Center will handle global distribution, including customer service, warehousing, and fulfillment, for Vanderbilt University Press, effective July 1.

Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, vice provost for arts, libraries, and global excellence at Vanderbilt, called the Press "an incubator of cutting-edge scholarship and regional books.  We looked for a distributor who understood our brand, reach, and aspirations and CDC was the logical partner."

Gianna Mosser, Press director, added, "Our publishing program has demonstrated substantial financial growth and increased visibility in the last five years. We identified CDC as the strategic partner we need to continue pushing our program to new heights."

Joseph D'Onofrio, director of the CDC, said "We're honored that Vanderbilt has chosen to join the Chicago Distribution Center's family of publishers, university presses, museums, and associations. We understand the unique needs of university press publishers, and we are excited to support Vanderbilt in their longstanding mission of producing and disseminating high-quality scholarly and regional works."

At Sourcebooks:

Angela Corpus has joined the company as marketing director, nonfiction.

Mandy Chahal has been promoted to associate director of publicity & marketing, Poisoned Pen Press.

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Natassja Haught has been promoted to senior marketing manager at Orbit. Haught joined Orbit in 2022.

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Tiffany Coelho has joined the Bloomsbury Children's Group as marketing coordinator on the school and library marketing team. Coehlo formerly worked in school and library marketing at Holiday House.

An Ocean Apart by Jill Tew (Joy Revolution/Random House Children's Books).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, March 1
5:25 p.m. Randall Fuller, author of Bright Circle: Five Remarkable Women in the Age of Transcendentalism (Oxford University Press, $27.99, 9780192843630).

Sunday, March 2
10 a.m. Kevin Fagan, author of The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second Chances (‎Atria/One Signal, $28.99, 9781668017111). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

11 a.m. Pagan Kennedy, author of The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story (Vintage, $19, 9780593314715), at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Mass. (Re-airs Sunday at 11 p.m.)

12 p.m. Charles Piller, author of Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's (‎Atria/One Signal, $28.99, 9781668031247), at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C.

3:05 p.m. Paul North and Paul Reitter, translators for a new edition of Capital by Karl Marx (Princeton University Press, $39.95, 9780691190075), at McNally Jackson Bookstore in New York City.

4:10 p.m. Valerie Bauerlein, author of The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty (Ballantine, $32, 9780593500583).

6:19 p.m. Mac Barnett is inaugurated as the ninth Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

The longlist has been released for the International Booker Prize. A shortlist will be unveiled April 8 and the winner named May 20. The winning author and translator share £50,000 (about $63,265), while shortlisted titles are each awarded £5,000 (about $6,325) to split between authors and translators.

This year's longlisted books were translated from Arabic, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Romanian and Spanish. Banu Mushtaq's Heart Lamp is the first book nominated for the IBP that was originally written in Kannada, the first language of some 38 million people, which is spoken predominantly in southern India. The longlisted titles are:

A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre (French), translated by Mark Hutchinson
On a Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer (Dutch), translated by Lucy Scott 
Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq (Kannada), translated by Deepa Bhasthi
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (Italian), translated by Sophie Hughes
Eurotrash by Christian Kracht (Swiss), translated by Daniel Bowles
Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami (Japanese), translated by Asa Yoneda 
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa (Japanese), translated by Polly Barton 
Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix (French), translated by Helen Stevenson 
Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda (Mexican), translated by Julia Sanches & Heather Cleary 
Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu (Romanian), translated by Sean Cotter 
There's a Monster Behind the Door by Gaëlle Bélem (French), translated by Karen Fleetwood & Laëtitia Saint-Loubert
On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle (Danish), translated by Barbara J Haveland 
The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem (Palestinian), translated by Sinan Antoon

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, March 4:

Far From Home: A Novel by Danielle Steel (Delacorte Press, $29, 9780593498675) follows a woman hiding in occupied France in 1944.

Blood Moon by Sandra Brown (Grand Central, $30, 9781538742983) is a thriller about a detective and TV producer investigating a cold case.

Dream Count: A Novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Knopf, $32, 9780593802724) follows a Nigerian travel writer living in the U.S. during the pandemic.

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave: A Novel by Elle Cosimano (Minotaur, $28, 9781250337344) is the fifth humorous mystery with Finlay Donovan.

Cold Iron Task by James J. Butcher (Ace, $29, 9780593440452) is book three in the Unorthodox Chronicles urban fantasy series.

The Dream Hotel: A Novel by Laila Lalami (Pantheon, $29, 9780593317600) takes place in a near future where dreams are under surveillance.

The Art of the SNL Portrait by Mary Ellen Matthews, Alison Castle, and Emily Oberman (Abrams, $55, 9781419782534) includes more than 200 photos and a foreword by Lorne Michaels.

I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams by Jordan Chiles (Harper Influence, $27.99, 9780063443402) is the memoir of an Olympic gymnast.

Super-Italian: More Than 110 Indulgent Recipes Using Italy's Healthiest Foods by Giada De Laurentiis (Rodale, $35, 9780593579831) focuses on using healthy ingredients in Italian food.

Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope by Amanda Nguyen (AUWA, $27, 9780374615918) is the memoir of an astronaut who was raped at Harvard.

World Eaters: How Venture Capital Is Cannibalizing the Economy by Catherine Bracy (Dutton, $32, 9780593473481) explores how venture capital harms society.

Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools That Built the Civil Rights Movement by Elaine Weiss (Atria/One Signal, $29.99, 9781668002698) chronicles educators in 1950s Tennessee who helped Black people pass Jim Crow literacy tests.

Besties: Prank War by Kayla Miller and Jeffrey Canino, illus. by Sarah K. Turner (Clarion, $15.99, 9780063285590) is another middle-grade novel from The World of Click featuring two best friends who accidentally kick off a prank war.

Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries (HarperAlley, $18.99, 9780063158085) is a YA graphic novel in which a young man can make his nighttime dreams daytime reality.

Paperbacks:
The Pilgrimage by John Broderick, foreword by Colm Tóibín (McNally Editions, $19, 9781946022950).

Living with Borrowed Dust: Reflections on Life, Love, and Other Grievances by James Hollis (Sounds True, $18.99, 9781649633484).

Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey (Orbit, $18.99, 9780316505024).

Mothers and Other Fictional Characters: A Memoir in Essays by Nicole Graev Lipson (Chronicle Prism, $17.95, 9781797228563).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
A Forty Year Kiss: A Novel by Nickolas Butler (Sourcebooks Landmark, $27.99, 9781464221248). "Can a love be rekindled after forty years? Charlie has been living with regrets since the ending of his first marriage to Vivian. He arranges a meeting to find out if she's still the one. A Forty Year Kiss is a tale of love, hope, and change." --Mary McBride, Monstera's Books, Overland Park, Kan.

The Lamb: A Novel by Lucy Rose (Harper, $27.99, 9780063374607). "A coming-of-age story meets the cabin-in-the-woods cannibalism trope. The senses are engaged for a moody, atmospheric ride spattered in blood and rot as Margot makes sense in a world of neglectful trauma and relative isolation." --Danielle Smith, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, Wash.

Paperback
Out of the Woods: A Novel by Hannah Bonam-Young (Dell, $18, 9780593871867). "Out of the Woods is one of the best marriage-in-distress romances I have ever read. Not only do we get to see Sarah and Caleb work on things, but we also get to see where it all started. Have tissues handy--Bonam-Young's writing is beautiful." --Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop, Decatur, Ga.

Ages 4-8
Scamp by Anden Wilder (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316558266). "A delight from first page to last. This joyous, beautifully illustrated cat tale jumps off the page with true-to-life emotions. A new side of the story lends freshness to this simple tale told oh-so well! Meow!" --Maureen Palacios, Once Upon a Time, Montrose, Calif.

Ages 10-14
All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, $17.99, 9781547605897). "The story of a young girl haunted by the grief of losing her best friend. Sage navigates daily life without her friend and the guilt she feels for her part in her friend's death. A beautiful novel in verse showing us it is ok to be sad on the long journey to hope and healing." --Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books, New Orleans, La.

Teen Readers
The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman (Putnam Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593698716). "This twisty private school mystery centers on a young couple found murdered in a dorm room. We follow a student reporter and the victim's roommate as they try to put the pieces together and solve the crime. Excellent!" --Suzanna Hermans, Oblong Books, Millerton, N.Y.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Journalist Jeff Chu's wise, thoughtful second memoir, Good Soil, explores love, loss, complicated identities, and the power of community through his experience working on his seminary's farm. After enrolling at Princeton Theological Seminary at the age of 39, Chu took one class--and then many more--at the "Farminary," a working farm designed to provide a hands-on place for students to wrestle with spiritual questions while getting their hands (literally) dirty. Chu's time at the Farminary would prove transformative, and his experiences there helped mitigate the frustrations of doctrinal arguments and dry theological debates in his other courses. Furthermore, as Chu took part in the day-to-day tasks of life at the Farminary, he watched metaphors of growth, tending, harvest, roots, and flourishing--not to mention compost--come to life before his eyes.

Chu (Does Jesus Really Love Me?) lushly describes the community he found at the Farminary, including farm director Nate and fellow student Pearl, a Black woman whose peripatetic life had made her a self-proclaimed "child of many soils." As Chu learned the basics of planting, watering, weeding, and other essential tasks, he also began to develop a theology of compost and dirt. The compost pile, tucked away in a corner of the Farminary's garden, "was not merely a teaching tool or a prop," Chu writes. "It was the point." Even more than the tomato plants or boldly colored zinnias growing in the garden, the compost pile illustrated the farm's ultimate goal: to produce good soil. Out of scraps and waste, the compost pile produced "signs of life and death and resurrection." The pile, messy and smelly though it was, provided a living object lesson in the potential for new growth to emerge from the discarded or the seemingly random.

Alongside Chu's work at the Farminary, he digs into the layers of his own story as the gay son of Christian Chinese immigrants. Readers catch a glimpse of his deep childhood bond with his grandmother; his love for his parents, mixed with worry about whether they will ever truly accept his sexuality or his husband, Tristan; and his struggle to integrate all the aspects of his identity, as manifested in the Chinese long beans often ignored in the farm's CSA program. He also describes (in mouthwatering detail) the feast he prepared for friends and colleagues as his final Farminary project, and he recounts the loss of his dear friend and fellow author Rachel Held Evans (whose posthumous memoir, Wholehearted Faith, he edited).

With grace, sensitivity, and self-deprecating humor, Chu examines the question of belonging, the gifts of every season, and the continuing challenge of caring faithfully for the (literal and metaphorical) soil of one's own life. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Jeff Chu's wise, thoughtful second memoir digs into the insights and community he found as a student working on his seminary's farm.

Many of the indie booksellers who gathered in Denver this week for ABA's Winter Institute were sharing highlights of their bookish adventures on social media under the hashtag Wi2025. Here's a sampling:

On the road
Hidden Nook Booksellers, Grayling, Mich.: "And we're off! @daniraegosling and Calliope are headed out west, on a train, for #WI2025, and to see @c_candykiller. See ya in a week MI!.... Final train of our trek to #WI2025, chillin in the observation deck, taking in the IL fields as we chug along. Only 17 hours to go.... Good morning Denver!"

The Book Burrow, Pflugerville, Tex.: "Kelsey is at the ABA's Winter Institute this week. Sure hope no shenanigans happen while she's away..... Oops shenanigans have begun."

The Squirrel and Acorn Bookshop, State College, Pa.: "We are heading out to ABA’s (American Booksellers Association) Winter Institute! We will be meeting publishers, booksellers, and others who help educate and strengthen the presence of independent bookstores within their communities!"

Arrival
American Booksellers Association: "Denver is ready for you, booksellers! We can't wait to see you soon.... It's time to check in for Winter Institute 2025! Follow the signs posted and head to the Welcome Desk."

Shared Stories Books, Caldwell, Idaho: "Shared Stories takes on Denver and Casa Bonita!! Sarah, Allie, and Jocele are at Winter Institute this week, and are ready to meet publishers and authors, hear about upcoming new releases, and more! George and the rest of the crew are holding down the fort at home, so stop by and say hi!!"

(photo courtesy ABA)

Bookstore tour
Black Walnut Books, Glens Falls, N.Y.: "Yesterday I got to tour local bookstores with my sister @_cookedbooks for the 20th annual @americanbooksellers Winter Institute and it was so much fun! Thank you to all the booksellers who hosted us!!"

West Side Books, Denver, Colo.: "We would like to welcome all the booksellers and industry professionals that are in town for Winter Institute 2025.... We hope many of you will come visit us at the shop.... A few of our booksellers will be attending the conference. We're looking forward to meeting more book people! Reading makes the world go round and we're happy to be part of it."

At the show
Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville & Downers Grove, Ill.: "Another absolutely perfect Children's Literature Breakfast took place this last Saturday! Our 23rd annual, and the best yet, filled our buckets with an inspirational morning of authors, books, educators, fundraising, and networking."

Drake The Bookshop, Stockton-on-Tees, U.K.: "Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night! Cos I really have no idea what day or time it is, but what I do know is the keynote from Ocean Vuong was incredible! 'It’s not about completing the book, it’s about the book launching you into other knowledge!' "

Linden Tree Children's Books, Los Altos, Calif.: "What a start to @americanbooksellers Wi2025! We were serenaded by @ocean_vuong, and then thrown into a sea of books! We will try to contain ourselves with the books we’re bringing home, no promises."

Next Chapter Books, Detroit, Mich.: "What a joy to honor and celebrate Black-owned bookstores this morning at @americanbooksellers Wi2025 as the vital revolutionary spaces and cultural gems they have been and continue to be!... Thank you ABA and @indiebookbuzz for supporting and uplifting diverse voices in the book industry."

Sower Books, Lincoln, Neb.: "Greetings from Winter Institute! Tory, Elizabeth, and Andy are in Denver learning tons, making friends, and ordering plenty of stickers and cat-themed goodies"
 
Judging by the Cover Books, Fresno, Calif.: "Booksellers take Denver!"

Storyline Bookshop, Upper Arlington, Ohio: "Hi! Janine here (and Annie). We’re in Denver, Colorado for the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute! We’re learning from fellow bookstore owners, authors, publishers, and other industry experts about how to make our bookshop the best it can be.... We are also learning about all of the new books coming out this year so we can read them and recommend to all of you!! OH! And we stopped at a few Denver indies while we are in town!"

Black English Bookstore, Tampa, Fla.: "Day 1 in Denver @americanbooksellers Winter Institute.... this Florida girl is cold but excited!"

City Lights folk: Stacy Lewis, VP, director of PR, marketing & sales; bookseller Paul Yamazaki; publisher Elaine Katzenberger.

City Lights, San Francisco, Calif.: "City Lights staff, alumni, old & new friends at the indie bookseller conference Winter Institute, Denver CO."

McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, Mich: "Where in the world are Zach, Katie, Alex and Maris? They are all in Denver CO this week for the American Booksellers Associations annual 20th Winter Institute. It’s the largest gathering of indie booksellers in the country. This week will be filled with educational programming for indie bookstores as well as keynotes, author receptions and exciting events. We’re looking forward to the adventure ahead and bringing you all along!"

East End Books Boston Seaport, Boston, Mass.: "Some scenes from the awesome American Booksellers Association Winter Institute in Denver, Colorado! Look for some exciting book events @eastendbooksptown and @eastendbooksbostonseaport!"

Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.: "We're exhausted, but we're having a great time at Winter Institute! We're ready to get back to the store with new ideas, new books, and renewed excitement for bookselling!⁠"

Betty's Books, Webster Groves, Mo.: "For the past few days, Betty and Alex have been at @americanbooksellers Winter Institute in Denver, living it up with tons of other amazing booksellers from all over the country, and learning from them to boot!! We've had an amazing time and wanted to share some little moments with everyone as we close out this wonderful trip."

Honest Dog Books, Bayfield, Wis.: "Thank you to the @americanbooksellers for assembling the nation’s most passionate, positive, kind, smart people all in one place for a week called The Winter Institute. Booksellers are a collaborative, curious, creative bunch who love books, people, and their communities. I leave inspired by the authors, publishers, bookstore owners--particularly the Black bookstore owners who shared stories in a keynote panel--and even more fired up to provide Ocean Vuong’s town square of language."