The 13th annual Children's Institute (Ci2025), organized by the American Booksellers Association, takes place Wednesday-Saturday, June 11-14, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore. The program features four days of what's always made Children's Institutes so exceptional: educational programming, keynote talks, author receptions, publisher parties, rep presentations, and time for booksellers, authors, and publishers from around the country to meet and network. But that's not all. There's also the popular galley room, a range of affinity group meetings during the day and in the evening, a booksellers lounge, a quiet room, new bookseller training, bookstore tours, "office hours" for meeting with ABA board members, a costume/opening reception, "craft and conversation" sessions, karaoke, and more. Ci2025 will be a mix of fun, celebration, and serious, thoughtful work. Almost 600 attendees are expected, 330 of whom are booksellers.

Allison Hill

ABA CEO Allison Hill offered welcoming words for those attendees: "I have such fond memories of the last time ABA held an Institute in Portland, and I'm thrilled we're returning to a city celebrated for its many indie bookstores as well as its natural beauty and amazing food. We couldn't be more excited about the program. Children's Institute is always special--more intimate and with a certain je ne sais quoi--and this year's program feels particularly timely.

"We've planned keynotes and sessions that directly speak to the significant challenges indie booksellers are facing right now, while also offering inspiration, meaningful connection, and the much-needed opportunity to recharge. With the continuing steady stream of 'breaking news,' I think attendees will welcome the space to breathe--with 30 minutes between sessions, casual roundtable discussions, and extended breaks. And I'm sure more than one bookseller, author, or publishing rep (maybe even a Shelf reporter?) has already begun practicing their karaoke song.

"More than anything, Children's Institute is the chance to be together and to be reminded of the joy in bookselling."

Children's Institute opens during the afternoon on Wednesday, June 11, with registration starting at 2 p.m. The Buddy Meet and Greet, for booksellers participating in the Buddy Program, will be held 4-4:45 p.m. Then, from 5:15-6:45 p.m., is the PATHWAYS Mixer, for Black, Indigenous, AAPI, Latina/o/x, Chicana/o/x, Hispanic, and all BIPOC attendees as well as non-attendees.

Thursday morning and early afternoon feature several Paz workshops for prospective and new bookstore owners; a staff training workshop; a workshop for publishers to hear from Black and BIPOC booksellers about how to work better together; and tours of bookstores in the Portland area. Bookstores that will be visited include the iconic Powell's Books, as well as A Children's Place Bookstore, Always Here Bookstore, Broadway Books, Grand Gesture Books, Green Bean Books, Linda Letra Bilingual Books, Love Spell, The Romance Era Bookshop, and Vintage Books.

Following the opening keynote with Mychal Threets (see below), the opening reception and costume party takes place from 5:30-7 p.m.

The Friday luncheon centers on the Indie Introduce program, and includes a discussion of the selection process by the booksellers who chose the Summer/Fall 2025 Indies Introduce Kids list. Many of the debut authors whose books were selected will be on hand.

At 5 p.m., on Friday, the authors reception will highlight dozens of authors and illustrators. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

Later in the evening, from 9:30-11:30 p.m., Scholastic hosts an after-party celebrating 20 years of its Graphix imprint, which specializes in graphic novels. Graphix authors and illustrators will be at the party, and drinks and dessert will be available.

Sessions:
As the ABA's Allison Hill noted, some sessions reflect challenges that include those posed by the current political climate. For example, a panel on Saturday features booksellers discussing how to deal with changes in bookstore events caused by "heightened safety concerns, executive orders and federal budget cuts, and deportations" that have made some authors reluctant to travel as well as by "new competition from Barnes & Noble." In addition, "the impact of book bans on schools, school budget and DEI cuts, and the increased costs of books have become deterrents for author visits--particularly for Title 1 schools."

Philomena Polefrone

Another session will be led by Philomena Polefrone, American Booksellers for Free Expression associate director and author of The Right to Read Handbook, who will discuss booksellers' First Amendment rights and provide information on book challenges, bannings, and what to do if a bookstore receives community pushback.

Nuts-and-bolts sessions about bookselling basics focus on topics that include taking annual inventory and best practices for doing returns; how to use ABACUS information to measure stores' financial results and make financial plans; the basics of financial literacy; how authors who are early in their careers can work well with bookstores on events and publicity; and more.

On Saturday, three concurrent conversation rounds (or roundtables) will focus on the top five challenges facing rural bookstores; children's-only bookstores; and urban, suburban, pop-up, mobile, and online-only bookstores.

Several organizations important to indie bookstores will hold sessions about their products and services. For example, a Bookshop.org session features tips from indie booksellers who use Bookshop effectively; Ingram will similarly offer tips on using iPage; and Edelweiss will emphasize how booksellers can use Edelweiss to build community with colleagues and peers.

The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) will hold another heads or tails fundraiser, which has proved quite popular at previous institutes and is both entertaining and helpful to booksellers and bookstores in need. Entry donations are available throughout the event; deciding coins will be flipped at 3:50 on Saturday.

Children's Institute closes out on Saturday at 5 p.m. with karaoke, an event hosted by Drag Story Hour that promises to end Ci2025 "on a high note."

Michal Threets

Thursday, June 12, Opening Keynote with Mychal Threets: Libraries & Bookstores, Joining Forces for Joy

Mychal Threets is a librarian and popular TikTok creator. He is the author of the picture book I'm So Happy You're Here!: A Celebration of Library Joy, coming from Random House Books for Young Readers in 2026, in which Threets invites young readers to experience the magic that the library can bring.

Friday, June 13, Breakfast Keynote: There Is No Such Thing as a Silent Ally

At a time when so many identities and stories are under attack and bookstores are ever more important as tastemakers, community hubs, and agents for change and transformation, the speakers at this breakfast will focus on the importance of vocal and visible allyship and allyship across intersections. The five authors will share how bookstores can engage in allyship for each other, authors, and the community through intentional curation, safe spaces, and partnerships, and how bookstores can best celebrate and support LGBTQIA2S+ voices.

The panelists:

Em Dickson

Em Dickson (e/em/eir/she) is a school librarian with an MA in Children's Literature and an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults, both from Simmons University in Boston. Dickson is passionate about LGBTQIA+ and disabled voices across genres in the children's, middle grade, and young adult spaces. Dickson's Beyond They/Them: 20 Influential Nonbinary and Gender-Diverse People You Should Know, an illustrated book about trailblazing nonbinary, genderqueer, and two-spirit individuals in music, sports, film and television, politics, and more, was published by Andrews McMeel on May 6, 2025.

Petra Lord

Petra Lord is a biracial trans author with a BFA in TV Writing from New York University who lives in Los Angeles. Her debut novel, Queen of Faces, a trans fantasy set in a world where bodies can be magically swapped, will be published by Holt Books for Young Readers on February 3, 2026.

Claribel A. Ortega

Claribel A. Ortega is a former reporter who writes middle grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Squad and the Witchlings series, and Pura Belpre and Eisner Award-winning author of the graphic novel Frizzy. Ortega is a Marvel contributor and has been featured on Buzzfeed, Good Morning America, and Deadline. She also co-hosts the Bad Author Book Club podcast. The fourth entry in the Witchlings series, Scepter of Memories, will be published by Scholastic on September 16, 2025.

ND Stevenson

ND Stevenson is the award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator of Nimona and The Fire Never Goes Out, the co-creator of Lumberjanes, and was the showrunner for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Stevenson is non-binary and transmasculine, and has written about being transgender in the webcomic I'm Fine I'm Fine Just Understand. Scarlet Morning, the first entry in an illustrated duology about two orphans setting sail with pirates, will be published by Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, on September 23, 2025.

Lee Wind writes the books that would have changed his life as a young gay Jewish kid. His latest nonfiction book for readers 11 and up is The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie. He is also the author of YA novels, including A Different Kind of Brave. Wind is chief content officer at the Independent Book Publishers Association and is the official blogger for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Last month, he was honored with the Book Industry Study Group's Industry Champion Award, given in recognition of his part in co-creating the national We Are Stronger Than Censorship campaign, which buys and donates two books to offset every book challenge. His next book, Like That Eleanor: The Amazing Power of Being an Ally, illustrated by Kelly Mangan, will be published by Cardinal Rule Press on June 3, 2025.

Samira Ahmed

Saturday, June 14, Breakfast Keynote with Samira Ahmed: How Can I Be Brave?

Samira Ahmed is the  New York Times bestselling author of Love, Hate, & Other Filters, Internment, and This Book Won't Burn. Born in Bombay, India, and raised in Illinois, Ahmed was a high school English teacher before publishing her first novel. She wrote several issues of Ms. Marvel for Marvel Comics and is on the leadership team for the organization Authors Against Book Bans. Her poetry, essays, and short stories have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies. Ahmed's latest book, The Singular Life of Aria Patel, was published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on May 13, 2025.

Saturday, June 14, Closing Keynote: Mac Barnett

Children's book author Mac Barnett was recently named the 2025-26 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature at the Library of Congress. Many of Barnett's popular books are illustrated by Jon Klassen; they include Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Extra Yarn, The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, and Triangle. He is also the author of the First Cat in Space series (illustrated by Shawn Harris); the Mac B., Kid Spy series (illustrated by Mike Lowery); and, with Jory John, the Terrible Two series (illustrated by Kevin Cornell).