As Children’s Institute 2024 kicked off in New Orleans on Monday, PW asked a half dozen of the approximately 400 indie booksellers attending CI2024 about their goals for this year’s gathering. While a few had attended Children’s Institute previously, most were first-timers—but all had their agenda set.
Latanya Devaughn, owner, Bronx Bound Books, the Bronx, New York City
“We’ve been launching various programs for the schools, and I am looking forward to seeing what other bookstores are doing as far as their connections with schools, so that we can build community around children.”
Mikey LaFave, operations manager, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Ga.
“I’m a first timer. I am hoping to network a bit. I’m the new operations manager and want to chat with folks and get everyone’s ideas about operations and how they’re running their bookstores. I also want to talk about YA and how they’re engaging with YA readers. I run a YA book club and it’s primarily adults, so I’d love to see more teenagers get involved.”
David Landry, co-owner, Class Bookstore, Houston
“As a general bookstore, we’re here to learn more in depth about the children’s book industry. We also are here to gain more insight into publishers and what they want from us.”
Zsamé Morgan, owner, Babycake’s Bookstack, Twin Cities, Minn.
“I am looking forward to networking with my fellow children’s booksellers and just getting established now as a bookstore. I am no longer working a second, corporate job. I am now doing the bookstore full-time, so this is a new chapter for me. I am hoping to open a bricks-and-mortar store in St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood [a historic African American neighborhood that was nearly destroyed when it was divided by I-94]. That’s in the works. Since I’m establishing the mobile bookstore as a full-time store, at CI2024 I am looking forward to beefing up some of the tools I’ve discovered over the years of attending these kinds of events and solidifying it all into a new and revised gameplan.”
Frederick Rossero, bookseller, Oblong Books, Rhinebeck, N.Y.
“I’m here to gain a deeper insight into the children’s bookselling side of the industry, particularly to learn how to make connections between kids and books that can change their lives, or make them think, or help them learn things that they didn’t know. I’m a first-timer; I’ve been to a couple of regionals, but that’s about it.”
Halley Vincent, owner, Seven Stories, Shawnee, Kans.
“I registered for Children’s Institute the day registration opened. I knew I wanted to come here because I had such a great experience at Winter Institute. People I met there later helped me with all kinds of projects I was doing. I learned after registering to be here that our building had sold; the new owner does not have the expectation of having a retail store there anymore. I had just moved in November and now, I have to move again. I’m just looking for a little bit of support and some people to back me up. I want to find people here who are going to help me gain more knowledge of what it is to be a bookseller and to have to go through tough times.”
