Publisher Opportunities Details

Advance Access and Advance Access — Underrepresented Voices 

Advance Access is a twice-monthly email newsletter with publisher offerings of new titles with galleys, ARCs, finished books, and digital galleys available for review by ABA booksellers. The Advance Access program has proven to be a very effective way to get the word out about new titles. Bookseller responses and requests are emailed directly to the publisher for fulfillment and follow-up. After receiving a free review copy from the publisher, booksellers will read the book and have the opportunity to order it for stock, nominate it for the Indie Next List, and/or promote it in their store.

The first Advance Access of each month features offers of general interest titles submitted by multiple publishers.

The second Advance Access of each month features Advance Access – Underrepresented Voices, with offers of titles, authors, and topics historically underrepresented: BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, people/authors with disabilities, among others.

ADVANCE ACCESS RATES

ABA Associate Member publishers and their distribution clients: $25 per title submitted.

Non-members: $200 per title submitted.

Non-ABA members who are members of The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS), Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP): $125 per title submitted.

Self-published authors: $200 per title, provided that the title will be readily available for booksellers to order from wholesalers. ABA reserves the right to review all titles submitted for Advance Access, and will not include titles with limited availability. Self-published authors, please provide the name(s) of the wholesaler(s) the book is distributed by.

Title Submissions:
All book descriptions must be sent to Peter Reynolds via email at [email protected], with title, author, publisher, ISBN, retail price, format, subject category, publication date, the number of free copies you have to offer, a brief description of the title, and an email address to which the booksellers can write to directly request a copy. The number of free copies available is up to the publisher.

Please follow the format below: 

Title Xyz by Author Name (Publisher, ISBN-13: 0000000000000, $26.95, hardcover, October 1, 2024, Mystery/Thriller).
A brief description of the title here.
XX galleys/finished books available.
mailto: [email protected]

When planning promotions, publishers are asked to be aware of our commitment to antiracism, inclusion, representation, and diversity as outlined in our ends policies.

Please note: Titles submitted for Advance Access must have standard terms and be returnable.

To arrange payment for Advance Access submissions, please contact Annemarie Majeau at [email protected].

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When submitting titles, please specify which newsletter you are submitting for, Advance Access or Advance Access — Underrepresented Voices.

The due date for title submissions is by the Thursday prior to the Monday the Advance Access email is sent to booksellers.

FOLLOW-UP:

When you hear from the booksellers requesting a copy of your book, we highly recommend that you include a short note with each book sent out, including information on how to order the title for store stock, plus a reminder to consider submitting an Indie Next List nomination to [email protected], along with the INL nomination deadline corresponding with the book’s publication date. You may also include press material and/or your catalog. We also suggest that you save the email addresses of the booksellers to whom you send books, and after a month’s time, follow-up with a short query for feedback.

For questions about the Advance Access program, please contact Peter Reynolds at [email protected].

SPECIAL FOR ASSOCIATE MEMBER PUBLISHERS! Publisher-exclusive Advance Access emails are available. These offerings must contain a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 20 titles. The fee for this service is $100 and the timing of the email will be determined by ABA and the publisher. Please contact Peter Reynolds at [email protected] for details and available dates.

Indie Next List & Kids' Next List

All participating stores receive a quantity of the printed Indie Next List fliers printed in four-color. Booksellers provide recommendations for books they have enjoyed reading and look forward to handselling in their stores. These recommendations are collected and tabulated, with the 25 titles receiving the most nominations designated as “Indie Next List Great Reads” and presented with jacket image and a bookseller quote.

An additional 6 titles are selected for the flier to be featured as “Now in Paperback.” These are titles that had been featured as Great Reads as hardcovers and continue to be hand-selling favorites in bookstores. A PDF with jacket image and bookseller quote as well as a shelf-talker for each “Now in Paperback” title is available for download.

Stores also receive a quantity of the bi-monthly Kids’ Next List fliers, which is also printed in four-color, and feature a #1 overall title and ten books in each of the following age categories: Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult.

Both the adult Indie Next List and the Kids’ Next List are distributed electronically as store-branded e-newsletters with the book “buy” buttons linking back to the stores’ websites. The adult Indie Next List goes out on the first Thursday of each month with its full list of 25 new “Great Reads” titles and 6 “Now in Paperback” titles. The Kids’ bi-monthly list of 31 titles goes out the third Thursday of the first month for each issue (ie the January/February issue goes out the third Thursday of January).

Once a book is chosen for an Indie Next List, the publisher will be asked to consider providing funds to support the printing and distribution of the fliers.

Title Submissions

ABA Children’s Group Best Books Catalog for Young Readers 
The annual ABA Children’s Group Best Books for Young Readers catalog is a popular and effective publication that bookstores and readers rely on receiving each October, in time for holiday buying. Independent bookstores and publishers curate the catalog, and the final collection is comprised of eclectic titles the ABA Children’s Group is proud to recommend to young readers all over the country. It is also the most widely distributed children’s book catalog in the industry, with over 200,000 copies in circulation each year. Each April, ABA emails Associate Member publishers who have participated in the previous year’s catalog with information about the upcoming edition, including the rate card and dates and deadlines for submissions. 

ABA Associate Member publishers interested in participating in the ABA Children’s Group Best Books catalog can contact ABA Children’s Group Group Manager Gen de Botton ([email protected]).

Indies Introduce
Indies Introduce is a campaign in which juries of booksellers choose the top debut books and authors of adults and kids’ books for the upcoming season, showcasing independent booksellers’ talent for discovery. ABA emails Associate Member publishers requesting title submissions for adult and/or children’s books twice yearly. (In November for upcoming summer/fall titles and in May for upcoming winter/spring titles.) Due to quantity limitations and at booksellers’ request, ABA limits the number of publishers it solicits, and the number of submissions per publisher. Decisions regarding submissions are subject to ABA's discretion. Two ABA bookseller member juries, one for adult books and one for children’s books, each choose 10 debuts for each seasonal list. If a title is selected for a specific list, the publisher agrees to offer promotional terms for that title to participating stores who will promote the list.

ABA Associate Member publishers interested in participating in Indies Introduce can contact Chief Operating Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger ([email protected]) or Program Manager Jessica Stauffer ([email protected]).

Sponsorships

Publishers are crucial sponsors of the ABA Winter Institute and the ABC Children’s Institute. Additionally, there are periodic opportunities to sponsor marketing resources, e.g., bookmarks for “Banned Books Week” bookseller events.

The ABA Winter Institute is a four-day event with area tours, off-site events, full and half-day seminars, and an evening opening reception, followed by three days of guest speakers, education sessions, and author receptions. To better allow each publisher or distributor the ability to focus its resources, all sponsorship components are offered à la carte so that each company may build a custom package tailored to fit its own needs and budget. Locations and sponsorship opportunities may vary from year to year.

The ABC Group’s Children’s Institute is a two-plus day networking and educational event that focuses on children, children’s books, and children’s booksellers. An evening opening reception is followed by two days of guest speakers, special events, education sessions, and author receptions. Locations and sponsorship opportunities may vary from year to year.

For a current institute prospectus or for any other sponsorship questions, contact Matt Zoni at [email protected].