The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) is the peak industry group representing all booksellers in Australia. The association has a diverse membership of chain, franchise, independent, campus and secondhand bookshops. It was formed in 1924 and incorporated as a not for profit association in Victoria in 1984. The ABA promotes the benefits that booksellers bring to the Australian community and, with advocacy and commercial benefits, assists booksellers in the profitable and sustainable running of their businesses. The association has a grassroots campaign to encourage customers to support their local bookshop with the catchphrase, What could be more convenient than your local bookshop?.
The ABA undertakes two major projects each year for the benefit of members: the annual national conference in June and the children’s reading guide in November. The guide is a 32-page full-colour list of recommended new releases and classics reviewed by specialist children's booksellers who are passionate about literacy. Throughout the year the association produces training workshops and publications for members to improve their bookselling skills and administers the national book voucher scheme.
The ABA manages the annual Booksellers Choice Award, given to the book that Australian booksellers most enjoyed reading and selling the previous year. The 2007 winner was Susan Duncan for her book, Salvation Creek. The ABA is a minor sponsor of the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award.
The Australian book industry has a philanthropic project to raise funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation's literacy projects in remote Australian communities. On Indigenous Literacy Day, more than 200 booksellers and publishers donated a percentage of their day's trading to the project.
The ABA has strong links with other book industry organisations, including the Australian Publishers Association and the Australian Society of Authors and their international counterparts Booksellers New Zealand, the Booksellers Association of Great Britain and Ireland, the Canadian Booksellers Association and the American Booksellers Association. ABA is a member of the International Booksellers Federation.
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