Volume 273
Issue 6
02/09/2026
With close to 450 structures crossing its three rivers and numerous ravines, Pittsburgh is known as the City of Bridges—but during Winter Institute 2026, which runs February 23–26, it might as well be called the City of Books. Approximately 1,500 indie booksellers, publishers, vendors, and others from all over the U.S. and beyond are expected to convene in Pennsylvania’s second-largest city for four days of networking, education, and author events.
“Pittsburgh is a fitting gathering place for Winter Institute 2026,” says Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, which organizes the conference. “Like indie bookstores, this city is small but mighty. The City of Bridges also offers a powerful metaphor for what we hope WI2026 will be: a bridge to one another, a bridge to store profitability, and a bridge to the future. That goal is reflected throughout our robust programming.”
In these pages, PW provides a glimpse of what to expect at the 21st annual conference—the largest one yet, with 1,000 booksellers registered to date, 38% of them first-time attendees. We talk with four of the more than 100 participating authors, and spotlight many others who will sign and share their forthcoming releases.
WI2026 officially kicks off at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Monday, February 23, but, like last year, the pre-conference program Ignite will be held the day before. Ignite is an opportunity for BIPOC booksellers to network with one another and meet BIPOC authors, including Amazon union activist Derrick Palmer (Handbook for the Revolution). Also on the Ignite agenda are editors Alyea Canada (from Orbit), Maya Marlette (Scholastic), Terria Smith (Berkeley Roundhouse), Irene Vázquez (Levine Querido), and Jamia Wilson (Random House), who will be pitching titles of particular relevance to BIPOC booksellers.
Monday begins with a seminar for prospective booksellers led by Donna Paz Kaufman and Mark Kaufman of the bookstore training group of Paz & Associates, plus excursions for booksellers around the greater Pittsburgh area. Two full-day and three half-day tours of a dozen bookstores are offered, with stops at the City of Asylum Bookstore, the Penguin Bookshop, and other indies. There is also a half-day field trip to the 500,000-square-foot Book Country Clearing House in McKeesport, one of the largest and oldest remainders wholesalers in North America.
The Independent Publishers Caucus will hold its annual summit Monday afternoon. It’s open to booksellers as well as publishers,
and IPC will be emphasizing the affinity between indie presses and indie booksellers. The day will conclude with “Bookselling in 2026: The Big Questions,” an overview of the state of the industry presented by ABA representatives, followed by the traditional opening night reception, taking place this time at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, a short walk from the convention center.
This year’s keynote speakers emphasize creativity, curiosity, and resilience. Tuesday’s keynote, “Reading Is Power: How Storytelling and Imagination Can Liberate Us and Shape a Better World,” brings literacy advocate, author, and actor LeVar Burton (Take My Word for It) to the stage for a conversation with Janet Webster Jones, the co-owner of Source Booksellers in Detroit, PW’s 2025 Bookstore of the Year.
Wednesday’s keynote, “The Past Is Alive: A Celebration of Fiction,” features a quartet of novelists—Xochitl Gonzalez (Last Night in Brooklyn), Marlon James (The Disappearers), Min Jin Lee (American Hagwon), and Colson Whitehead (Cool Machine)—in conversation with Audrey I-Wei Huang, a frontline bookseller at Belmont Books in Belmont, Mass.
Rounding out the keynotes is a Thursday afternoon dialogue between poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Night Owl) and memoirist Isaac Fitzgerald (American Rambler). Their presentation, “This, Too, Can Be a Place of Transformation: Finding Wonder in the Unexpected,” will remind booksellers of what the ABA describes as the “beauty that can be found in the darkest times.”
Bookselling in turbulent times
Throughout the week, attendees will have plenty of opportunities to connect with more than 300 publishers’ sales reps and editors. At the editors’ buzz lunch on Tuesday, participants will give insider perspectives on their forthcoming frontlist releases. The slate includes Edoardo Andreoni (from Europa Editions), Reagan Arthur (Cardinal), Stacey Barney (Nancy Paulsen Books), Peter Blackstock (Grove Atlantic), Dawn Davis (37 Ink), Michelle Halket (Central Avenue), Madeline McIntosh (Authors Equity), Megan Tingley (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), and Jennifer Ung (Quill Tree).
As always, the itinerary is jam-packed with educational panels. “The bridge to profitability is visible in every session,” Hill says, “but is the explicit focus of sessions like ‘Square Foot Solutions: Boosting Revenue Without More Space’ and ‘Curating for Readers, Not Categories.’ ” Panels will address perennial issues such as curation, best practices in hiring, burnout, and succession planning, as well as topical issues such as censorship and fascism. With political unrest an ongoing source of stress, Leila Bidad, program manager at conflict-resolution firm Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, will present “De-escalation Essentials for Booksellers,” while Maju Varghese and Teisha Garrett, cofounder and managing director, respectively, of the Democracy Security Project, which promotes safety in the public sphere, will lead “Staying Safe in Uncertain Times: Physical and Event Security for Booksellers.”
Educational panels will also focus on sales platforms including Edelweiss, which is rolling out its Square-integrated Omnibus system, as well as Anthology, Basil, Batch, Bookmanager, Bookshop.org, iMrchnt, IndieCommerce, and Pubeasy. ABA’s ABACUS workshop will help booksellers analyze sales data to help inform buying decisions.
Opportunities to relax and recharge will include “Poetry in Place: Voices from Pittsburgh,” a reading by local poets and others published by the region’s presses. “We could all use more poetry, both metaphorically and literally,” Hill says. A bookseller lounge, a quiet room, a silent reading room, and a space for interfaith prayer and meditation will all be available to attendees.
There will also be games to play. New York Times games editor Joel Fagliano, editor of Puzzle Mania!, will lead a Tuesday evening Puzzle Mania! Games Night, reminding booksellers to keep their streaks alive and let loose with friends once in a while.
Booksellers have had a tough year, with many impacted by the fires that tore through the Los Angeles area in January, political attacks on the freedom to read and assemble, and federal agents outside their doors, scaring away customers. Books Inc.’s sale to Barnes & Noble, tariff uncertainties, and a holiday season hobbled by supply chain disruptions and shipping delays added to the tumult. WI2026 will provide booksellers with opportunities to meet up with longtime friends, make new acquaintances, and then go home with totes and boxes packed with ARCs.
“And above all,” Hill says, “we hope that Winter Institute 2026 feels like the port many of us need after the storms of 2025.”
Read more from our Winter Institute preview feature.
WI2026: Winter Institute Authors to Meet
WI2026: PW Talks with Min Jin Lee
WI2026: PW Talks with Xochitl Gonzalez
WI2026: PW Talks with Derrick Palmer
