2025 Basic Bookselling Course Registration Opens 01/06/2025
The course begins Tuesday March 4th, 2025
Online
* Registration open until 3/4/25 at 12:00 AM (EST)
Event Details
The 2025 course in Basic Bookselling starts on Tuesday, March 4 at 7 pm ET/ 6 pm CT/ 4 pm PT.
The course has 10 classes and will run through May 6, 2025.
Information about the course is on our website: please review this before you register.
Registration Information
- The course is limited to 60 students, with no more than two employees from each store.
- 48 seats are open for first come/first registered, while 12 seats are reserved for students who fall under our Diversity/Equity/Inclusion policy. There are required questions about diversity status when you register.
- Students may elect to take the course to earn certification from the Professional Booksellers School, or they may elect to audit the course. All students who attend the required number of classes and who satisfactorily complete all homework will be certified.
How the Course Works
This course is designed for people with less than a year's bookselling experience, and for new bookstore owners. They'll learn about how bookstores operate and what the job of a frontline bookseller encompasses. We teach specific skills like handselling, customer engagement, writing shelf talkers, and creating displays that sell books. Our ideal student wants to learn about building a career in bookselling. The course is only for people who work in Indie bookstores, whether brick-and-mortar, mobile, or pop-up.
The course meets online via Zoom on Tuesday nights at 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT / 4 pm PT. Each class is approximately one hour. The classes are live, and participation is required.
Students will be assigned weekly homework, and create a final project they'll present live in small groups. The course uses Discord as our platform for information, chat, and homework. Discord is free to join, and an invitation will be emailed to students after registration. Students also receive twice-weekly newsletters with information about the class.
Each class covers a different topic and can include guest speakers from the industry. Classes also include some small groups and other interactive elements.
For More Information:
PLEASE NOTE: Before you register you must join PBS as a member. Membership is free, and joining ensures you receive our newsletter with important updates and deadlines about the school and our courses. Each member needs a unique e-mail address. Your record after you join is called your "Member Compass" and you can visit and revise information there at any time.
As a requirement of the course, students must be owners or employees of Independent Bookstores that are members in good standing of the ABA and/or their Regional Trade Association. If you are considering opening a bookstore in the future and would like to learn about the business, the course content is available for Independent Study.
Registration is $125. Most Regional Trade Associations provide discount codes for registration, and offer full or partial reimbursement to students that finish and are certified. Find out what your Trade Association offers, and ask for discount codes before you register.