Wednesday's BookExpo panel on the future of bricks-and-mortar retailing couldn't have been scheduled at a more auspicious time for indies: the day after the American Booksellers Association announced a resurgence in the number of independent bookstores.
For the first time since 2005, there are more than 2,000 independent outlets in the U.S. Although ABA CEO Oren Teicher reiterated that statistic at the panel, the line that brought the largest applause
