67 Booksellers Named 2016 Winter Institute Scholarship Winners

Here, the American Booksellers Association announces the winners of 67 scholarships to the January 2016 Winter Institute in Denver, Colorado. Fifty-eight of the scholarships have been awarded to booksellers by the Winter Institute’s publisher sponsors. Booksellers at all ABA member stores that did not receive a scholarship in the last two years were eligible to win a Winter Institute scholarship. This year for the first time, in addition to dropping off a business card at the ABA booth at a regional trade show, booksellers were able to submit their names for scholarship consideration via an online application process.

“The Winter Institute would not be possible without the generous contributions of our publisher sponsors,” said ABA Development Officer Mark Nichols. “By enabling a record number of scholarship recipients to attend the event in 2016, publishers confirm their commitment to independent bookselling and we encourage all of our members to join us in thanking them for their ongoing support.”

Once again this year, five ABA members have been awarded scholarships by the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc), a non-profit dedicated to providing financial assistance to booksellers since 1996.

In addition, three booksellers will be attending Winter Institute 11 on scholarships honoring former ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, who died earlier this year. One scholarship was awarded by ABA to a bookseller at a store participating in this year’s ABACUS Survey, and two new scholarships were created from memorial contributions to ABA following Domnitz’s death.

Candlewick Press has also again this year awarded a scholarship to a bookseller active in the Candlewick Handselling Indie Recognition Program (CHIRP).

Winter Institute scholarships cover the conference fee, up to four nights plus tax at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel at the special ABA rate, and transportation costs up to $400.

Winter Institute 2016 Publisher-Sponsored Scholarship Recipients

• Abrams: Beth Brown, Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA
• Akashic Books/Red Hed Press: Emily Hall, Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO
• Algonquin Young Readers: Allison Mengarelli, The Book Bin, Northbrook, IL
• Andrews McMeel: Rosie Lee, Readers’ Books, Sonoma, CA
• Biblioasis: Matt Keliher, SubText: A Bookstore, St. Paul, MN
• Bloomsbury: Ari Gersen, Longfellow Books, Portland, ME
• Candlewick: Lauren O’Niell, The Booksmith, San Francisco, CA
• Capstone Publishing/Charlesbridge: Shoshana Smith, The Reading Bug, San Carlos, CA
• Chronicle Books: Hilary Jeffris, Depot Bookstore and Café, Mill Valley, CA
• Coffee House Press/Tin House Books: Amy Mercer, Prospective Bookseller, Charleston Chapters, Charleston, SC
• Consortium: Elisa Rivera, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
• Diamond Book Distributors/Image Comics: Kari Meutsch, Phoenix Books, Essex, VT
• Disney: Elisa Thomas, Cellar Door Books, Riverside, CA
• Dzanc Books/Catapult: Tom Beans, Dudley’s Bookshop Café, Bend, OR
• ECW: Judith Kissner, Scout & Morgan Books, Cambridge, MN
• Europa Editions/Seven Stories Press: Ashanti White-Wallace, WORD, Brooklyn, NY
• Graywolf Press: Anna Thorn, Upshur Street Books, Washington, DC
• Grove/Atlantic: Ruth Love, Aaron’s Books, Lititz, PA
• Hachette Book Group 1: Dawn Rennert, Concord Bookshop, Concord, MA
• Hachette Book Group 2: Billie Bloebaum, A Children’s Place, Portland, OR
• Harlequin 1: Connie Brooks, Battenkill Books, Cambridge, NY
• Harlequin 2: Joanne Berg, Mystery to Me, Madison, WI
• HarperCollins Adult 1: Carolyn Hutton, A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland, CA
• HarperCollins Adult 2: Lexi Beach, Astoria Bookshop, Astoria, NY
• HarperCollins Children’s 1: Amy Dean, Blue Manatee Children’s Bookstore, Cincinnati, OH
• HarperCollins Children’s 2: Joel Crockett, Four-Eyed Frog Books, Gualala, CA
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 1: Lacy Simons, hello hello books, Rockland, ME
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2: Beth Albrecht, Magic Tree Bookstore, Oak Park, IL
• House of Anansi Press: Kendra Peterson, King City Books, Mount Vernon, IL
• Ingram: Kate Layte, Papercuts JP, Boston, MA
• John F. Blair, Publisher/Quirk Books: Kasey Cox, From My Shelf Books & Gifts, Wellsboro, PA
• Lerner: Rebekah Hendrian, The Book Nook and Java Shop, Montague, MI
• Lonely Planet: Amy Daniken, Back of Beyond Books, Moab, UT
• Macmillan Adult 1: Miriam Chotiner-Gardner, Three Lives & Company, New York, NY
• Macmillan Adult 2: Greg Feitt, Chaucer’s Books, Santa Barbara, CA
• Macmillan Children’s Publishing: Deserea Russell, Imaginations Bookstore, Columbia, MD
• Melville House: Janet Webster Jones, Source Booksellers, Detroit, MI
• Midpoint Trade Books: Susan Shoaff, Sustenance Books, Murphys, CA
• Milkweed Editions: Chelsea Bauer, Union Avenue Books, Knoxville, TN
• New Directions: Naomi Baird, The Book Bin, Corvallis, OR
• The New Press: Lauren Zimmerman, The Writer’s Block Bookstore, Winter Park, FL
• New York Review Books: Deanna Quinones, Short Stories Community Book Hub, Madison, NJ
• Other Press: Meghan Oliver, Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, VT
• Penguin Group Adult: Matt Stowe, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY
• Penguin Young Readers Group: Cristin Stickles, McNally Jackson Books, New York, NY
• Perseus Books Group/PGW: Andrea Griffith, Browsers Bookshop, Olympia, WA
• Random House Adult: Sue Boucher, Cottage Book Shop, Glen Arbor, MI
• Random House Children’s: Kym Havens, An Unlikely Story Bookstore/Café, Plainville, MA
• Scholastic: Brenda Weaver, Hearthside Books & Toys, Juneau, AK
• Simon & Schuster Adult: Sarah Baline, Kramerbooks, Washington, DC
• Simon & Schuster Children’s 1: Caitlin Luce Baker, University Book Store, Seattle, WA
• Simon & Schuster Children’s 2: Candice Huber, Tubby & Coo’s Mid-City Book Shop, New Orleans, LA
• Soho Press/Beacon Press: Rachel Bellavia, Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock, IL
• Sourcebooks: Alice Meyer, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA
• Steerforth Press: Samantha Haskell, Blue Hill Books, Blue Hill, ME
• Sterling Publishing: Robert Moore, Oregon Books & Games, Grants Pass, OR
• W.W. Norton: Kim Hooyboer, Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA
• Workman/Algonquin Adult: Joe Holland, Warwick’s, La Jolla, CA

ABA Avin Mark Domnitz/ABACUS Scholarship

• Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC

Avin Mark Domnitz Memorial Scholarships

• Kim Knight, Between the Lines Bookstore, Baton Rouge, LA
• Yooree Losordo, On the Dot Books, Dorchester, MA

Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC)

• Andrea Jones, Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick, VT
• James Crossley, Island Books, Mercer Island, WA
• David Bradley, Letters Bookshop, Durham, NC
• Veronica Brooks-Sigler, Octavia Books, New Orleans, LA
• Christopher Hsiang, Compass Books, San Francisco, CA

Candlewick Handselling Indie Recognition Program (CHIRP)

• Jesica DeHart, BookPeople of Moscow, Moscow, ID

A Meet-and-Greet for scholarship recipients and their sponsors is planned for Saturday evening, January 23, at the Tattered Cover Colfax store prior to the Wi11 Welcome Reception.