Celebration Lunch to Feature Award Winners, Tribute to Former ABA CEO

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Five of this year’s Indies Choice and E.B. White award-winning authors and illustrators will be at next week’s Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch to accept their honors from the independent booksellers who have championed their books. Among them will be Indies Choice Adult Fiction winner Anthony Doerr, who was also named the winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

The event, on Thursday, May 28, at BookExpo America, will also feature a special tribute to former ABA President and CEO Avin Mark Domnitz.

Always a highlight of BEA, the Celebration Lunch is currently booked to capacity; however, ABA member booksellers can add their names to a waitlist here.

The 2015 winners who will be present to receive their awards at the lunch are:

  • Indies Choice Young Adult: Holly Black
  • E.B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book: Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen
  • E.B. White Read-Aloud Middle Reader: Jacqueline Woodson
  • Indies Choice Adult Fiction: Anthony Doerr

Winners who are unable to attend the lunch have sent videos to express their appreciation to booksellers. They are:

  • Adult Nonfiction: Atul Gawande
  • Adult Debut: Andy Weir
  • Indie Champions: Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer

In addition, a number of this year’s honor award recipients will be sharing lunch with booksellers at the event. These include:

  • E.B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book honorees: Jory John, Matt de la Peña, and Richard T. Morris
  • E.B. White Read-Aloud Middle Reader honorees: Kenneth Oppel, Jennifer L. Holm, Mac Barnett, and Jory John
  • Indies Choice Young Adult honoree: A.S. King
  • Indies Choice Nonfiction honorees: Roz Chast and Leslie Jamison
  • Indies Choice Fiction honorees: Alice Hoffman and Lev Grossman
  • Indie Champion honoree: Authors United, represented by Douglas Preston

Also present will be Sally McCloskey and Samantha McCloskey, the daughter and granddaughter of Robert McCloskey, the author and illustrator of Blueberries for Sal, one of three 2015 inductees into the Picture Book Hall of Fame.

Doors to the Celebration Lunch in the Javits Convention Center’s Special Events Hall will open at 11:45 a.m. and the program will begin promptly at noon.

Following the lunch, a number of the award-winning authors and Indie Next List favorites in attendance will head over to the ABA Member Lounge (Room 214 on the trade show floor) for an exclusive ABA member autographing session from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. An ABA member badge is required for entrance to the lounge.

To receive free entry to the trade show, booksellers must register as “ABA Members” via BookExpoAmerica.com. For complete details about ABA programming at the show, visit BookWeb.org.