Quills Display Makes Bookseller a Winner

The winners of the first annual Quill Literary Awards will not be revealed until October 11 at a black-tie gala to be held in New York City. What has been revealed, however, is the name of the bookseller who won a trip to the red carpet awards ceremony at Chelsea Piers in a contest sponsored by the American Booksellers Association.

Carrie Sutherland, assistant manager of J.W. Beecroft Books & Coffee in Superior, Wisconsin, sent in the winning entry, picked at random, from submissions by ABA member booksellers showing how they encouraged consumers to vote for the Quills. Submissions included photos of displays or in-store signs, articles in the store's newsletter or on the store website. Any creative way that booksellers found to encourage participation by consumers in the voting process was acceptable.

Sutherland, whose trip will be her first to New York, told BTW that she is very excited and pleased that J.W. Beecroft was the winner. "We displayed all of the nominees on a table in the store, along with information about voting on line," she explained. "There was a lot of interest in the display. We liked the selection because [the titles] covered many different categories."

The winning contestant is entitled to roundtrip airfare for two, two nights of hotel accommodations, and admission to the event, to be hosted by NBC's Brian Williams. Sutherland will be accompanied by J.W. Beecroft's owner, Janet Murphy.

The Quill Awards, launched this year by Reed Business Information and the NBC Universal Television Stations, were established to honor excellence in book publishing. Voting by consumers took place between August 15 and September 15. Following the October 11 ceremony and gala, NBC Universal television stations will carry The Quill Awards as a special one-hour program on October 22. -- Nomi Schwartz