Diane Capriola is co-owner and co-founder of Little Shop of Stories, a children’s bookstore in Decatur, Georgia. Known for its robust event programming and creative school and community partnerships, Little Shop was awarded the WNBA Pannell award in 2010 and again in 2020. Little Shop of Stories was an integral partner in the growth and caliber of all-youth programming for the AJC Decatur Book Festival, and Diane served as the festival’s Children and Teen Programming Manager from 2013 through 2019.

Diane has served on both the ABA Children's Advisory Committee and the ABA Bookseller Advisory Council and was first appointed to the ABA Board in May 2022 to fill the board seat of Christine Onorati as she became Board President. 

Capriola states, “I’ve really been inspired by my time serving on the board this past year. It is an incredibly talented, smart, and forward thinking group of people dedicated to finding workable and realistic solutions to the multitude of challenges we face as booksellers. I am grateful for the opportunity to add the children’s bookselling perspective to our conversations and to give voice to the specific and unique challenges (and joys!) we face in our important work with children, families, and schools.” In 2017, Diane was named an Atlanta Women Making a Mark by Atlanta Magazine. She thinks children’s books will save the world.

Cynthia Compton is the owner of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Zionsville, Indiana, and MacArthur Books, in Carmel, Indiana. She founded 4 Kids in 2003, and the store has since moved and expanded, offering a robust event schedule, school outreach, and large summer reading program. The store was honored with the Pannell Award in 2014, and has received numerous "best of" recognitions and community partnership awards. She has served on the board of the American Specialty Toy Retail Association, and as a member of both the nominating committee and Best Toys for Kids Awards for that organization.

As an active volunteer in the bookselling industry, Cynthia has served as president of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association, and on the ABA Booksellers Advisory Council, the ABA Children's Group Advisory Committee, Nominating Committee, Technology Taskforce, and ABACUS Task Force. She also serves on several local and regional organization boards serving literacy, child welfare, and animal rescue.

”I was drawn to serve on the board as an advocate for children’s booksellers, my peers and mentors for the last two decades. As we emerge from the tumultuous and trying last few years, however, I realize that an even greater need for our association lies in building community among all of our members. The exhausting, isolating practice of running our businesses during the pandemic has in many ways increased the distance between our membership, our publishing partners, and ABA itself. Strengthening community through increased communication, clarity of purpose and action, and member engagement with the board is a critical task for the next few years. I want to serve our membership as we seek to bring all our community to the discussion of our mutual challenges.”

Jake Cumsky-Whitlock is co-owner of Solid State Books (SSB) in Washington, DC, the store he co-founded in 2017. SSB has two locations that sell new children’s and adult books, stationery, and other book-related gifts. Its first location has a coffee shop/beer and wine bar, and functions as a community gathering space, hosting author events, panels, and book clubs. Jake has worked for publishing houses in Boston and New York. 

His bookselling career began in 2004 at Kramerbooks & Afterwords in Washington, DC, where he served as bookseller, shift manager, hiring manager, and assistant buyer before eventually being named Head Buyer. Jake is a former member of ABA’s Booksellers Advisory Council and served as chair of the Spring 2020 Adult Indies Introduce panel. He holds a BA in English Literature and Art History from the University of Virginia, and an MA in Creative Writing from Boston University. He lives in Northeast Washington, DC, with his wife, two sons, and daughter.

“I have been incredibly lucky to learn my trade from a range of talented, generous booksellers, co-workers, and bookstore owners, and my service on the ABA Board represents an opportunity to pay back some of that generosity,” says Jake. “I believe in, and luxuriate in, this bookselling community of ours. Independent bookstores, and their incredible diversity of booksellers, are a resilient and creative lot, having weathered numerous storms throughout the years.

“We currently find ourselves at another inflection point, as the uncertainty of the post-pandemic retail landscape, and the increasing market dominance and omnipresence of the multi-billion-dollar internet behemoth in the corner, threatens once more to reduce our numbers. Despite such obvious hurdles, I strongly believe that, once again, our resourcefulness, adaptability, and guile will see us through. We still have such a valuable role to play in our communities, for our communities, and I believe that the pandemic has only reinforced that importance.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Allison Hill, the ABA staff, and the rest of the ABA Board to continue to level the playing field in our favor, creating a more stable environment in which all ABA members will thrive. I am also excited to be a small part of the increasing diversification of both the ABA Board and the greater independent bookselling community. I’d like to see those gains similarly reflected in the larger publishing ecosystem, sooner rather than later.”