64 Booksellers Win Scholarships to Winter Institute 2026

September 3, 2025

The American Booksellers Association is eager to announce the 64 winners of scholarships to Winter Institute 2026 (Wi2026) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The awards cover the registration fee, hotel stay, and up to $600 in travel expenses.

Individual Wi2026 scholarship recipients are not matched with individual sponsors; instead, a portion of total fees raised by Wi2026 sponsorships are dedicated to funding as many bookseller scholarships for as many new and different stores as possible.

On Behalf of ABA from the Scholarship application process

Hailey Alcaraz, LALA Books (Lowell, MA)
Amanda Anderson, The Last Chapter Book Shop (Chicago, IL)
Ramiro Arellano, Skylight Books (Los Angeles, CA)
CJ Arthur, WordHaven BookHouse (Sheboygan, WI)
Whitney Beckstead, Lagg Romance Bookstore (Lehi, UT)
Mira Braneck, A Room of One's Own Bookstore (Madison, WI)
Bre Burrell, Book + Bottle (St. Petersburg, FL)
Benjy Caplan, Green Apple Books (San Francisco, CA)
Ariel Danley, Black English Bookstore (Tampa, FL)
Jenna Danyew, Bridgeside Books (Waterbury, VT)
Gabrielle Davenport, BEM | books & more (Brooklyn, NY)
Caitlyn de Araujo, Arcadia Books (Spring Green, WI)
Brooke DeSantis, Bike Trail Books (Loveland, OH)
Bettina Dirks, Magic City Books (Tulsa, OK)
Will Eakland, The King's English Bookshop (Salt Lake City, UT)
Sara Zia Ebrahimi Hughes, Multiverse (Philadelphia, PA)
Latasha Eley Kelly, Left on Read (Wichita, KS)
Orion Enceladus, The Legendarium (Salt Lake City, UT)
Kelly Erickson, Paper Boat Booksellers (Seattle, WA)
Elise Farotto, Rosie's Books, Tea & Tarot (West Hollywood, CA)
Katelyn Foutch, BookPeople of Moscow (Moscow, ID)
Demetrius Frazier, Resist Booksellers (Petersburg, VA)
Sherri Gallentine, Vroman's Bookstore (Pasadena, CA)
Sarah García, LibroMobile (Santa Ana, CA)
Sherrele Goloversic, The Book Readers Venue (Humble, TX)
Monique Gonzalez, Handcrafts and Hardbacks (San Bernardino, CA)
Cassie Goodwin, Loudmouth Books (Indianapolis, IN)
Ana Guimil, Odyssey Bookshop (South Hadley, MA)
Sara Gulotta, Gather (Bronxville, NY)
Marie Hall, Scrawl, Scribble & Smirch Bookshop (Gustine, CA)
Britney Harker, Rediscovered Books (Boise, ID)
Anitra Howard, Eleanor's Norfolk (Norfolk, VA)
Candace Hulsizer, Black Tea Bookshop (Columbia, MO)
Andrea Iriarte, Molly's Bookstore (Melrose, MA)
Tara Lenea, Mosaics Bookstore & Venue (American Fork, UT)
Stacey Liberty, Belmont Books (Belmont, MA)
Keeley Malone, Ink Drinkers Anonymous (Muncie, IN)
Elisa McIntosh, The Bookstore Plus Music & Art (Lake Placid, NY)
Rosa Mendez, Books by the Bay (La Porte, TX)
Fisher Nash, Carmichael's Bookstore (Louisville, KY)
Tauri Odumosu, Alice, Ever After Books (Buffalo, NY)
Andrew Preston, CoffeeTree Books (Morehead, KY)
Imaan Ramezanzadeh, The Elliott Bay Book Company (Seattle, WA)
Erin Rivera, The Frugal Frigate (Redlands, CA)
Baker Rogers, Queer Haven Books (Columbia, SC)
Spencer Ruchti, Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park, WA)
Kevin Sampsell, Powell's Books (Portland, OR)
Joey Santo Domingo, Black Garnet Books (Saint Paul, MN)
Lera Shawver, Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, NC)
Tayler Simon, Liberation is Lit (Columbia, SC)
Verlean Singletary, Da Book Joint (Chicago, IL)
Carey Spain, Fallen Leaf Books (Nashville, IN)
Emily Sullivan, Homer Bookstore (Homer, AK)
Sophia Terry, Bank Square Books (Mystic, CT)
Van-Lam Tran, Porter Square Books (Cambridge, MA)
Erica Tso Haidas, Belonging Books (Hyannis, MA)
Carolynn Vu, Dungeon Books (Jersey City, NJ)
Erica Wisely, Reid Wisely Books & Brew (Valley Cottage, NY)

On Behalf of ABA from the ABACUS submission raffle

Katrina Brooks, Black Pearl Bookstore (Austin, TX)

On Behalf of BINC

Charlie Hunts, Charlie's Queer Books (Seattle, WA)
Dilpreet Kainth, Queens Book Bazaar (Woodside, NY)
Shelly McClone-Carriere, Lion's Tooth (Milwaukee, WI)
Lindsay Schultz, The Spine Bookshop (Smyrna, TN)

On Behalf of NAIBA

Evangeline Brooks, Uncle Bobbie's Books and Coffee (Philadelphia, PA)