"During a loneliness epidemic, you’ve created spaces for people to gather and connect. During an era of disinformation, you’ve provided history and truth. During a time when the voices of Black people, trans people, people of color, and LGBTQIA2S+ communities at large are being silenced and erased, you continue to center and celebrate these vital stories. As the world has been flooded with AI-generated content, you’ve championed authors and illustrators, real people who put their hearts and souls into their books. And you’ve continued the day-to-day seemingly ordinary, but truly extraordinary, gesture of connecting readers with books that entertain them, reassure them, reflect them, challenge them, and often change them.
I hope that while you’ve been doing that vital work your path has included those moments of grace that keep indie booksellers going — the young person who returns to tell you how much they loved the book you recommended, the customer who shares that your store feels like their refuge, the debut author who thanks you for hosting their very first event."
