Binc, Macmillan Partner to Offer Scholarships for Underrepresented Booksellers

The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation and Macmillan Publishers have teamed up to launch the Macmillan Booksellers Professional Development Scholarship pilot program, which aims to provide professional development to booksellers traditionally underrepresented within the industry.

The program will provide up to $500 for a bookseller from a traditionally underrepresented group to attend a regional trade show; each scholarship will cover the cost of travel, lodging, and meals. Nine scholarships are available as part of the pilot program, one for each regional independent bookseller association.

“We at Macmillan are committed to publishing a greater diversity of voices, and this partnership with Binc and the bookseller community is a step towards those voices reaching an ever-growing audience of readers,” said Don Weisberg, president of Macmillan Publishers.

To be eligible for a scholarship, a bookseller must have worked for a minimum of 90 days as a regular full- or part-time employee at a bookstore that is a member, in good standing, of one of the regional trade associations. An applicant must be a person of color, a person who identifies as LGBTQ, or a person with a disability; see the full eligibility requirements here.

The application includes three essay questions; the winners will be selected by a panel composed of Binc board members, booksellers, bookstore owners, and publishers.

Applications are due July 17, 2017.

“This program is truly a collaborative effort,” said Pam French, executive director for Binc. “In 2015, Binc created a diversity task force to explore how we could help expand career opportunities for booksellers in diverse groups. Through this committee’s good work and a new partnership with Macmillan Publishers, booksellers in underrepresented groups will now have more options for valuable enrichment and ideally long careers within the book industry.”

Since 2013, Binc has provided professional development scholarships for booksellers to attend a variety of American Booksellers Association events, as well as the regional trade shows. The Macmillan Booksellers Professional Development Scholarship pilot program was created in response to numerous requests over the years, as well as to the results of Binc’s 2016 bookseller survey.