Booksellers Win Wi13 Scholarships at Regional Trade Shows

The American Booksellers Association has announced the names of 13 booksellers who have been awarded scholarships to the 2018 Winter Institute in Memphis, Tennessee; more than 60 additional scholarship recipients will be announced in Bookselling This Week on November 21.

Eight booksellers were awarded publisher-sponsored scholarships during special drawings at the fall regional independent booksellers association trade shows. One winner was selected at each show from the pool of business cards submitted at the ABA booth and matched with a sponsoring publisher. The winners in each region and their sponsoring publishers are:

• Southern: John Cavalier, Cavalier House Books (Denham Springs, LA) — Sterling Publishing Co.
• New England: Kathy Detwiler, Buttonwood Books & Toys (Cohassett, MA) —  Penguin Young Readers
• Mountains & Plains: Shelley Lowe, Monkey and Dog Books (Fort Worth, TX) —  Scholastic
• Southern California: Jennifer Powell, Book Catapult (San Diego, CA) —  New Directions
• New Atlantic: Kenny Sarfin, Books & Greetings (Northvale, NJ) —  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Northern California: Elayna Trucker, Napa Bookmine (Napa, CA) —  New York Review of Books
• Pacific Northwest: Dan Ullom, Brick & Mortar Books (Redmond, WA) — Rare Bird Books
• Heartland: Betsy Von Kerens, The Bookworm of Omaha (Omaha, NE) — Charlesbridge

In addition, five booksellers have been awarded Winter Institute scholarships courtesy of the American Booksellers Association:

• Emmanuel Abreu, Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria (New York, NY)
• Vina Castillo, Kew & Willow Books (Queens, NY)
• Rio Cortez, The Schomburg Shop (New York, NY)
• Kimberlea Dungy, Lea’s Bookshop (West Bloomfield, MI)
• Kari Meutsch, The Yankee Bookshop (Woodstock, VT) — ABA Avin Mark Domnitz/ABACUS Scholarship

A Meet-and-Greet for scholarship recipients and their sponsors is planned for Monday evening, January 22, at The Cadre, prior to the Wi13 Welcome Reception.

Scholarships will cover the conference fee; up to four nights plus tax at the host hotel, the Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel; and transportation costs up to $400.

Winter Institute 13 registrants whose plans have changed are asked to notify the American Booksellers Association as soon as possible so booksellers on the event waitlist can take their places. Booksellers on the waitlist will be notified on a first-come, first-served basis if cancellations are received. Booksellers who are no longer planning to attend the institute are asked to e-mail [email protected] to cancel their event registration or to be removed from the event waitlist.

The 2018 Winter Institute will be held January 22–25 at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel and the Memphis Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. The institute is made possible by support from lead sponsor Ingram Content Group and from publishers large and small. Questions about Winter Institute can be addressed to [email protected].