BTW News Briefs

Nominations Open for London Book Fair’s Bookstore of the Year Award

The London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2017 is accepting nominations for Bookstore of the Year through December 15, 2016.

The award, sponsored by Gardners Books Ltd., is open to independent bookstores or chain branches whose primary business is outside the U.K. Stores can nominate themselves or be nominated by a third party. The judges will be looking for excellence in a range of areas, including customer service, staff knowledge, events, displays, outreach, atmosphere, innovation, imagination, incorporation of digital, style, and flair.

Stores on the shortlist will be notified in March, and the winner will be announced at the Fair’s Annual Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in London.

Entries for the London Book Fair’s Bookstore of the Year Award can be submitted here.

Readings in Melbourne, Australia, won the LBF’s inaugural Bookstore of the Year Award in 2016.

Barnes & Noble Appoints Demos Parneros as COO

Barnes & Noble has announced the appointment of Demos Parneros as the chain’s new chief operating officer (COO), effective immediately. Parneros will report to Len Riggio, the chairman and CEO of Barnes & Noble, and work closely with him on all aspects of company operations, including stores, merchandising, e-commerce, systems, and real estate. 

Parneros, has 30 years of leadership experience in retail management and joins the company from Staples, Inc., where he was president of North American stores and online business.

In August, Riggio, the company’s founder and executive chairman, postponed his plans to retire and stepped in to serve as CEO while the board conducts a search for a new CEO, following the abrupt firing of Ron Boire after less than one year on the job.

James Patterson Names School Library Grant Winners

Author James Patterson has announced the list of school libraries that will receive grants as part of the 2016 Patterson Pledge Program.

Winners from 452 school libraries will receive grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. Schools can use the funding to purchase new books, add bookshelves, make improvements to their catalog systems, and expand their programming.

The Patterson Pledge Program was launched in 2015 as part of an ongoing effort to keep books and reading a priority for children in the U. S. The grant applications are distributed in partnership with the Scholastic Reading Club. A full list of the schools that received grants in 2016 can be found on the Scholastic Reading Club site. Patterson is also encouraging teachers and students to share their schools’ experiences on social media using #pattersonpledge.

Claudia Rankine Named 2016 Zell Fellow

United States Artists has named author Claudia Rankine a 2016 Zell Fellow in Literature, an honor that comes with $50,000 in unrestricted grant money.

Rankine is the author of five collections of poetry, including Citizen: An American Lyric (Graywolf Press), a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry.

Since 2006, United States Artists, an independent nonprofit and philanthropic organization based in Chicago, has distributed millions of dollars in grants to support the careers of American artists, writers, musicians, and dancers.