Winter Institute 8 Scholarship Winners Announced

A record-breaking 50 booksellers will be attending the American Booksellers Association’s Eighth Annual Winter Institute (Wi8) on scholarship. Thirty-seven are the recipients of scholarships from Wi8’s publisher sponsors, and an additional 13 will be attending on scholarships and fellowships created by organizations and publishers to recognize past industry leaders as well as indie booksellers’ involvement in a range of programs.

“Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, 50 of the 500 booksellers attending the February 22 – 25 ABA education program in Kansas City, Missouri, will be on scholarship” said association Development Officer Mark Nichols. “This speaks volumes about their commitment to independent bookselling, and we encourage all ABA members to join us in thanking each and every one of them for their support.”

Publisher-sponsored Winter Institute scholarships cover up to four nights accommodations at the Wi8 host hotel, transportation costs up to $350, and the Wi8 meal fee.

The 2013 Winter Institute publisher-sponsored scholarship winners are:

Abrams: Jennifer Hall, Partners Village Store & Kitchen, Westport, MA

Algonquin Young Readers: Kathleen Caldwell, A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland, CA

Andrews McMeel: Melanie Green, Bluebird Books, Hutchinson, KS

Bloomsbury: Mindy Ostrow, The River’s End Bookstore, Oswego, NY

Candlewick: Lauren Savage, The Reading Bug, San Carlos, CA

Chronicle Books: Rita Maggio, BookTowne, Manasquan, NJ

Consortium: Daiva Chesonis, Between the Covers, Telluride, CO

Disney Publishing Worldwide: TBD

Graywolf: Christopher Jones, Monte Cristo Bookshop, New London, CT

Grove Atlantic: Marc Galvin, The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, NY

Hachette Book Group Adult: John Hugo, Hugo Books, Marblehead, MA

Harlequin: Scott Sills, Family Book Shop, Deland, FL

HarperCollins Adult: Stephanie Valdez, Community Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY

HarperCollins Adult: Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC

HarperCollins Children’s: Kenny Brechner, Devaney, Doak & Garrett, Farmington, ME

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: Jerry Brace, Brace Books & More, Ponca City, OK

Ingram Content Group: Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA

Little, Brown Young Readers: Ellen Davis, Dragonwings Bookstore, Waupaca, WI

Lonely Planet: Brett Weinkle, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY

Macmillan Adult: Kit Little, Towne Book Center and Café, Collegeville, PA

Macmillan Children’s: Heather Hebert, Children’s Book World, Haverford, PA

Midpoint Trade: Laurie Miller Stephens, Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, PA

MP Publishing: Alec Milner, Vintage Books, Vancouver, WA

New Directions: Jordan Jones, Bookstore1Sarasota, Sarasota, FL

W.W. Norton: Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, OR

Other Press: Megan O’Sullivan, Braun Books, Cedar City, UT

Penguin Group (Adult): April Gorski, Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA

Penguin Group (Adult): Gary Robson, Red Lodge Books, Red Lodge, MT

Penguin Young Readers Group: Kiona Gross, Curious Cup Bookstore, Carpenteria, CA

Perseus/PGW: Linda Sherman-Nurick, Cellar Door Books, Riverside, CA

Random House Adult: Land Arnold, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC

Random House Children’s: Christy McDanold, Secret Garden Books, Seattle, WA

Scholastic: Derek Molitor, Bookbug, Kalamazoo, MI

Simon & Schuster Adult: Linda McLoughlin Figel, Pages: A Bookstore, Manhattan Beach, CA

Simon & Schuster Children’s: Cinda Meister, BookSmart, Morgan Hill, CA

Sourcebooks: Robin Allen, Forever Books, St. Joseph, MI

Workman: Joel Crockett, Four-Eyed Frog Books, Gualala, CA

Additional scholarships, with varying awards, are being provided by the following:

Book Industry Charitable Foundation: Constance Kilgore, Other Tiger, Westerly, RI, and  Ken Manske, Book Look, Stevens Point, WI

CHIRP (Candlewick):  Beth Wagner, Phoenix Books, Essex and Burlington, VT

Joe Drabyak Frontline Fellowship (Workman): Aaron Cance, The King’s English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, UT

Glenn Goldman Booksellers Scholarship (SCIBA): Heather Christman, Warwick’s, La Jolla, CA

Avin Mark Domnitz Scholarship (ABA/ABACUS): Jill Miner, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, MI

Previously announced scholarship winners are:

Wi8 Scholarship Won at Wi7 (ABA):  Emoke B’racz, Malaprop’s Bookstore & Café, Asheville, NC

Black Dog & Leventhal “My Bookstore” Contest: Joan Trygg, The Red Balloon Bookshop, St. Paul,  MN, and an additional staff member;  Sam Kaas, Village Books, Bellingham, WA, and an additional staff member; and Michael Redman, City Lights Bookstore, Sylva, NC, and an additional staff member.

And watch for an announcement of the winner of The Good American scholarship sponsored by Fairway, Kansas’ Rainy Day Books in an upcoming edition.

Wi8, sponsored by the Ingram Content Group, will be held from Saturday, February 23, through Monday, February 25, 2013, at the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center. An opening reception, sponsored by Andrews McMeel Publishing, will kick off the event, on Friday evening, February 22, at Kansas City’s Union Station.

Because there are waiting lists for both Bookseller Event Registration and for the Host Hotel, the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center, registered booksellers who are no longer planning to attend and anyone with hotel reservations that are no longer needed are asked to contact ABA as soon as possible so that those who are waiting can fill their places. People on the waiting lists will be contacted on a first-come, first-served basis when cancellations are received.