​WINNERS OF MIDWEST BOOKSELLERS CHOICE AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Independent booksellers celebrate favorite books with ties to the Midwest
 
Independent booksellers across the Midwest selected the following titles as the winners of the 2017 Midwest Booksellers Choice Awards, a program hosted by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association.

• Fiction: Wintering, Peter Geye (​Knopf/Penguin Random House)
• Nonfiction: The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan (​W.W. Norton)
• Poetry: How to Be an Indian in the 21st Century, Louis V. Clark III (​Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
• Young Adult and Middle Grade: Kelly Barnhill, The Girl Who Drank the Moon (Algonquin Young Readers)
• Children's Picture Book: One North Star, Phyllis Root, Betsy Bowen, and Beckie Prange, (University of Minnesota Press)

 
These awards reflect the knowledge and passion of independent booksellers, who personally get behind the books they love. The books are “I’m always proud of our awards program,” says Carrie Obry, director of MIBA, “because it celebrates the power and influence of the collective voice of independent booksellers.” The authors will be recognized at an awards ceremony in October at the Heartland Fall Forum, a trade show for the publishing industry.
 
Each April, publishers nominate titles eligible for the award. In May, booksellers narrow the field in a first round of nominations, then in June, vote on the three finalists in each genre to determine the winners. Eligible books must be published between May of the previous year and April of the current year, and must have a connection to the region either in the content of the book or via the author’s hometown or residence. 
 
For a complete list of finalists and previous winners, visit our website. 
 
About the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association: We are a regional nonprofit trade association established in 1981 to promote retail bookselling and support independent booksellers throughout our region. Our members include locally owned and operated independent bookstores; book publishers, distributors, reps, and vendors who do business with our bookstores; and other individuals and businesses allied to the book industry, such as media, librarians, and teachers. With over 225 members, including nearly 150 bookstores, we represent stores in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Paperbacks and Pieces Bookstore, Winona's oldest and largest bookstore since 1977, is available for purchase. The store is still operating business as usual. If you have a serious interest in purchasing this hometown community bookstore, please send an email to pbpieces@hbci.com with "Bookstore Purchase" in the subject line.



Some highlights:

• FORTY years in business.
• 4,000+ customer base

Inventory including but not limited to:

• 35,000+ books (new and used)
• Bookmarks, candles, book lights, bags, greeting cards
• Racks, spinners, counters, bookshelves, baskets, furniture, tables, counters, kids play area with tons of toys, seasonal items including decorations, computers (2)
• Bookstore software
• Bookstore jingle
• Safe and community focused gathering place
• ......and SO much more.
• Bookstore only. Sale does not include the building.

Answers to FAQ's:

• Yes, it is true, your local community bookstore Paperbacks and Pieces is for sale.
• Shelley is fine and is very excited and looking forward to starting a new chapter in her life.
• It has been 20 years (Shelley owned) and 40 years in business.
• Now is the perfect time to own an indie bookstore. CBS recently reported that there is a big boom in independent bookstore sales and services and indie bookstores are making a huge comeback.
• All the pieces are in place and ready for the next owner(s) to take it to the next level.

Bookends on Main, a new and used bookstore in Menomonie, WI, is for sale. The store's current owner, Susan Thurin, is looking to retire, but knows that the city is supportive of an independent bookstore and would like to see the business continue. 

Menomonie is located on the western side of Wisconsin between Eau Claire and the Twin Cities, and is home to the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus. The city's population was 16,264 as of the 2010 census, with an additional student population of nearly 10,000. A new hotel kitty-corner from the bookstore's current location is opening in the fall, showing the city's commitment to a rejuvenated downtown area. Do note that the store's current location is rented, however, and is not part of the sale.

Bookstore features included in the sale:

• new and used book inventory
• non-book merchandise
• shelving and fixtures
• POS system
• office equipment
• other miscellanous related items

Asking price is $74,059

Interested buyers may call 715-233-6252 or email  info@bookendsonmain.com for an appointment to discuss full details.

On April 29, we posed a Bookstore Day challenge to readers in the Twin Cities area. 

• Visit 5 bookstores and get a Twin Cities indie bookstore poster created by the artist Kevin Cannon
• Visit 10 bookstores and be entered to win one of 20 prize literary
• Visit all 18 bookstores and be entered to win one grand prize literary pack

The results are fantastic!

• 25 people visited all 18 stores
• 108 people visited at least 10 stores
• How many people visited at least 5 stores? We don't know this figure for sure, but we can say that 530 posters were given out into the world, so between booksellers and customers, that's a lot of bookstore love!

Thank you!! We will be shipping the prize packs to you within the next week. (For a reminder of what's in the prize packs, visit our website.)

1 grand prize literary pack

1. Chelsea Bearfoot, St Paul MN

20 first prize literary packs
The names below set in bold also visited all 18 stores, but weren't selected randomly for the grand prize pack.

1. Madeson Brown, Minneapolis MN
2. Debra J. Hobbs, New Hope MN
3. Shawna Traver, Roseville MN
4. Linda Langham, Brooklyn Center MN
5. Nicole Starr, St Paul MN
6. Ashley Olson, Minneapolis MN
7. Jen Pierce, Minneapolis MN
8. Erin Carter, Roseville MN
9. Christopher Moon, Minneapolis MN
10. Mohamad Salat, Minneapolis MN
11. Melissa Zierden, St Paul MN
12. Linda White, Maplewood MN
13. Sarah Waller, Minneapolis MN
14. Micah Dalluge, Burnsville MN
15. Lonnie M. Ebertowski, Minneapolis MN
16. Andrea Porter-Smith, Minneapolis MN
17. Dennis Sylte, River Falls WI
18. Scott Mulinix, St Paul MN
19. Margie Wherritt, Rochester MN 
20. Susan Koefod, West St Paul, MN

A​“Find Waldo Local celebrates the uniqueness, fun, and strength of community. Search for Waldo, support your neighbors, sell lots of books, and have a great time putting the spotlight on local and indie!”
​— Becky Anderson, former president of the American Booksellers Association and owner of Anderson’s Bookshop

For five summers running, American Booksellers Association member bookstores have rolled out Shop Local campaigns in their towns using Waldo as their Local First ambassador. Since 2012, more than twelve thousand local merchants have participated in Find Waldo Local, from Annapolis to Asheville, Sarasota to Santa Cruz, and Woodstock to Wichita. Candlewick extends a huge thank-you to the 475+ indie bookstores that have enlivened their Main Streets  with Waldo scavenger hunts in downtowns across America.

And now, by popular demand, Candlewick and the American Booksellers Association are bringing Find Waldo Local back for a sixth year to coincide with Waldo’s thirtieth anniversary.
Announcing FIND WALDO LOCAL 2017 — bigger and better than ever!

• New Character Search: In July, Waldo seekers will have their eyes peeled for Waldo’s friend Wenda (in addition to Waldo, of course). Wenda’s lost somewhere in your store. Where can she be?
• New Minimum Order Quantity: In celebration of Waldo’s thirtieth, the minimum required supporting order of Waldo books is . . . you guessed it, thirty.
• New and Improved Swag: For Waldo’s anniversary, we’ll be sending host bookstores the following drool-worthy items (in addition to our usual collateral): a forty-inch-tall Waldo standee perfect for photo ops with kids, full-color decorative bunting to hang in your store window, a pack of one hundred sticker sheets to spice up your party activities, and a special edition Waldo thirtieth anniversary tote bag. 

To learn more about it, download the informational PDF. To sign up, visit ABA's website. All participants must be current ABA members.

The Midwest Independent Booksellers Association is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the success of independent bookstores throughout the Midwest. Our winter catalog is a unique marketing piece we produce for independent bookstores every year. Working with publishers, MIBA fills the catalog with nearly 100 titles excellent for giving as gifts. Bookstores customize and distribute the catalog to their customers via direct mail and other methods to encourage holiday shopping at their stores. We have an opportunity for a skilled designer to work closely with us on this project.

Overview

• Concept and design: Working with MIBA's director, conceive of design direction and present unique cover options.   
• Interior and layout: Using InDesign, create a practical, beautiful interior that reflects the cover design. Lay out book jackets and copy, ensuring the interior meets printer specs. 
• Customization: Our stores customize the inside and outside cover, resulting in up to 80 unique files the designer must create and send to stores for approval, ensuring each file meets printer specs. Must be able to create/manage multiple unique versions for in-store, direct mail, and newspaper insert distribution. 
• Work with printer: Work with our corporate printer to ensure all files are created to spec.

Desired skills: Impeccable design skills; thorough knowledge of Adobe creative suite; experience with catalog design exterior and interior; knowledge of direct mail is a big plus, as is experience working with a corporate printer.

Catalog Specs

• 24 pages
• 6 x 10.5 inches
• Contains roughly 100 titles and front/backmatter
• Project involves maintaining the main catalog interior as well as up to 80 unique files of stores' custom versions 

​Schedule

• March – Present cover design
• April/May – Finalize cover design
• June – Work on the interior design
• July – Lay out the titles and copy
• August – Work with stores to customize
• September – Finalize files and work with the printer to approve

Browse previous catalogs

• 2016
• 2015
• 2014​

​​To apply for this position, please email your cover letter, resume, and links to design samples to Carrie Obry at carrie@midwestbooksellers.org. This position will remain posted until it is filled. Hourly rate or flat fee will be negotiated. 

Congratulations to Heartland 2016 scholarship winners! The booksellers listed below will receive a $400 scholarship to defray their lodging travel expenses and help contribute to a well-attended and successful show. 

Booksellers praise the show in their scholarship applications. Kathleen Angelone from Bookmamas in Indianapolis, IN, said, "the interaction with other booksellers and book professionals stokes my enthusiasm. Every year, I am reminded why I love being an independent bookstore owner. I return to Indianapolis re-excited by the world of the written word."

Thank you to the following publishers and people for generously donating to our scholarship fund. Since the founding of Heartland, we've made it our goal to maintain a generous scholarship fund to help two regions of bookseller more easily travel to the show. It's your help that makes this a reality! Thank you!

​HarperCollins, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Scholastic, Macmillan, BINC, Roy & Judi Schonfeld, and the GLIBA Karl Pohrt scholarship fund

The winners are...
​
Gillette L Kempf, An Open Book, Wadena, MN
John Christensen, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI 
Melanie Green, Bluebird Books, Hutchinson KY
April Gorski, Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA
Joanna Parzakonis, Bookbug Kalamazoo, MI
Kathleen Angelone, Bookmamas  Indianapolis, IN
Chris Fairchild, Bookshelf, Batesville, IN, 
​Mary Gehring, Bookshelf, Batesville, IN
Kate Weiss, Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, KY
Nadine Melahn, CoffeeTree Books, Morehead, KY
Ethan Hill, Craft Port Washington, WI
Kate Rattenborg, Dragonfly Books, Decorah IA
Leslie Huerta, Francie & Finch Bookshop, Lincoln, NE
Shirley Mullin, Kids Ink Indianapolis, IN
Tamzin Malone, Main Street Books, Lafayette, IN
Joanne Berg, Mystery to Me - Madison, WI
Kathy Magruder, Pageturners Bookstore, Indianola, IA
Shelley Olsen, Paperbacks and Pieces, Winona, MN
Jill Miner, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, MI
Dana Schulz, Snowbound Books Marquette, MI
Beverly Bartczak, The Fine Print, OH
Connie Reece, The Windowsill, Ludington, MI
Nathan Montoya, Village Lights Bookstore, IN
Sean FitzGerald, Village Lights Bookstore, Madison, IN
Rebecca George, Volumes Bookcafe, Chicago, IL

If you have questions about our scholarship program, please contact Deb Leonard at deb@gliba.org.

The Boards of Directors of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association take great pleasure in announcing that the Wendell Berry is the recipient of the 2016 Voice of the Heartland Award.

This award is given in recognition of a life of dedication and service to independent bookselling, and there are few writers in our region who fully embody this dedication more than Wendell Berry.  His body of work encompasses more than 50 volumes of essays, poems, and fiction, all with an eye to celebrating the local and the Independent--two values that are very dear to the hearts of our members, and central to our mission as independent booksellers.

His writing is inspired by the landscape of the Heartland, both the natural world and the people who live there. As a promoter of Localism long before the term existed, Mr. Berry has championed the both the spirit of independent bookselling and publishing.

Mr. Berry’s national honors include the National Humanities Medal, a Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities at the Kennedy Center, a Stegner Fellowship, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and in 2013 The Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, among many, many others.

​The Voice of the Heartland Award will be presented to Mr. Berry at the Book Awards Dinner at the Heartland Fall Forum on Wednesday, October 5 at 7:00 pm at The Depot in Minneapolis, MN.