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WNBA Announces Winners of 2008 Pannell
Award
The Women’s National Book Association is proud
to announce the winners of this year’s Lucile
Micheels Pannell Award given annually since
1983 to two bookstores that excel in
contributing to their communities in ways that
bring books and young people
together. The winner in
the General Bookstore category is Kepler’s
Books and Magazines in
Menlo Park
,
CA
; the winner in the Children’s Specialty Store
category is The Flying Pig Bookstore
in
Shelburne
,
VT.
Honorable Mention is awarded to Vero Beach Book
Center in Vero Beach, Fl.
A jury of five book industry professionals
deliberated for four weeks, then selected the
winners based on creativity, responsiveness to
community needs and an understanding of young
readers. Jurors noted
that the staff at Kepler’s has done “an amazing
job resurrecting a store that was on the verge
of closing just three years
ago.”
With initiatives like their African
Library Project, they are raising
awareness of books for young people, not
just in their community, but in parts of
the world where children do not have
books of their own.
The Flying Pig Bookstore “is more than a
bookstore” in that the owners—Elizabeth
Bluemle and Josie Leavitt—“have created a
place that gives back to everyone who
wants to be part of the book community;”
as well as sharing their knowledge and
experience with other booksellers at
national and regional organizations, such
as the New England Children’s Booksellers
Assn. and NEBA/NEIBA. The
jury admired the creative programming
at
Vero Beach
Book
Center
, like the Coral Reef which was designed in a
way that customers young and old could learn
while being entertained.
In addition to WNBA, the Pannell Award is
underwritten by a generous gift from Penguin
Young Readers Group. Each winner
will receive a check for $1000 and a framed
piece of original art by a children’s book
illustrator. This year’s
art was contributed by Janet Stevens, an
award-winning illustrator of many books
including her latest, Help Me, Mr.
Mutt!; and Chris Van Dusen, illustrator of
the bestselling Mercy Watson
Series by Kate Dicamillo, including this
summer’s Mercy Watson
Thinks Like a Pig. The
presentation of the awards will be at the
“Celebration of Bookselling” at BEA on May
29th in
Los Angeles
.
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The Women’s National Book Association, founded
in 1917, is a national organization of women
and men who work with and value
books. WNBA, an
all-volunteer organization, exists to promote
reading and to support the role of women in the
book community. To learn more
about WNBA or the Pannell Award, visit
www.wnba-books.org.
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