The Women’s National Book Association has announced the nominees for its 2017 WNBA Pannell Award, given annually to two bookstores—one general bookstore and one children’s specialty store—that enhance their communities by fostering a love of reading. The award is co-sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group.
The nominees in the General Bookstore category are: Bluebird Books in Hutchinson, Kans.; Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Tex.; Books Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif.; Byrd’s Books in Bethel, Conn.; Eagle Harbor Book Company in Bainbridge Island, Wash.; Gene’s Books in Sanibel, Fla.; Harleysville Books in Harleysville, Pa.; Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Ky.; Laurel Bookstore in Oakland, Calif.; Longfellow Books in Portland, Maine; Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, N.C.; Napa Bookmine in Napa, Calif.; Odyssey Bookshop in Hadley, Mass.; Sandmeyer’s Bookstore in Chicago, Ill.; The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colo.; The Conundrum in St. Francisville, La.; Volumes Bookcafe in Chicago, Ill.; and Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif.
The nominees in the Children’s Specialty Bookstore category are: Bank Street Book Store in New York, N.Y.; Blue Bunny Books and Toys in Dedham, Mass.; Blue Manatee Children’s Bookstore in Cincinnati, Ohio; Books of Wonder in New York, N.Y.; Children’s Book World in Haverford, Pa.; Children’s Book World in Los Angeles, Calif.; Cover to Cover in Columbus, Ohio; Green Bean Books in Portland, Ore.; Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park, Ill.; Monkey See, Monkey Do…Children’s Bookstore in Clarence, N.Y.; Once Upon a Storybook in Tustin, Calif.; Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn.; Second Star To The Right in Denver, Colo.; Spellbound Children’s Bookshop in Asheville, N.C.; Stories in Brooklyn, N.Y.; The Children’s Bookstore in Baltimore, Md.; The Curious Reader in Glen Rock, N.J.; The French Library in New Orleans, La.; and The Reading Bug in San Carlos, Calif.
This year’s jurors are Susan Katz Radin, publisher emeritus at HarperCollins Children’s Books; Josalyn Moran, children’s publishing consultant; Emily Romero, senior v-p of marketing at Penguin Young Readers; Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of the Horn Book; and Lisa Von Drasek, curator of Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota.
The winners will be announced in early May, with a presentation to follow at BookExpo during the Children’s Book & Author Breakfast. Each of the two winning stores will receive a $1,000 check and a signed original piece of artwork by a children’s illustrator.
