The Women’s National Book Association has announced the winners of its 2019 Pannell Awards, which are presented annually to two bookstores that enhance their communities by fostering a love of reading. The award is co-sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group.
The winner in the General Bookstore category is 57th Street Books in Chicago. The award jury cited the store’s “exceptional passion and creativity.”
The winner in the Children’s Specialty Bookstore category is Hicklebee’s Bookstore in San Jose, Calif., which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month. The Pannell jury described Hicklebee’s as “the gold standard for children’s bookselling and an extraordinary place that outdoes itself every year.”
This year’s winners were chosen by a committee of publishing professionals, including Amanda Barillas, field sales children’s specialist at Macmillan; Brenda Bowen, literary agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates; Bernette Ford, founder of Color-Bridge Books; Emily Romero, senior v-p of marketing at Penguin Young Readers; and Phoebe W. Yeh, v-p and publisher at Crown Books for Young Readers.
The winning stores will each receive a check for $1,000 and a signed work of original art from a children’s book illustrator. The awards will be presented at the BookExpo Children’s Book and Author Breakfast on May 31 in New York City.
