The Women’s National Book Association has announced the 2017 Pannell Award winners, given 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 the Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colo., in recognition of its adopt-a-reader program, which provides books for children in need, and other community-building initiatives. In the Children’s Specialty Bookstore category, the winner is Children’s Book World in Los Angeles. The Pannell jury cited the store’s commitment to diverse books and their “Readers & Writers Rock!” program, which brings authors to underserved schools.
This year’s winners were chosen by a committee of publishing professionals, including 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 winning stores will each receive a check for $1,000 and a work of original art from a children’s book illustrator. The awards will be presented at BookExpo’s Children’s Book and Author Breakfast.
