Forty-five-year-old Boulder Book Store in Boulder, Colo., was named the 2018 PW Bookstore of the Year by a panel of industry judges. The bookstore has been a pioneer in a number of industry initiatives. It was, for example, the first store to buy on Edelweiss and one of the pioneers in setting up consignment sections dedicated to specific publishers.
Bookstore owner David Bolduc, who founded the bookstore in 1973, was also the cofounder of the country's first local first organization, the Boulder Independent Business Alliance. He cofounded the Boulder County Farmers' Market as well. "David has been a leader in many facets of our community," said Sean Maher, CEO of the Downtown Boulder Partnership, adding that the bookstore is "an absolute landmark. And we are thrilled that they are part of our community."
John Mesjak, who joined Abraham Associates in 2007, was named PW Rep of the Year one decade after Roy Schonfeld, his colleague at the Midwest-based rep group, received that honor. Before joining Abraham Associates, Mesjak represented Publishers Group West.
In her nominating letter, Kris Kleindienst, co-owner of Left Bank Books in St. Louis, wrote: "John has consistently set the standard that all reps should aspire to. He sweats every detail, whether it's sorting out a shipping confusion, or making sure the right bookstores know about the right books, or letting a publisher know that the cover they have in mind is in need of help. In the publishing and bookselling world, he is all in."
Look for in-depth interviews with the 2018 award-winners in the May 14 pre-BookExpo issue of Publishers Weekly.
