German Bookseller Named Winner of 2020 Fellowship for Winter Institute

The Frankfurt Book Fair New York has named Florian Valerius, store manager of German bookstore Stephanus Bücher, as the winner of next year’s Fellowship for Winter Institute, established by Bookselling Without Borders. This award provides Valerius with a trip to the United States to attend the American Booksellers Association’s 15th annual Winter Institute in Baltimore.

Valerius is the store manager at Stephanus Bücher, the oldest bookstore in Trier, Germany, where he apprenticed for two years (2004-2006) before joining as a full-time bookseller and now manager. Valerius is the winner of the 2017 Buchblog-Awards, was the official blogger for the Deutscher Buchpreis (German Book Prize) in 2018, and his Instagram account @literarischernerd came in second for the "Goldene Blogger" Best Instagram Account. Valerius is currently a jury member for the 2019 deutscher Verlagpreis (German Publishers Award), has recently won the Börsenblatt’s 2019 "Young Excellence Award,” and will publish his first co-authored book Leseglück: 99 Bücher, die gute Laune Machen (Reading Bliss: 99 Books That Brighten Your Mood).

This award is a collaboration between Verlegertage (a collection of German publishers), the Frankfurter Buchmesse, and Bookselling Without Borders. Founded in 2016, Bookselling Without Borders is a collaboration of U.S. publishers Catapult, Chicago University Press, Europa Editions, Graywolf Press, Grove Atlantic, Melville House, Milkweed Editions, Other Press, Princeton University Press, Rutgers University Press, Seagull Books, Seven Stories Press, and Shambhala Publications.