An adventure of epic proportions ... 

I moved to Austin (and started work at BookPeople) about eight months ago, at the end of summer. I packed all my stuff into a U-Haul trailer, hooked it up to my wheezy Mazda Tribute, and drove west -- as symbolic and emotional a road trip as any such exodus. I left my home state, my parents, and my bookstore for an adventure of (so far) epic proportions.

... to celebrate my new life in the West.

The two days driving across the country were incredible. From Charlotte, NC, I drove through South Carolina and Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. We stopped in Clinton, MS, just outside of Jackson, and ate Applebees chicken tenders and macaroni in our hotel room before waking up to do it all over again. I crossed the Mississippi River and held up my phone in an ill-advised attempt to get a video to send to my dad. It was just steady enough-he could see the whole river as I drove across the bridge. In Louisiana I smelled marshland through my open window. Crossing into Texas I stopped at the first Whataburger sign I saw, to celebrate my new life In the West.

When I called my grandmother, she asked me what I thought of Austin. "It's amazing," I said. "The trees are shorter than I expected. But I love the sky." She grew up in Kansas. She knows a thing or two about big sky. "Enjoy it," she told me.

Exceptional books that truly understand
what it is to live in the West ... 

This year I was on the children's reading committee for the Reading the West Book Awards, given by the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association. I received 25 titles, and over the course of several months I read kids' and YA books of all shapes and sizes. The idea of the award is to find exceptional books that truly understand what it is to live In The West -- books that encompass that je ne sais quois I felt as soon as I crossed the great wide river.

... the stories were as varied and magical
as the West itself.

I read about a 17-year-old boy from Arizona recruited by the US Army to fly reconnaissance drones, his only resume his high scores on an arcade game. I read about a young woman's first questioning of her sexuality and the ramifications of living in a small, conservative town. I read a whimsical, charming story of a ranch owner avoiding a wedding and the hijinks that ensue. The stories were as varied and magical as the West itself, and they served as a stunning introduction to my new home.

An experience so unique you have to share it with someone you love.

Reading so many titles one after the other felt a little like my road trip out to Austin. Some books were like long stretches on an empty highway, beautiful and captivating at 75 miles an hour. Some books were like macaroni and cheese on a hotel duvet, a little comfort when the homesickness hits. And a few books were like crossing the Mississippi River -- an experience so special that you have to slow down, so unique you have to share it with someone you love.

-From BookPeople's Blog, April 8, 2015    

View the 2014 Shortlist Selections.  

Click here.

Promote the Shortlist in Your Bookstore.  

MPIBA has posted a Reading the West 2014 Shortlist Flyer that booksellers can use in displays or as a store handout. Click here to visit the web page; at the top of the page is a link to download a high resolution, letter-sized flyer that is suitable for printing.

Nominate a Book for Reading the West 2015.

Click here to access the online Reading the West Nomination Form. To be eligible, the book must have been published for the first time in calendar year 2015 and must be set in the MPIBA region or evoke the spirit of the region. The author's place of residence is immaterial for this award.  

For books nominated by other than a publisher, MPIBA will contact the publisher to determine participation, fee payment, and committee review.   

In a striking move, on July 1, Len Vlahos, executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, and his wife, Kristen Gilligan, are joining the senior management staff of the Tattered Cover in Denver, Colo., and on July 1, 2017, will acquire a controlling interest in the famed bookstore. At that point, longtime Tattered Cover owner Joyce Meskis will retire and be available as needed.

Vlahos, who is resigning from BISG effective June 12, worked for the American Booksellers Association for 20 years and was chief operating officer when he joined BISG in 2011. He has been a bookseller in independent, university and chain stores, and is the author of the YA novel THE SCAR BOYS and its forthcoming sequel, SCAR GIRL. He just signed a two-book deal with Bloomsbury.

Gilligan worked for 10 years at the ABA, last serving as director of meetings and events. She was earlier a bookseller and bookstore manager and currently works on special projects for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) and had worked for the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

"Their energy, passion ... ensures my confidence in the longevity of the Tattered Cover ..." 

"Len and Kristen are exceptionally well-qualified and well-suited to guide the Tattered Cover through the opportunities and challenges of the future," Meskis said. "Their energy, passion, philosophical faith in the importance of the role bookselling plays in the community and solid commitment to the strength of its future, ensures my confidence in the longevity of the Tattered Cover in their hands."

"Clearly (we) believe enough in indies and their future that we're putting it all on the line."

"We're both over the moon and very humbled and have some nervousness," Vlahos told Shelf Awareness. "Clearly Kristen and I believe enough in indies and their future that we're investing in the Tattered Cover, moving cross country and putting it all on the line."

"I have retail in my blood."  

He called the move a dream come true, saying that he and Gilligan had talked for a long time about becoming booksellers again. Vlahos noted that after he left ABA, he missed bookselling. "I have retail in my blood."

Vlahos and Gilligan had been talking with Meskis "for a while.... I've known Joyce for more than 20 years. I think she was president when I joined. Over the course of these conversations, as impressed as I was knowing her casually, now I'm 10 times as impressed with all she and her staff and team have done."

Next month, Vlahos and Gilligan will go to Denver for a week to house hunt as well as help pack up and unpack for the move of Tattered Cover's Highlands Ranch store. "It'll be a good chance to meet a lot of staff," he said.

Winter Institute will make for a homecoming ...

Vlahos said that he and Gilligan are "very excited" that the next ABA Winter Institute will be held in early 2016 in Denver, which will make for a homecoming of sorts: for the first six years of its existence, as ABA staff, the pair were deeply involved in running the Winter Institute.

"There's a magic ... in seeing the right book
find its way to the right customer." 

For her part, Gilligan said, "I've experienced first hand how the profession of bookselling changes lives. There's a magic and a magnetism in seeing the right book find its way to the right customer. I am thrilled beyond belief that I will have the opportunity to help Tattered Cover continue and grow its great tradition of bookselling in Denver."

- Click here to read the full article in Shelf Awareness, March 27, 2015