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| Miesha Headen | |
Miesha Headen of Loganberry Books, Shaker Heights, Ohio, won the Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists, which was created to honor the executive marketing director at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt who passed away suddenly in May 2017. The award is presented by the Friends of Carla Gray Committee and the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. A committee that included representatives from across the book industry selected this year's recipient.
Commenting on the pool of applicants and proposed community projects, Carla Gray committee member Jenna Johnson said, "It was such an honor to consider the applications submitted. With real creativity, thoughtfulness and generosity, they showed booksellers selflessly committing themselves to giving each and every person in their communities access to books. We were moved by Miesha's project aiming to amplify a range of voices and reach across audiences in her community. It means so much to us that this good work will continue, in part, in Carla's name."
Headen will use the grant to support her work organizing Loganberry's People of Color Author Showcase, which is held in collaboration with the Great Lakes African American Writers' Conference and Cleveland Book Week. Among her goals for the program are to increase readership for diverse literature and to provide a platform for diverse authors in the literary community of Cleveland.
"I am proud to be this year's recipient of the Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists," she said. "I have a passion for literature that explores a unique place, enriching the understanding of outsiders. I am grateful to Binc for providing me and Loganberry Books the support to continue our community outreach to writers of color in Ohio who deep dive into our midwestern culture. We believe that giving these writers a platform for their literary art will attract existing readers and draw in new ones.”
As part of the scholarship, Headen has also been awarded funds to attend Winter Institute in January and the Heartland Fall Forum.
"The Binc Foundation is honored to commemorate Carla's legacy and her passion for literature with this scholarship," said Binc executive director Pam French. "It is a privilege to participate in continuing Carla's legacy by providing a wonderful opportunity to a bookseller so they can have an even bigger impact on their community and further their own professional development."