Hachette rep Julie Isgrigg has been named the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association's 2026 Kristin Keith Sales Rep of the Year. She will receive the award at the NVNR awards dinner on August 4 in Baltimore, Md.
 |
|
| Julie Isgrigg | |
Isgrigg wrote, "Technically, I started in books in 1976, but I started getting paid for it in 1999. I began at the Borders corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., where I spent nearly 12 years and where, among other lessons, I learned the most important one that has lasted throughout my career: Book people are the best people. I moved to Charlotte in 2011 to join the team at Baker & Taylor, where I ultimately managed the indie bookstore telephone sales crew and learned so much about indies and how they do business. In 2019, Hachette hired me to serve the territory previously held by 2018 NAIBA Rep of the Year winner Judy DeBerry. In a career that has always been satisfying, I discovered that even more richness awaited.
"I feel most useful when I'm operating as a modern switchboard operator, connecting my stores to my authors, to each other, to my publishers, to the knowledge I've accumulated over my career, and naturally, to books. I also can't overlook my own connections with the colleagues inside and outside of Hachette who bolster me. With each connection, my little heart grows. The work feels sacred. I get to help good people--the best people!--spread more connections all built on books. We know what that can mean in a life. It touches me deeply to be honored in this way by the booksellers--the people I revere--at the stores I've served. Just... thank you."