Applications are now open for the eighth annual Carla Gray Memorial Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists, which was created in honor of the executive marketing director at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt who died suddenly in May 2017. Applications will be accepted through September 20. Eligibility requirements and the application can be found here.
The winning bookseller will be awarded a year-long scholarship for professional development, which includes travel and hotel to attend Winter Institute 2027; travel and hotel to attend their 2027 regional fall trade show; and a $2,000 stipend to fund a community outreach project. The goal of the community outreach project is to find new readers and ensure access to books that improve readers' lives while integrating bookstores even more fully into their communities. In recognition of rising costs, the travel and hotel allowances have increased, and the project stipend has doubled.
Presented by the Friends of Carla Gray Committee and the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc), the scholarship is intended to help a bookseller with at least one but fewer than 10 years of experience connect with other booksellers, publishers, and authors as well as establish the long-term relationships needed to keep the book industry thriving.
Binc executive director Pam French said: "Binc is honored to support booksellers through this professional development opportunity that celebrates Carla’s legacy and her enthusiasm for bookstores and their communities. We look forward to meeting the winner at Winter Institute and learning more about their outreach project."