2020 Activism Award Winner

SERENA MORALES

Serena Morales is a Kanaka Maoli and Latinx poet and bookseller from the Big Island of Hawai’i. In 2020, Serena was awarded the Independent Bookseller Scholarship from Tin House Summer Workshops. Currently based in Canarsee/Lenape lands (Brooklyn, New York), Serena works at Books Are Magic, where they help to organize events and champion the works of BIPOC authors.

2020 Innovation Award Winner

ROSAURA (CHAWA) MAGAÑA

Inspired by her personal experience as the daughter of Mexican Immigrants, as well as an art instillation/traveling Spanish bookstore titled "Librería Donceles" by artist Pablo Helguera, owner Rosaura (Chawa) Magaña decided to start her bilingual bookstore. She began with only a few books and an idea fueled by passion and ganas. With some help from the community and her determination, Palabras has evolved into a unique community and cultural space with thousands of books, an art gallery, and a workshop/event space.

​Palabras provides the Phoenix community with books in Spanish and English, with an emphasis on diverse cultural representation of authors and social awareness. Palabras is much more than a bookstore. It is a safe and encouraging environment for inter-cultural community exchange, providing the community with opportunities to share literary, visual, and musical art through workshops and events.

2020 Leadership Award Winner

HANNAH OLIVER DEPP

Hannah Oliver Depp is the owner of Loyalty Bookstores in Petworth, DC, and Silver Spring, MD. Loyalty serves all readers as a diverse, intersectional feminist bookstore and programming space. She holds a Masters in English from American University. Oliver Depp is a founding member of the American Bookselling Association Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and serves on the boards of Bookshop.org and the New Atlantic Independent Bookselller’s Assocation. 

Brain Lair Bookstore

KATHY BURNETTE

Kathy M Burnette (Black, she/her) is a school librarian turned bookseller. She owns Brain Lair Books, which specializes in diverse books and discussion.  Brain Lair Books partners with several local organizations to bring authors and illustrators in for visits. This mission-driven bookstore fundraises for local schools and other organizations that support children from underrepresented populations providing free books and supplies to local families.

Program Coordinator, The Word

AIDA LILLY

Originally from Alabama, Aida Lilly moved to Denver, Colorado, in early 2016. She studied English and writing at the University of Montevallo and attended the Publishing Institute at the University of Denver. She holds an MA in Organizational Management with a specialization in Media Management. She previously managed a bookstore and is now an Associate Agent at KT Literary Agency. 

Duende District

ANGELA MARIA SPRING

Angela Maria Spring is the owner of Duende District, a mobile boutique bookstore by and for people of color. She holds an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and is on the board of the American Booksellers Association. You can find her recent poems in PANK, Radar Poetry, and Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and forthcoming in Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, and Pilgrimage. Her essays and reviews are at Catapult, LitHub, and Tor.com. Follow her online at Twitter at @BurquenaBoricua.