Boulder Book Store is celebrating after being named the 2018 Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year. The national honor is decided by a panel of judges in the publishing industry, and according to Publishers Weekly, Boulder Book Store has been a pioneer in many industry initiatives.
“We were basically dancing around the office when we found out we won,” Marketing and Promotions Manager at Boulder Book Store Stephanie Schindhelm said.
According to Schindhelm, one way the bookstore stood out from the rest is its innovation. Boulder Book Store was the first in the country to work with the online catalog system Edelweiss.
In the presentation the staff submitted to the judges, they included quotes from local partners.
“That really had a big impact on why we won. Just showing how we work with our community and how we are so lucky to be in Boulder, in a place that supports shopping locally,” Schindhelm said.
Although a single bookstore can't win the award more than once, Schindhelm thinks the honor will have a lasting impact on the business.
“All the publishers are aware of this, so now pretty much everyone in publishing knows who we are,” she said. “So this is sort of our opportunity to meet with them and say, ‘hey we’re Bookstore of the Year, send us some big authors.’”
The Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year Award has been given each year for the past 25 years, and the awards will be presented at BookExpo in New York City in May.
