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Scholarships & Financial Assistance

Scholarships, Sponsorships, and Rebates

Financial assistance may be available to bookstores to attend events and participate in programs. The book industry is generous one. SIBA often receives grants and funding from publishers, authors, and other institutions in support of bookseller development. Application information is posted when the applications open for each scholarship or grant.

Binc Scholarship to the SIBA Annual Conference

Every year the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) sponsors a scholarship to SIBA's annual conference at New Voices New Rooms 2024 in Arlington, VA, August 8-11. 2024 Applications are open: 

BIPOC Booksellers Development Scholarship

Offered thanks to the generous support of Ingram Content Group, the BIPOC Bookseller Development Scholarship offers four $500 scholarships to booksellers who identify as BIPOC to attend SIBA's annual conference at New Voices New Rooms. SIBA will also include a free full event all pass ticket for each recipient.

Books Across Borders Scholarship

Apply for a fellowship to attend an International Book Fair! The booksellers selected will be treated to customized itineraries at the fair, including specially developed panels, meetings, and receptions with publishers, authors, booksellers, and more. Possible destinations include the Frankfurt International Book Fair, the Guadalajara International Book Fair, the Sharjah International Book Fair, the Bologna International Book Fair, and the Turin International Book Fair.

Carla Gray Scholarship for Emerging Bookseller-Activists

This scholarship and its recipients will celebrate and honor Carla’s boundless enthusiasm for the books themselves, her delight in pairing the right book with the right reader, and her unwavering faith in the bookselling community. The scholarship includes funds to attend Winter Institute and a fall regional trade show. The bookseller will also be granted funding to support a community outreach project of their own design.

CRBB Bookstore Membership Rebate

The Combined Regional Bookstore Banner, or “Banner for Dues,” program offers booksellers free, eternally current membership when they agree to allow SIBA to place a banner on their website. Banners always promote in print books and click through to purchase from your own store website. The program requires a compatible e-commerce platform. Email Candice Huber, Membership Coordinator, at candice@sibaweb.com for more information and to sign up. 

George Keating Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship provides $500 to a bookseller in the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), and New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) for the purpose of professional development. Applications open in April and the scholarship is awarded in June. 

Holiday Catalog Imprint Subsidy

SIBA’s most popular store benefit, the full-color, professionally designed catalog is the centerpiece of SIBA stores’ third and fourth quarter marketing campaigns. Up to 7K catalogs are provided free of charge, with the option to request more. SIBA subsidizes imprinting at $40 per store order. Discount is applied when stores place their catalog orders. Visit RAMP for more information.

Katie Trocheck Abel Award

Honoring Katie Trocheck Abel, the daughter of the beloved Southern author Mary Kay Andrews, and to celebrate the often unheralded acts of kindness that take place all the time in our bookselling world, SIBA will award $500 to a SIBA bookseller who has gone above and beyond in their local community. Applications open in February, winner is announced in July.

Macmillan Booksellers Professional Development Scholarship

he Macmillan scholarship allows eight booksellers from underrepresented groups to attend their region’s independent book association trade show. Each scholarship covers the cost of travel, lodging and meals up to $500. The winners are selected in an identity-hidden review process by a panel of employees from Macmillan and members of the Binc program committee. 

The McCoy Grant for Bookseller Writers

In 2022, New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy established two $1500 grants for unpublished southern bookseller women/nonbinary writers. 

The Nancy Olson Bookseller Award

This award honors the legacy of Nancy Olson, founder of Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC. Nancy was a tireless advocate for writers, especially new writers looking for a chance in the publishing world, and a beloved bookseller and colleague. An anonymous admirer of Nancy’s, in conjunction with SIBA, awards two $2500 gifts to special booksellers in her memory each Spring. All SIBA booksellers—but not owners—are eligible. Applications open in January and are announced in March.

New Voices New Rooms Travel Grants

SIBA offers six $500.00 travel grants for booksellers to attend the annual New Voices New Rooms conference. Applications open with conference registration, and recipients are announced June 1.

Professional Bookseller School Reimbursement

SIBA is a sponsor of Professional Booksellers School (PBS). SIBA member booksellers qualify for a discount on courses when they sign up, and can receive a partial reimbursement from SIBA if they complete a course that counts towards certification: $50 for the Basic Bookselling Course and $125 for all other modules. Booksellers must be employed by a current SIBA member bookstore, and reimbursement will be made to the store, not the individual bookseller. SIBA booksellers can apply for reimbursement here. (requires log in).  Read more about about SIBA and PBS.

SIBA Retiring Board Member Scholarship

Outgoing SIBA Board Members fund a scholarship for a bookseller to attend the annual SIBA Conference, held at New Voices New Rooms 2024 in Arlington, VA, August 8-11. 2024 Applications for the 2024 Jamie Rogers Southern Scholarship are now open.

The Wanda Jewell Scholarship for Bookseller Professional Development

The Wanda Jewell Scholarship (WJS), created in honor of our much-beloved former Executive Director and funded by authors, provides financial support for bookseller professional development through education and networking at in-person SIBA-sponsored events.

 

Scholarship deadlines: