The Women’s National Book Association announces the installation of a new chairperson to administer the WNBA Pannell Award (formerly the Lucile Micheels Pannell Award), the award given each year at BookExpoAmerica to two bookstores that have demonstrated excellence in connecting young people and books.
Valerie Tomaselli is the president of MTM Publishing, a New York-based book producing company specializing in reference, nonfiction, and children’s books for the library and trade markets. She has completed a four-year term as president of the New York City chapter of WNBA, and now serves as vice president/president elect of the WNBA’s national board.
Ms. Tomaselli’s other professional affiliations include serving as treasurer of the American Book Producers Association and as a member of the advisory board for the Women’s Media Center.
The Pannell Award was established in 1981 by WNBA, a 93-year-old national organization of women and men who work to promote reading and to support the role of women in the book community. The award was originally named in honor of Lucile Micheels Pannell, a model bookwoman born in the late 1800s, who worked as a librarian, teacher, and manager of Hobby Horse Bookshop in Chicago’s Carson Pirie Scott department store.
The 2010 winners of the award–Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia, and Green Toad Bookstore in Oneonta, New York– were presented at the Children’s Authors Breakfast with a $1,000 check and original framed art by David Diaz and Gianna Marino. The award is underwritten by a generous gift from Penguin Young Readers Group.
