WNDB is proud to announce that Sara Luce Look is the winner of the 2017 Bookseller of the Year Award.

Look is the co-owner of Charis Books & More in Atlanta, a position she has held since 1997. She also works as the store's general manager and head book buyer.

In her nomination letter, E.R. Anderson, the executive director of Charis Circle, the bookstore’s nonprofit programming arm, said: “Sara has created hands down the most diverse children’s and YA section in the South for more than 23 years. She is passionately devoted to building a better world through books and she does her research, making sure that each book on the shelf is not tokenizing a group or identity but deeply reflective of that group or culture’s true lived experience. Charis Books was one of the first bookstores to have an LGBTQ kids’ section (in the ’80s), and has always had books for kids with disabilities, books for kids with parents in jail, and books for kids who are raised by a grandparent or foster parent or two dads or a single mom.”

We look forward to honoring Sara Luce Look at our third annual Walter Dean Myers Awards ceremony at the Library of Congress, where we will formally present her with her award. Additionally Look will receive a $500 cash prize, and Charis Books & More will host an event with one or more contributors to Flying Lessons and Other Stories(Crown), which was edited by WNDB co-founder Ellen Oh.