BOOKS ACROSS BORDERS

Connecting booksellers to the international book world

Applications open now

Congratulations to the 2023 Books Across Borders 2023 fellows!

Frankfurt

Gaudalajara

  • Noelle Santos, owner, manager, buyer at The Lit. Bar, Bronx, New York - NAIBA fellow

  • Beatriz Quiroz Garcia, bookseller at Skylight Books, Los Feliz, CA

  • Syrena Arevalo, owner of Barrio Books in Tucson, AZ

Every year, the book industry gathers at international book fairs the world over. But one essential figure has been largely excluded from these gatherings:
the bookseller.

Books Across Borders is changing that.

We provide fellowships to international book fairs and overseas bookstore residencies for booksellers.

Books Across Borders works to connect booksellers to the international book world. We focus on international literature, and the role booksellers play in promoting it.

Founded in 2016 and incorporated as a nonprofit in 2020, BAB curates a monthly newsletter, co-produces the Globally Lit podcast, organizes book buzzes and virtual events between indie presses and booksellers, and builds relationships across the international book industry. We’re assembling and maintaining a directory of key international contacts and a database of resources that aims to support the efforts of all booksellers to bring more readers to international and diverse books.

Prior to the start of the pandemic, BAB awarded fellowships and residencies to booksellers to attend international book fairs, where they met with publishers, editors, authors, agents, and other publishing professionals; connected with booksellers and with bookseller trade associations from around the world; spoke on and attended panels; and visited local bookstores, distributors, cultural agencies, and literary arts organizations. Booksellers returned better connected, better informed, more aware of the international book panorama, and better equipped to put international and diverse literatures into the hands of readers.

We hope that you’ll support and engage with our efforts.