Apply for Scholarship - ILAB Congress Los Angeles February 2018

The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America's Elisabeth Woodburn Fund is proud to give the opportunity to THREE YOUNG ANTIQUARIANS to participate in the 43rd ILAB Congress!

National associations are asked to nominate a young antiquarian of their choice by 31 July 2017 and submit a short CV for the applicant and a brief recommendation by the president of the national association to hq@abaa.org. Please include ILAB Congress Scholarship in the subject line and state why the particular candidate would benefit from participating in the Congress, and how they would enrich their home association and contribute to the event. Having received all applications, the Trustees of the Elisabeth Woodburn Fund will select the three fortunate candidates whose Congress fee and hotel expenses will be covered, leaving only the travel costs to be paid from own sources.

Attending an ILAB congress, meeting and networking with established dealers and join into the collegial atmosphere of the international bookseller community, is a truly unique opportunity!

Three young antiquarian booksellers received a similar scholarship to attend the 2016 ILAB Congress in Budapest:

Gaelle Cambon, nominated by the French dealer’s association SLAM, Anke Timmerman of Quaritch in the UK, nominated by the ABA and Jennifer Johnson from Los Angeles, nominated by the ABA and now heading up the organizing committee of the next ILAB congress. Incidentally, three young women were nominated, very much in line with the developments we have seen in several associations, to support and lobby for women in the trade.

As Gaelle Cambon (Librairie Gambon, France) wrote in October 2016: “This congress allows smaller and larger dealers to meet on an equal level. It’s an opportunity, in a profession where transactions are made relatively quickly, to nurture relationships in a friendly atmosphere. The days when a young woman was greeted with the slightly amused look ‘Ah really? You’re a bookseller?’ are gone... During the farewell dinner in the decorated salon of the Kempinski Hotel, the new President of the League explained his projects to promote our profession and reinforce the collaboration with libraries. With all these initiatives, I feel personally motivated. My sincere thanks go to the Hungarian Booksellers Association to have allowed me to experience very special and formative moments with this generous invitation."

“The opportunity to meet the booksellers whose catalogues I had perused, with whom virtual contact had been established, or who had not yet crossed my path was a very welcome one indeed. What I had not anticipated, however, was their generosity in sharing their experiences, advice and time – a mindset among the established booksellers within ILAB that will undoubtedly also benefit those participating in the ILAB mentorship programme, the inception of which was announced at the Congress. As for the new generation – represented by the other two scholarship holders, Gaëlle Cambon (Librairie Gambon, France) and Jennifer Johnson (The Book Shop, LLC, USA) – our meeting was equally enjoyable and productive, and established contacts that will be maintained for a long time.” Anke Timmermann (Quaritch London)

Jennifer Johnson of The Book Shop LLC, USA:
“Words cannot begin to convey how grateful I am for the opportunity to attend the ILAB Conference. I am grateful for the scholarship and for the hospitality that was shown to me and to all those who attended by Ádám Bősze, chairman of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Hungary. Thank you. It is now my goal to attend many more Congresses in the future, and perhaps to help host a few. I hope to meet you there.”

If you wish to participate in the 43rd ILAB Congress from 3 – 11 February in Los Angeles, please contact Jennifer who has kept to her promise to help hosting a future congress. Together with her team at the ABA, the organizers have already announced highlights of the programme.

For all information and to register, please visit: www.ilab2018.com