Congratulations to Desiree Boardman and Angela Crocombe
We’re delighted that our Hawthorn Shop Manager Desiree Boardman has been nominated for Bookseller of the Year 2022 and that Angela Crocombe our Children’s and YA Specialist has been nominated for Children’s Bookseller of the Year 2022!
Angela Crocombe, nominated for Children’s Bookseller of the Year
Since starting at Readings, Angela has been an advocate for the children’s section and was the founding manager and a driving force behind opening Readings Kids. She saw the value in offering children and their families a dedicated space with specialist booksellers to explore and encourage their love of reading. She has worked tirelessly over the years, and through the lockdowns, to ensure the shop is successful, inclusive, welcoming, and staffed with people who are engaged and passionate about what they do.
In 2017 Angela started the Teen Advisory Board (TAB). Through the TAB, teenagers engage with publishing professionals and learn about career paths. Past TAB members have gone on to submit their manuscripts to agents they met through the board, obtained work in libraries and bookshops. During the pandemic, Angela took the TAB online and was able to open it up to the whole of Australia.
‘Anyone who has ever met Angela knows that her enthusiasm for Children’s and YA literature has no bounds. She is a respected voice within the industry and a go-to resource for media, colleagues, festivals, and shoppers’. - Rosalind McClintock, Marketing Manager.
Crocombe has been shortlisted for this award alongside Danica Beaudoin (Beachside Bookshop), Kasia Janczewski (Where the Wild Things Are Bookshop), Leesa Lambert (The Little Bookroom), Becky Lucas (Shakespeare’s Bookshop), and Pauline McLeod (Riverbend Books).
Desiree Boardman, nominated for Bookseller of the Year
Desi is an exceptional manager; she has built a team at Hawthorn that loves working there. In fact, there are several staff members who have been there for over 20 years, a testament to her ability to encourage and accommodate people. During the lockdowns, she looked after her staff’s needs while balancing the workload of a lockdown shop fulfilling phone orders, kerbside pick-ups, and web orders. Desi seems to find a wonderful balance between looking after her staff and customers while adapting to new technology, trends, and pressures. She does all this with a wry laugh and an open mind.
‘Desiree Boardman is a quiet achiever; she started as a bookseller over 35 years ago at RMIT and became manager of Readings Hawthorn 25 years ago. Under her stewardship Readings Hawthorn has grown from a small suburban bookshop to one of Australia’s most respected homes to readers and authors. Desi has never sought to promote herself and has encouraged her shop and her staff to shine. People like Desi are the backbone of industry and often don’t receive the recognition they deserve.’ - Mark Rubbo, Managing Director
Boardman has been shortlisted for this award alongside Robert Albazi (Paperback Bookshop), Kimaya Charlton (Where the Wild Things Are), Taraneh Houshyar (Iwan Bookshop), Eleni James (Neighbourhood Books), and Michaela Walsh (Avid Reader).
