Diverse Voices Fellowship Awardees Announced!

Now in our sixth year of programming, the Diverse Voices Fellowship (DVF) empowers aspiring and practicing booksellers with essential skills to build professional relationships, deepen knowledge of bookselling and enter the rare, used and antiquarian book trade. We're delighted to announce that three Fellows have been awarded fellowships in 2026. Fellows were selected through a competitive review process which responded to stated applicant interests and goals for developing skills related to antiquarian bookselling and cultural heritage.

This year's Diverse Voices Fellowship Awardees are:

Doug Guevara, co-founder and owner of W. Whitman books

Marya McQuirter, PhD, a collector, curator, researcher and writer

M L Mutrux, a writer and contributor to Red Salmon Arts and Casa de Resistencia Bookstore

These brief bios lightly touch on the Fellow's interests and accomplishments; please visit the ABSF Fellows page to learn more details regarding their projects and fellowship interests.

The DVF was created for people who may experience isolation and distance from participating book careers by reasons of race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, or income. The Diverse Voices Fellowship offers holistic and inclusive approaches to bookselling. We emphasize the vitality of a diverse book trade by foregrounding underrepresented scholarship and materials. The Fellowship promotes and advances diverse and innovative practices in cataloging, presenting, and creating rare and used book audiences. Now in its sixth year, the fellowship has graduated nineteenFellows to date.

This year, Fellows will attend the Antiquarian Book Seminar (CABS-MN) along with the DVF Field School, taking place in late summer in the Bay Area. We'll visit booksellers, archives, and collections in San Francisco and the East Bay, guided by Field School Faculty Alexander Akin, a partner at Bolerium Books who previously served as ABAA President. The 2026 Fellow cohort kicks off our new DVF Mentorship program, pairing Fellows with specialist colleague-Mentors to provide individualized project support and professional training.

In addition to our enthusiasm in announcing the current fellowship awardees, ABSF is pleased to announce that the next opportunity to apply to the Diverse Voices Fellowship is just around the corner. We'll announce the opening of the application for the fall 2026-summer 2027 DVF program in August 2026 and look forward to receiving applicants for our 50th Anniversary Cohort!