Kristin Keith Award for Sales Rep of the Year

Michael Gourley is the 2023  Sales Rep of the Year

Michael Gourley has been with Chesapeake & Hudson, Inc. since its inception as the New York City and Metropolitan Area rep calling on key accounts, museum stores, and independently owned bookstores. Previously he was head buyer at Book Dynamics, a wholesaler in New York City, and managed and bought for an independent bookstore. He started in the book business in 1981.

“Michael has the largest bag of any rep I see (by far!) yet he always brings incredible enthusiasm and energy to every sales call for the decade-plus that I have worked with him. He is always responsive, interested, and is simply a lovely human being. I especially appreciate the care he gives the art books on his list, which can often go overlooked. I can always trust his recommendations and so value his opinions,” said Suzanna Hermans, co-owner of Oblong Books, Rhinebeck, NY.

Gourley will be honored at the NAIBA Annual Meeting on Thursday, August 10 at 9am in Virginia.

NAIBA Rechristens Sales Rep of the Year Award to Honor Kristin Keith in 2017

The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association renamed the William Helmuth Sales Rep of the Year award to the Kristin Keith Sales Rep of the Year award in 2017.

The award was first given to Bev Chaney in 1987, and named after the beloved William Helmuth of Book Travelers. At the inception, NAIBA wanted to recognize the sales rep “who is the sort of person who does their homework all the time, is patient and tolerant of customers and colleagues, who makes mistakes from enthusiasm, then owns up to them.”

In 2013, Kristin Keith won this award for her dedication and enthusiasm for the book industry and book people. Sadly, we lost Keith to cancer in 2017. In kind, this same industry wants to immortalize her dedication, enthusiasm and heart to a new generation of book people through the renaming of the Sales Rep of the Year award.

Previous winners of the NAIBA Rep of the Year Award are: