Bookshop finalist nod

The Bookies Bookstore in Denver is a finalist for Publishers Weekly’s 2026 Bookstore of the Year award. (publishersweekly.com) Publishers Weekly said the 55-year-old store is known as a community gathering place, with fiction, education materials and children’s books at the center of its business. The trade publication is naming finalists this week and plans to publish the winner in its April 20, 2026 issue. (publishersweekly.com 1) (publishersweekly.com 2) The Bookies now operates at 2085 South Holly Street in Denver and bills itself as “fiercely independent since 1971.” Its calendar shows regular Saturday and Tuesday story times and a free creative writing club for kids and teens ages 10 to 16. (thebookies.com) The award is limited to independently owned U.S. bookstores that have been open at least four years, and stores cannot nominate themselves. Publishers Weekly asked nominators to explain what makes a store special before the March 13 deadline. (publishersweekly.com) For The Bookies, the finalist nod comes after several ownership changes in five years. Publishers Weekly reported in November 2021 that Nicole Sullivan’s BookBar bought the store after founder Sue Lubeck died that summer. (publishersweekly.com) The store changed hands again in July 2025. The Bookies says Kirstin Gulling bought the business that month with the goal of keeping it going for “another 50 years,” and Westword reported the sale kept the store from closing. (thebookies.com) (westword.com) The store’s own mission statement says it has grown from a children’s bookstore into a broader community hub, while still emphasizing literacy, educators and young readers. Its Bookshop page describes the business as woman-owned, community-focused, and under new ownership as of July 2025. (thebookies.com) (bookshop.org) That makes the Publishers Weekly recognition a marker of continuity as much as prestige: a long-running Denver indie that survived a founder’s death, a resale and a near-closure is still in the national awards conversation. (publishersweekly.com) (westword.com) (publishersweekly.com)