Association will be accepting nominations through March 4, 2022

BRADENTON, FL—The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) is now accepting nominations for their Rising Star Award which recognizes book industry professionals who are making a positive impact on their companies, in their communities, and on the industry. Nominations will be accepted through Friday March 4, 2022 at 5pm ET. The Award will be presented at the BMI Spring Management Conference in Atlanta May 15-17, 2022.

The inaugural class of finalist honorees were celebrated at the 2019 BMI Spring Management Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clark Matthews of Independent Publishers Group was the recipient of the first-ever Rising Star Award. The 2020 Rising Star Award was given to Cara Lahey of Publishers' Graphics. There was no award issued in 2021 due to the pandemic.

This honor was conceived to “spotlight up-and-coming, worthy colleagues from companies in the printing, binding, and manufacturing sector—a vital segment of the book publishing supply chain,” according to Matt Baehr, Executive Director of BMI. “We are so excited to be recognizing and celebrating the achievements of our next generation of leaders. It will be nice to once again bestow this award in-person at our May conference.”

The selection criteria:

Sustained excellent job performance
Contributions to their company, community, and/or industry
Continued training/education/learning within the industry
Demonstration of exemplary customer service, community service, and/or industry service
Age 39 years younger as of March 4, 2022 (the end of the nomination period)
Employed in BMI’s network of member companies

BMI President Dave McCree of Lakeside Book Company said, “I am confident that the next generation of leaders and innovators will continue to build on our strong industry. This award is just one way that we can highlight some of the wonderful people that are driving book manufacturing today.”

Nominations are open at BMI’s website.