The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America congratulates the 2016 winners of the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest:

1st Place:  Luke Kelly.  Harvard University. “A Collection of Eugene Walter, King of the Monkeys”

2nd Place: Megan Jones.  University of Kansas. "The Life and Times of Sacco and Vanzetti”

3rd Place: Micaela Beigel.  Goucher College. “Once We Were Dreamers: A Collection of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust”

Essay award:  Samantha Flitter.  Princeton University. “The Sand and the Sea: An Age of Sail Library in Rural New Mexico”

The winners will receive their awards during a ceremony on Friday, Oct. 14, at 5:30 p.m. at the Library of Congress, Montpelier Room, sixth floor of the Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. The event is free and open to the public.  The special guest speaker is Toni Tipton-Martin, a food and nutrition journalist and community activist. She is the author of “The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African-American Cookbooks,” a James Beard Award-winning annotated bibliography that tells the story behind her rare collection of African-American cookbooks and food culture.

The judges were impressed with the stories and thought that went into assembling these collections and wish to thank all who participated.      

The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (www.abaa.org) is a trade association of more than 450 professionals who specialize in fine and rare books and printed matter. Members are united in a passion for books and related material and are bound by a Code of Ethics.           

The Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (www.fabsbooks.org) is an association of collecting organizations whose mission is to communicate, share and support bibliocentric activities, experience and ideas among member clubs for mutual benefit and pleasure.         

The Grolier Club of New York City (www.grolierclub.org) is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. It fosters “the study, collecting and appreciation of books and works on paper, their art, history, production and commerce.”      

The Jay I. Kislak Foundation (www.kislakfoundation.org) is a nonprofit institution engaged in the collection, conservation, research and interpretation of rare books, manuscripts, maps and indigenous art and cultural artifacts of the Americas and other parts of the world. It exists to advance knowledge and understanding of cultures and history through its collections and programs.