The head of a popular independent bookstore in California will soon be CEO of the American Booksellers Association.
The trade group announced Friday that Allison K. Hill will succeed Oren Teicher, who earlier this year said he was stepping down. Hill, currently president and CEO of Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, takes over at the ABA next March.
Hill said in a statement that she was “trading one dream job for another” and anticipated “new thinking” and “new partnerships” as independent sellers confront a “challenging era.” The ABA has grown steadily since Teicher started as CEO in 2009, adding hundreds of members even as Amazon.com became the country’s dominant bookseller. Independent sellers have been helped in part by the collapse of the Borders chain and the struggles of Barnes & Noble.