Congratulations Kris Kleindienst
Voice of the Heartland Award Acceptance Remarks
Kris Kleindienst
Heartland Fall Forum October 2022
Thank you for this incredible honor. It would not be possible without the partnership of at least a few generations of talented, committed, brilliant booksellers with whom I have been privileged to work over the years. A few of you are here tonight and I am so grateful for and proud of you--Cliff Helm, Chris Keil, Andrea King, Danielle King, Mark Teidemann, Amanda Jacobsen, Amber Norris, and Shane Mullen.
I’d like to say I’m speechless, but I’m not. You have given the Voice of the Heartland to a woman who likes to talk. A lot. My father and even my therapist complained that I never shut up. I know there are sales reps out there who would agree. The world generally seems to disapprove of a woman who speaks up. Google “women and voice” and you’ll find a string of articles about how annoying actual women’s voices are. Think about that for a minute.
Nevertheless, I shall try to be brief, at least for me.
I sat down to gather my thoughts for tonight and this quote from Gandhi appeared on my screen: “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane," followed immediately by “Watch American gymnast Olivia Dunne crawl across a beach in a red bikini.” I feel that pretty much encapsulates a typical day in an independent bookstore.
In a world where social media prowess incubates bestsellers at a higher rate than MFA programs, it's not unusual for someone to walk into Left Bank Books, be intimidated by the Pauli Murray memoir, but recognize the wonderful Jonathan Van Ness on the cover of their book--and even if they don’t buy a book because they often don’t, they buy a “St. Fucking Louis” sticker or rainbow flag sticker instead for $2.95--they will remember they saw themselves and they will come back. And when they come back, the frontline bookseller with the awesome tats will put a copy of Chavissa Woods’ Things to Do When You’re Goth in the Country or the Saeed Jones’ How We Fight for Our Lives in their hands and they will know that they have come home.
At the end of the day--which is to say, at the end of my first nearly fifty years as a bookseller--I can say that if I have learned anything, I've learned it's not about my voice. It's about giving voice to the young people in my community by amplifying voices that matter, voices that might not show up in trending searches on Google; voices of our elders like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin and Octavia Butler and Leslie Feinberg and the nearly elder Jacqueline Woodson and the subsequent voices their words made possible; voices like H. Melt and Saeed Jones and Hanif Abdurraqib and Alok Vaid Menon and so many, many more.
The rest of what I do, including washing the grime off of bookshelves or filling two fifteen-cubic-yard commercial dumpsters with bookstore flood debris is in the service of those voices. When I raise my voice to advocate for ten more points, or for more financial support from publishers for the increasingly risky undertaking of putting on in-person author events, when I won’t shut up about the vital role an independent bookstore plays in its community both economically and culturally as a lynchpin of democracy, I am doing it so all of these incredible people, young, not so young, and elder, will have a place where they feel like they are home.
Because everyone’s story matters. Because everyone’s voice matters. Because bookstores matter, especially in small and not so small towns in the Midwest. Google reminded me that a great man once said, long ago but in my lifetime, "The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.” Or, as I like to say in modern bookstore parlance, "literacy and justice for all."
View Kris' acceptance speech video on Youtube.
Kris Kleindienst
Heartland Fall Forum October 2022
Thank you for this incredible honor. It would not be possible without the partnership of at least a few generations of talented, committed, brilliant booksellers with whom I have been privileged to work over the years. A few of you are here tonight and I am so grateful for and proud of you--Cliff Helm, Chris Keil, Andrea King, Danielle King, Mark Teidemann, Amanda Jacobsen, Amber Norris, and Shane Mullen.
I’d like to say I’m speechless, but I’m not. You have given the Voice of the Heartland to a woman who likes to talk. A lot. My father and even my therapist complained that I never shut up. I know there are sales reps out there who would agree. The world generally seems to disapprove of a woman who speaks up. Google “women and voice” and you’ll find a string of articles about how annoying actual women’s voices are. Think about that for a minute.
Nevertheless, I shall try to be brief, at least for me.
I sat down to gather my thoughts for tonight and this quote from Gandhi appeared on my screen: “The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane," followed immediately by “Watch American gymnast Olivia Dunne crawl across a beach in a red bikini.” I feel that pretty much encapsulates a typical day in an independent bookstore.
In a world where social media prowess incubates bestsellers at a higher rate than MFA programs, it's not unusual for someone to walk into Left Bank Books, be intimidated by the Pauli Murray memoir, but recognize the wonderful Jonathan Van Ness on the cover of their book--and even if they don’t buy a book because they often don’t, they buy a “St. Fucking Louis” sticker or rainbow flag sticker instead for $2.95--they will remember they saw themselves and they will come back. And when they come back, the frontline bookseller with the awesome tats will put a copy of Chavissa Woods’ Things to Do When You’re Goth in the Country or the Saeed Jones’ How We Fight for Our Lives in their hands and they will know that they have come home.
At the end of the day--which is to say, at the end of my first nearly fifty years as a bookseller--I can say that if I have learned anything, I've learned it's not about my voice. It's about giving voice to the young people in my community by amplifying voices that matter, voices that might not show up in trending searches on Google; voices of our elders like Audre Lorde and James Baldwin and Octavia Butler and Leslie Feinberg and the nearly elder Jacqueline Woodson and the subsequent voices their words made possible; voices like H. Melt and Saeed Jones and Hanif Abdurraqib and Alok Vaid Menon and so many, many more.
The rest of what I do, including washing the grime off of bookshelves or filling two fifteen-cubic-yard commercial dumpsters with bookstore flood debris is in the service of those voices. When I raise my voice to advocate for ten more points, or for more financial support from publishers for the increasingly risky undertaking of putting on in-person author events, when I won’t shut up about the vital role an independent bookstore plays in its community both economically and culturally as a lynchpin of democracy, I am doing it so all of these incredible people, young, not so young, and elder, will have a place where they feel like they are home.
Because everyone’s story matters. Because everyone’s voice matters. Because bookstores matter, especially in small and not so small towns in the Midwest. Google reminded me that a great man once said, long ago but in my lifetime, "The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.” Or, as I like to say in modern bookstore parlance, "literacy and justice for all."
View Kris' acceptance speech video on Youtube.
The boards of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association are honored to present Kris Kleindienst, owner of Left Bank Books in St. Louis, MO with the 2022 Voice of the Heartland award. This award is given in recognition of individuals and organizations who “uphold the value of independent bookselling and have made a significant contribution to bookselling in the Midwest.”
For decades Kris has been a leader and advocate for the bookselling community. She has served on regional and national bookselling boards and has been a mentor to future generations of booksellers. Kris is a champion of her local community while being a progressive voice of the underrepresented and historically marginalized communities.
"Kris is incredibly deserving of the Voice of the Heartland award. Left Bank Books has been a pillar of St. Louis and the Midwest for over half a century, and Kris is its passionate and forward-thinking leader. She has always been kind and encouraging to me, especially when I was a brand-new bookstore owner nearly a decade ago. She is the reason I am a member of the MIBA board and I aspire to emulate her as a boss, a bookseller, and a business owner. Kris is generous with her time and knowledge and is truly invested in the future of bookselling. She has carried her store through recessions, pandemics, floods, and protests, keeping her neighborhood and her city awash in books all the while. I am so incredibly pleased to see her named Voice of the Heartland in 2022."
- Emily Hall Schroen, Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO
For decades Kris has been a leader and advocate for the bookselling community. She has served on regional and national bookselling boards and has been a mentor to future generations of booksellers. Kris is a champion of her local community while being a progressive voice of the underrepresented and historically marginalized communities.
"Kris is incredibly deserving of the Voice of the Heartland award. Left Bank Books has been a pillar of St. Louis and the Midwest for over half a century, and Kris is its passionate and forward-thinking leader. She has always been kind and encouraging to me, especially when I was a brand-new bookstore owner nearly a decade ago. She is the reason I am a member of the MIBA board and I aspire to emulate her as a boss, a bookseller, and a business owner. Kris is generous with her time and knowledge and is truly invested in the future of bookselling. She has carried her store through recessions, pandemics, floods, and protests, keeping her neighborhood and her city awash in books all the while. I am so incredibly pleased to see her named Voice of the Heartland in 2022."
- Emily Hall Schroen, Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO
If ever a person should be named VOICE of the Heartland, it’s Kris! Long steered by Kris’ activist roots and passionate voice, Left Bank is a vibrant cultural center for St. Louis, and one of the best damn bookstores in the country. With an art section rivaling most museum shops these days, an impressive poetry section, and an entire wall filled with bookseller recommendations, Kris has guided Left Bank to a place of prominence in American arts & letters. Hers was the first store I knew of to create a Black Lives Matter window and reading list, and through the years, I have relied on Kris’s voice as one that of vision and insight. Personally, a sales appointment with Kris is equal parts sitting at the foot of a guru and visiting with a friend. She is so invested in her customers and knows her community so well that when she says "I’ll stack it" or "I have to skip it" I know that this is an informed position. She comes to every appointment prepared and with requests for books she knows her staff and customers will love. I treasure our conversations about bookselling, but even more, the stories we share and the wisdom I glean about activism, advocacy, parenting, and navigating our modern world. Hers is a singular, sparkling voice that has helped shape bookselling in this region. We are lucky to count her as our own.
- Johanna Hynes, Field Sales Manager, IPS, PGW, Two Rivers, Ingram Academic
"In the past year plus, Kris has been such an influence on the bookselling community. She has managed to keep our bookstore open through the pandemic, overcoming catastrophic flooding to the store, and recovering from personal health issues. While serving on the board of American Booksellers Association, Kris was a voice for progressive bookstores while fighting book banning in our local community and across the US. Our mission has always been about championing underrepresented voices. Kris has encouraged that mission throughout the bookselling community. In Kris' long career as a bookseller, she has helped shape the industry for other independent bookstores fighting for a place in the world."
- Shane P. Mullen, Event Coordinator, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO
The Voice of the Heartland award is a collaboration between the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, who came together each year to produce the Heartland Fall Forum, a trade show for independent booksellers across the Midwest. Voice of the Heartland is an annual highlight of the joint awards celebration hosted at the trade show.
Ms. Kleindienst will be presented with the award during Heartland Fall Forum in St. Louis at the Heartland Book Awards Ceremony, on Wednesday, October 12 at 4:00 PM CT.
- Johanna Hynes, Field Sales Manager, IPS, PGW, Two Rivers, Ingram Academic
"In the past year plus, Kris has been such an influence on the bookselling community. She has managed to keep our bookstore open through the pandemic, overcoming catastrophic flooding to the store, and recovering from personal health issues. While serving on the board of American Booksellers Association, Kris was a voice for progressive bookstores while fighting book banning in our local community and across the US. Our mission has always been about championing underrepresented voices. Kris has encouraged that mission throughout the bookselling community. In Kris' long career as a bookseller, she has helped shape the industry for other independent bookstores fighting for a place in the world."
- Shane P. Mullen, Event Coordinator, Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO
The Voice of the Heartland award is a collaboration between the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, who came together each year to produce the Heartland Fall Forum, a trade show for independent booksellers across the Midwest. Voice of the Heartland is an annual highlight of the joint awards celebration hosted at the trade show.
Ms. Kleindienst will be presented with the award during Heartland Fall Forum in St. Louis at the Heartland Book Awards Ceremony, on Wednesday, October 12 at 4:00 PM CT.
The Voice of the Heartland Award has been awarded by GLIBA and MIBA to individuals and organizations who uphold the value of independent bookselling and who have made a significant contribution to bookselling in our combined regions. This mission statement has remained slightly open ended to allow us to choose recipients that the committee feels embody the spirit of this statement.
We welcome and encourage nominations that are outside of the traditional box and serve to celebrate the accomplishments and tenacity in our multi-faceted and diverse regions. Nominations for Voice of the Heartland are open to booksellers, publishers, authors or any individual or group that has made a contribution to our region.
We welcome and encourage nominations that are outside of the traditional box and serve to celebrate the accomplishments and tenacity in our multi-faceted and diverse regions. Nominations for Voice of the Heartland are open to booksellers, publishers, authors or any individual or group that has made a contribution to our region.
Past Voice of the Heartland
Award Winners
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2017 Roy Schonfeld
2016 Wendell Berry 2015 Ted Heinecken 2014 Kate DiCamillo 2013 Jim Harrison |
2012 Liz Murphy, Roberta Rubin
2009 Becky Anderson 2008 Studs Terkel 2007 Partners Distribution 2001 Indiana Univ Press |