Literary Citizenship Awards Ceremony

Join us in celebrating 2024's recipients of the Village Books Literary Citizenship Award!

Village Books is proud to announce the recipients of the 2024 Literary Citizenship Award, founded in 2023 by Village Books owners Sarah Hutton, Kelly Evert, and Paul Hanson. We celebrate the recipients of this year's award who are of diverse backgrounds and professions, and have each demonstrated a commitment to engage with the literary community with the intent of giving as much, if not more, than they receive.

The 2024 recipients of the Village Books Literary Citizenship Award are:

Linda Quinby Lambert

Writer, Journalist, Librarian, Community Builder

Throughout both her personal and professional life, Linda has combined her passions for research and creative writing. Linda is known for her roles as Library Director for both Whatcom Community College and La Conner Swinomish Library, though it's her master's degree in journalism that explains her curious nature to all who know her. An ardent friend to readers and writers, you'll find Linda present at many book events, and she can always be relied upon to offer insightful questions. She is an active member of Red Wheelbarrow Writers, two book clubs, two critique groups, and you'll find her work in anthologies including Whatcom Writes annual publications, the Salish Current, I Sing the Salmon Home, and co-editor of 52 Women of Whatcom. Linda helped found both Whatcom Reads and the Chuckanut Writers Conference, community institutions that bring readers and writers together.

Seán Dwyer

Writer, Editor, Teacher, Mentor

Seán Dwyer writes nonfiction and fiction, both novels and stories. He's a Spanish professor in the Modern and Classical Languages & Literatures department at Western Washington University, speaks four other languages fluently, and is a songwriter. In 2015, a publisher was waiting for his debut novel manuscript when, in a matter of seconds, Seán's teaching and writing careers were put on hold. Rear-ended at 50 mph while stopped at a crosswalk, Seán suffered two concussions in two seconds. His memoir, A Quest for Tears, chronicles his recovery from the brain injury that left him unable to read or write for more than a few minutes at a time. Before and since, he's generously given so much to his community of writers through The Red Wheelbarrow Writers Group, as the president of Whatcom Writers and Publishers, regular contribution to anthologies, and as the ever-supportive host of Village Books' Open Mics. He has branched out into boutique publishing, and the authors in his list have won multiple awards. Wherever you find him, you'll experience firsthand his generous spirit.

David Beaumier

Writer, Editor, Coach, Mentor

David always holds true to his first love of Argentine tango, but when he's not dancing, he writes. The dance metaphor also holds true in his literary life as it's a dance of relationships and cooperation. His work has appeared in EWU's Inroads, WWU's Suffix, Whatcom Writes, and HamLit but it's his work with his fellow writers that seems to truly fuel him. He's worked as the assistant publishing director at Village Books and is the current project manager for The Writers' Corner Anthologies, which grew out of his many years as the skillful facilitator of the VB Writes Fiction Writing Group. David helps writers find their voices as an editor and coach and serving as the Communications and Marketing Manager for Chanticleer Book Reviews. He's a tireless supporter of writers, wherever they are on their journey, and the most frequent question he asks is, "How can I help?"

Village Books celebrates and thanks these three talented and dedicated community builders and mentors. In their own unique ways, they have each demonstrated the virtues that embody a Good Literary Citizen. For this, we award $1000 to each of them and hereby induct them into the Village Books Literary Citizen Hall of Fame which will be displayed in Village Books, Fairhaven.