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| Elisa Thomas | |
The American Booksellers Association has hired Elisa Thomas as its DEIA member relations manager, who will be responsible for outreach to and support of "historically and systemically marginalized and excluded members" as well as serving ABA member bookstores in the western U.S., Bookselling This Week reported. She is also working on an ABA project focused on better serving bilingual and Spanish-language stores and has joined ABA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The association said Thomas's position was created to support the ABA's "commitment to anti-white supremacy, antiracism, representation, equity, and dignity for all people."
Thomas had worked for nine years at Cellar Door Bookstore in Riverside, Calif., where she coordinated events, assisted with backlist and frontlist buying, helped with social media, and helped to troubleshoot technical difficulties. (She continues to run the speculative fiction book club at Cellar Door.) She also served on the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association board, the Bookseller Advisory Committee, and participated in the Bookselling Without Borders program.
Thomas said, "Cellar Door was and will always be a second home to me. One of my favorite memories at the store will always be getting Linda (the store's owner) to start our Drag Queen Story Hour. I have quite a number of friends in the drag community, so I had the opportunity to bring in all local queens that have built an incredible relationship with customers of all ages at the store."
A fan of musical theater, Thomas has performed in three professional regional musical productions: Legally Blonde, In the Heights, and Ragtime.