Introducing the Robin Seaman Award!

Beloved Family and Friends of Robin Seaman,

It’s been over 4 years since we came together to celebrate Robin’s legacy as a beloved sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, friend, colleague, mentor and neighbor.

It often feels like she was just with us yesterday, laughing and sharing reading recommendations over a gin & tonic (Hendrick’s, with cucumber).

We’ve been touched by the remembrances you’ve shared with us over the years, on special occasions and in everyday moments when she crosses your mind. Like many of you, I think of her every time I pick up a favorite book.

Robin was a lifelong book lover and a voracious reader. In her professional life, she was a pioneer in the publishing industry, culminating with her groundbreaking work with the Bookshare program at Benetech where she made the joy of books more accessible to people with reading barriers. In 2012, after attending a publishing conference where almost all the speakers were men, Robin co-founded Bay Area Women in Publishing with colleagues Charlotte Abbott, Anne Kubek, and Kelly Peterson, to increase the visibility of women as innovators and thought leaders in publishing.

As Robin would say before any exciting update: “I have the most wonderful news!” about a new way we are honoring Robin’s legacy.

The incredible team at BAWiP have been hard at work launching the Robin Seaman Award to help make the publishing industry more diverse and inclusive by supporting women and non-binary people in the Bay Area in their professional growth. This award honors Robin’s delight in books and her accomplishments in broadening the definition of what a book can be and, even more profoundly, who a reader can be.

I’m delighted to introduce you to the first cohort of Robin Seaman Award winners - Sara Fan, Feather Flores, Nusrah Javed, Katryce Lassle, Mikaela Luke, Raya Rahman and Bella Roberts - an inspiring group of authors, editors, agents, publicists and marketers who are shaping the future of publishing. You can learn more about these impressive inaugural awardees on the BAWiP website (https://www.bayareawomeninpub…) and in a recent article in Publishers Weekly (https://www.publishersweekly.…)

Our family is deeply grateful to BAWiP for their leadership, with special thanks to Charlotte Abbott, Katy Beehler and Guillian Hetzler.

Today I invite you to join our family in making a contribution to Robin’s legacy via the Robin Seaman Award, to support the next generation of diverse leaders in publishing. You can make a gift online at https://www.flipcause.com/sec…, or reach out to me directly to contribute via check or donor-advised fund.

Thank you for helping us keep Robin’s spirit and legacy alive for the next generation of trailblazing leaders in book publishing.

With love and gratitude from the whole Seaman family,

Laura Seaman, Robin’s niece
seaman.laura@gmail.com
408-242-1001

P.S. Please feel free to share this message widely with others in Robin's vast worldwide network of friends and colleagues ❤