Professional Bio
Grace Hagen (she/her) was born in Olathe, Kansas, grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has lived her whole adult life in St. Louis, Missouri. (Yay Midwest!) She is an operations specialist, DEI trainer and consultant, nonfiction nerd, very part time pediatric physical therapist, very part time birth doula, and aspiring improv goof. Grace previously worked as the director of operations and inclusion at The Novel Neighbor Bookstore in St. Louis, Missouri and before that as a national organizer and facilitator for Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training. Books always have been and continue to be Grace's main source for education, escape, activation, and radical empathy building. She is especially partial to audiobooks and getting to be a judge for the Audies is one of her favorite things.
Company/Bookstore
Midwest Independent Booksellers Association
Primary reasons booksellers should reach out to me
To discuss event logistics, orders, fulfillment, billing and to talk about books, obvi!
Favorite book genres
Biography, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, History, Memoir, Nonfiction, Political, Psychology, Self Help, Social Justice, Spirituality, Suspense
My tips for indie booksellers on working well with industry members
To be clear is to be kind. Transparency, curiosity, and humility are my go-to's. And have fun!
Role
Administration, Events, Editing, Other
Bookstore Role
Manager
Preferred media format
Print books
Would I like to receive ARCs
Yes
ARC genre preferences
Historical Fiction, Fiction, Gifts, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels