Grace Hagen has been appointed as the new executive director of the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA). Hagen, who has served as operations manager since May 2024, was named interim executive director in November, after Carrie Obry unexpectedly stepped down from the position she had held for 15 years.
Hagen, a professionally certified social justice educator with nine years of experience, previously worked for two years as director of operations and inclusion at the Novel Neighbor bookstore in St. Louis from 2022 to 2024. There, per a MIBA release, she supervised a staff of 17 booksellers, led customer service and retail operations, and developed new organizational partnerships.
In announcing Hagen's promotion, the MIBA board said she stood out not only "for her commitment to our organization and its vision and mission, but also for her people-centered, genuine enthusiasm for the bookselling community."
MIBA, founded in 1981 in the Twin Cities as the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association, represents indie booksellers in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The organization has for more than a decade held its annual fall trade show, Heartland Fall Forum, in partnership with the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association.
GLIBA executive director Larry Law told PW that he is "so happy and excited that MIBA has hired Grace Hagen. We had the pleasure of working through our first Heartland together last year and it was fun and motivating. Grace is kind, enthusiastic, innovative and has that Midwest hustle we admire. I am looking forward to the great things Grace will bring to MIBA, as well as getting to work more closely with her on Heartland 2025 and future endeavors."
Melissa McAllister, the owner of Dungeons Gate in Des Moines and new president of MIBA's board of directors, told PW that while Hagen lives in St. Louis, the organization's official headquarters will remain in the Twin Cities. Moving MIBA's headquarters according to where its executive director resides "is not something currently under consideration," McAllister said.
