Last week Publishers Weekly announced its nominees for Bookstore of the Year. The list includes University Book Store, the benevolent behemoth on the Ave, along with Astoria Bookshop (Queens, New York), Boulder Bookstore (Boulder, Colo.), Gibson’s Bookstore (Concord, N.H.), and Source Booksellers (Detroit, Mich.). According to PW, winners will be announced in late March.

The competition, as it always tends to be, is stiff. "The shortlist includes two of the country’s oldest stores, which date back more than one hundred years, as well as one of a new generation of bookstores, now in its fifth year," writes Judith Rosen. "The list also includes one of the 105 remaining African-American bookstores in the U.S."

University Book Store is one of the country's oldest independent shops—it's been around since 1900—but it's by no means old fashioned. They host readings nearly every day, offer a massive and various selection of titles, and maintain their own small but substantial press. Plus, bookseller Nick DiMartino has been working for the store since 1970, and he's the best.

Three cheers, University Book Store!