James Patterson Gives $500 Bonuses To Workers At 32 MA Bookshops

MASSACHUSETTS — Author James Patterson is giving a bit of holiday cheer to 600 independent bookstore workers from around the country through his Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program.

He pledged a personal contribution of $300,000 to be distributed in amounts of $500 to booksellers from American Bookseller Association (ABA) stores, according to the ABA's website. Thirty-two Massachusetts booksellers from around the state will receive the award.

Patterson tweeted: "I’ve said this before, but I can’t say it enough—booksellers save lives. What they do is crucial, especially right now. I’m happy to be able to acknowledge them and their hard work this holiday season."

Booksellers had the option of nominating themselves for the program, or they could be nominated by employees, managers, bookstore customers, publishing professionals, and others.

“We all continue to be awed by, and grateful for, Mr. Patterson’s continuing support of independent booksellers,” Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, said in an Associated Press story. “It means so much to have him recognize the valuable role booksellers play in the industry and we appreciate his financial generosity as well as his generosity of spirit.”

Patterson is "the most popular storyteller of our time," according to his bio. He is the creator of characters and series including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Effing Smith, and Maximum Ride. Patterson has given $2.1 million to independent bookstores and employees, and donated more than 1 million books to children at under-resourced schools.

Here are the Massachusetts booksellers that received the award from Patterson:

• Shana Hausman, Somerville, MA, All She Wrote Books
• Julia Caudle, Plainville, MA, An Unlikely Story
• Toyoko Kumasaka, Boston, MA, Beacon Hill Books & Cafe
• Sophie Chen, Belmont, MA, Belmont Books
• Amanda Zarni, Winchester, MA, Book Ends Winchester
• Katie Mannix, Plymouth, MA, Book Love (Provisional)
• Kate Ouimette, Easthampton, MA, Book Moon
• Scott Purcell, Northampton, MA, BookLink Booksellers Inc.
• Tineke Brinks, Webster, MA, Booklovers' Gourmet
• Michelle Koch, Brewster, MA, Brewster Book Store
• Roxie Mack, Northampton, MA, Broadside Bookshop
• Sara Waltuck, Brookline, MA, Brookline Booksmith
• Kristine Jelstrom-Hamill, Cohasset, MA, Buttonwood Books and Toys
• Jessie Wright, Beverly, MA, Copper Dog Books
• Richard Carey, Provincetown, MA, East End Books Ptown
• Sophia Rock, Franklin, MA, Escape Into Fiction
• James Fraser, Cambridge, MA, Grolier Poetry Book Shop
• Victoria Yaden, Cambridge, MA, Harvard Book Store
• Lexi Walters Wright, Florence, MA, High Five Books
• Beth Orsini, Westborough, MA, Hygge House Books
• Eleni Sacre, Boston, MA, I AM Books, Inc.
• Thea Lamarre Anderson, Lowell, MA, LALA Books
• Debra Rivera, Ayer, MA, Little Bee Bookshop
• Laure Colodner, South Hadley, MA, Odyssey Bookshop
• Hannah Robinson, Cambridge, MA, Porter Square Books
• Deb Sullivan, Stoneham, MA, The Book Oasis
• Cheri Anderson, Great Barrington, MA, The Bookloft (MA)
• Megan Birch-McMichael, Acton, MA, The Silver Unicorn Bookstore
• Noah Willette, Boston, MA, Trident Booksellers & Cafe (MA)
• Peter Sherman, Wellesley, MA, Wellesley Books
• Alyson Cox, Marlborough, MA, Word on the Street (MA)
• Timothy Ballou, Greenfield, MA, World Eye Bookshop

The full list of recipients is available here.