Texas booksellers earn Patterson holiday bonuses
As part of his Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program, James Patterson, in partnership with the American Booksellers Association, is distributing grants to 500 booksellers, including one hundred children’s booksellers, each of whom will receive $500, the Associated Press reported.
The winners were chosen from a pool of more than 2,500 nominations, with applications based on one question: “Why does this bookseller deserve a holiday bonus?”
In a statement, Patterson observed: “I’ve said this many times before, but I can’t say it enough: booksellers save lives. Children’s booksellers especially—they guide children to books they’ll genuinely enjoy and in turn create a new generation of readers. I’m happy to be able to acknowledge them and the important work they do in any way that I can this holiday season.”
Your lucky, hardworking Texas holiday bonus recipients are:
Celia Bell, Malvern Books, Austin
Cathy Berner, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston
Tom Blute, Interabang Books, Dallas
Athena Cuadra, The Storybook Garden, Weslaco
Chelsea Green, Bibliobar, Garland
Julia Green, Front Street Books, Alpine
John Kwiatkowski-McDougall, Murder By the Book, Houston
Madison Lawson, Bibliobar, Murphy
Diane Mayes, Patchouli Joe’s Books & Indulgences, Leander
Joy Prebble, Brazos Bookstore, Houston
Cristina Rodriguez, Deep Vellum Books, Dallas
Eugenia Vela, BookPeople, Austin
The program is administered by Patterson and the ABA, which represents the country’s independent bookstores. Patterson has donated millions of dollars in recent years to bookstores, school libraries, and literacy programs.