The holidays are a little brighter for nine Pacific Northwest independent booksellers chosen as recipients of author James Patterson’s bookseller holiday bonuses.
Congratulations to:
- Charnee Rose of Grass Roots Books & Music, Corvallis, OR
- Earl Dizon of Green Bean Books, Portland, OR
- Carol Easter and Kevin Sampsell of Powell’s Books, Portland, OR
- Joan Terselich of Village Books, Bellingham, WA
- Rich Harriman and Patti Harriman of Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park and Seattle, WA
- Karen Maeda Allman of Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA
- sweet pea Flaherty of King’s Books, Tacoma, WA
In October, best selling author Patterson announced that he would award bonuses this year to independent booksellers. His website said, “As a thank you to independent booksellers, James Patterson is giving $250,000 in holiday bonuses, ranging from $1,000 – $5,000. Tell James in 250 words or fewer about a bookstore employee that’s making a difference in their store and their community.”
Karen Maeda Allman of Elliott Bay
Some booksellers had hints that they were being nominated when customers or colleagues asked them how long they’d been booksellers (a question on the nomination form). Others were told outright that they’d been nominated. There was a special buzz of excitement and thoughtfulness as nominations were submitted in the lead up to the holidays.
Patterson chose from the nominations, personally reading the uplifting essays and picking 87 winners, who were announced by the American Booksellers Association on December 15.
Bonus recipients were contacted a few days prior to the public announcement, but were asked to keep mum until the big reveal.
Karen Maeda Allman, who has worked at Elliott Bay Book Co. in Seattle since 1999 and who volunteered at Red and Black Bookstore Collective for a decade before that, is full of appreciation for the recognition– and for her colleagues and coworkers. She wrote to nwbooklovers, “I’m very honored to be in such good company and honored and delighted to have won this award. All of us at Elliott Bay are hard working booksellers and much of what we do isn’t always that obvious or visible so it’s really wonderful to be recognized–not just as individuals but also as booksellers as a group–for what we do… I feel fortunate to be able to do something that I love with great co-workers at a wonderful bookstore.”
sweet pea of King’s Books
Enjoy more coverage of the joyous holiday bonus news from the ABA, the Stranger, Shelf Awareness, NPR, and the Seattle Times. Patterson has been an angel for bookstores before through grants, including one to Village Books in 2014.
In these last few days of the holiday season and 2015, I send a giant THANK YOU to all my bookselling colleagues for the great work they do. I also have tremendous gratitude for the customers and friends of the bookstore who appreciate independent booksellers throughout the year. The generosity and love from the community keep our hearts full!
