WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Staffers at Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama, San Francisco's City Lights Books and The Nook in Cedar Falls, Iowa, are among 600 booksellers receiving $500 holiday bonuses from James Patterson, the bestselling novelist who has been awarding independent store employees since 2015.
- Amy Zmolek, Dog-Eared Books, Ames
- Susan Schafer, The Book Shoppe, Boone
- Nichole Crawford, Books and Bakery, Carroll
- Brandon Conrad, The Nook, Cedar Falls
- Bart Carithers, Next Page Books, Cedar Rapids
- Darci Tracey, Prologue Books & Wine, Charles City
- Joshua Signs, Storyhouse Bookpub, Des Moines
- Sue Davis, River Lights Bookstore, Dubuque
- CoriAnn Theroux, The Green Dragon Bookshop, Fort Dodge
- Angela Forret, Sidekick Coffee & Books, University Heights
- Nana Burford, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City
This year's list is up to 11 winners in Iowa compared to 2023's six staffers.
Iowa stores to see consecutive years of staffer bonuses include Dog-Eared Books with four-straight years, Storyhouse Bookpub with three-straight years and Sidekick Coffee & Books with back-to-back years.
Although not receiving a bonus last year, Prairie Lights Books has notably seen an employee win one every year since 2015 besides 2022 and 2023.
“Booksellers save lives. Period," Patterson said in a statement released Tuesday through his publisher, Little, Brown and Company. "I’m happy to be able to acknowledge them and all their hard work this holiday season.”
The winners, including Davis Gustafson at Thank You Books and Erin Messer at City Lights, were nominated by co-workers and customers among others. Recipients also include Brandon Conrad of the Nook, Gina Marx of The Lynx in Gainesville, Florida, and Kirstin Kraig of Whale's Tale Books in Lakewood, Colorado. Patterson chose the winners from thousands of applications.
"It means a lot, especially because, well, we've been open for just over a year now, and we've learned so much about how awesome the independent bookstore community is, and how people travel all over just to go and shop independent," Conrad of The Nook told Local 5 News. "And with how many other ways there are to get books now, it's really awesome to see that everybody's communities are coming together and shopping local."
“We appreciate Mr. Patterson’s financial generosity as well as his generosity of spirit. 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 a statement. "It means everything to have him recognize and reward the valuable role booksellers play in the industry.”
Along with his gifts to booksellers, Patterson has given millions of dollars to schools, libraries and literacy programs. In 2015, the National Book Foundation presented him an honorary National Book Award — the Literarian Award — for “outstanding service to the American literary community."