James Patterson has followed up on his pledge to donate $1 million to support independent bookstores this year with an initial list of 55 stores that are receiving donations (worth $267,000 so far far). As noted in the announcement, “Some stores have submitted proposals for how the money will be used; others will simply receive an unsolicited check and a note from the author, encouraging them to use the funds to continue doing the good work they already do.”

The release indicates “Patterson selected recipient stores by researching which stores are doing the very best work in their communities to further literature and reading. In addition, he’s asked fellow authors, as well as the ABA, publishers, and other industry professionals, for suggestions.”

He says, “Every day, booksellers are out there saving our country’s literature. The work they do to support schools and the rest of their communities leaves a lasting love of reading in children and adults. I believe their work is vital to our future as a country. What are we if we don’t have our own literature? I couldn’t be happier to, very humbly, support booksellers in their mission. Maybe that’s because it’s my mission as well.”

The initial recipients are:

A Whale of a Tale – Irvine, CA

Alamosa Books – Albuquerque, NM

Anderson’s – Naperville, IL

Andover Bookstore (Hugo Books) – Andover, MA

Bank Street Bookstore – New York, NY

Bookshop Santa Cruz – Santa Cruz, CA

Book Bin – Northbrook, IL

Book Culture -New York, NY

Book Passage – Corte Madera, CA

Book Revue – Huntington, NY

BookPeople – Austin, TX

Books & Books – Coral Gables, FL

Books & Greetings – Northvale, NJ

Books of Wonder – New York, NY

Booktenders – Doylestown, PA

Bookworks – Albuquerque, NM

Brazos Bookstore, Inc. – Houston, TX

Brewster Book Store – Brewster, MA

Broadside Book Shop – Northampton, MA

Browseabout Books – Rehoboth Beach, DE

California Bookstore Day

Children’s Book World – Los Angeles, CA

Children’s Book World – Haverford, PA

Doylestown Bookshop – Doylestown, PA

Eighth Day Books – Wichita, KS

Gallery Bookshop/Bookwinkle Children – Mendocino, CA

Hicklebee’s – San Jose, CA

Innisfree Bookshop – Lincoln, NH

Lake Forest BookStore – Lake Forest, IL

Little Shop of Stories – Decatur, GA

Malaprop’s Bookstore and Café – Asheville, NC

Mysterious Galaxy – Redondo Beach/San Diego, CA

Nicola’s Books – Ann Arbor, MI

Norwich Bookstore – Norwich, VT

Oblong Books – Millerton, NY

Odyssey Book Shop – South Hadley, MA

Old Firehouse Books – Fort Collins, CO

Page & Palette – Fairhope, AL

Park Road Books – Charlotte, NC

Parnassus Books – Nashville, TN

Percy’s Burrow – Topsham, ME

Phoenix Books – Essex Junction, VT

Porter Square Books – Cambridge, MA

Reading Reptile – Kansas City, MO

Red Balloon – St. Paul, MN

Russo’s Marketplace Books – Bakersfield, CA

Schuler Books and Music – Okemos, MI

Subterranean Books – St. Louis, MO

The Bookies – Denver, CO

The BookLoft – Great Barrington, MA

The Bookstore Plus – Lake Placid, NY

The Children’s Bookstore – Baltimore, MD

The Yellow Brick Road – San Diego, CA

Wellesley Books – Wellesley, MA

Wild Rumpus – Minneapolis, MN

Wonderland Books – Rockford, IL