Hundreds of bookstore staffers receive holiday bonuses from author James Patterson

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NEW YORK (AP) — 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, t he bestselling novelist who has been awarding independent store employees since 2015.

“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.

“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."