Patterson awards grants to 73 indie bookshops
Patterson awards grants to 73 indie bookshops
More than £130,000 has been allocated to 73 independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland in the first round of grants funded on this side of the Atlantic by author James Patterson.
Patterson has pledged to donate £250,000 to bookshops in the UK, with the money to be used to encourage children to read. It follows a similar venture in the US.
Any bookshop with a dedicated children’s book section was eligible to apply, with grants of between £250 and £5,000 awarded to each shop. In total there were 183 applicants for the first round of funding.
Among the successful bookshops [full list below] is Book-ish in Crickhowell, Wales, which will use its grant towards purchasing a camper van, which will go into rural communities. Far From the Madding Crowd in Linlithgow, Scotland, will create a “Hagrid’s Hut” children’s room in its existing hidden stockroom. The room will be a children’s space for activity and storytelling.
Meanwhile Gutter Bookshop in Ireland will use its money for new shelving and display materials, and the provision of a “Christmas ‘wow’ window” for children’s books. Newham Bookshop in London will create a reading and writing room for families in its existing stockroom, and purchase seating and replace the shop’s 35-year-old fascia. Walter Henry’s Bookshop in Bideford will spend its grant on reconfiguring the shop to open up a children’s room.
Patterson said: “I have been completely overwhelmed by just how many people have applied for the grants and impressed and enthused by the calibre of the applications. It’s been a very difficult decision process and I have worked to identify independent bookshops for whom this money may make a difference. I’m excited to follow their progress and see the proposed ideas in action.”
Tim Walker, president of The Booksellers Association, which helped to administer the grants, said: “We are very much looking forward to seeing the grant funding being implemented by the successful bookshops. We are thrilled that so many UK and Irish indies have shown such creativity and passion in their applications. For the lucky 73 shops, the James Patterson money will make a real difference to how they reach children and encourage them to read.
“There are some really exciting projects that this money will help get off the ground, from converting a van into a mobile school bookshop to running a model train around the shop to get kids engaged.”
Walker encouraged unsuccessful bookshops to reapply for the second round of funding, which will be awarded next year.
“I am very proud to be BA president at a point when a bestselling author is making such an unequivocal statement of confidence in the independent sector, and proud of the booksellers who are proving him right,” he added.
Eligible bookshops can apply for a grant via the BA.
The 73 independent bookshops to be allocated grants in the first round are:
Barnett’s of Wadhurst Stonegate
Barton’s Bookshop Leatherhead
Bell Bookshop Henley-on-Thames
Big Green Bookshop London
Blandford Books Broadway
Bloom and Currl Bristol
Book and Kitchen London
Book House Thame
Bookcase Nottingham
Book-ish Crickhowell
Bookpoint Dunoon
Books & Ink Bookshop Banbury
Books@Hoddesdon Hoddesdon
Burrows Bookshop Ely
Celtic House Bowmore
Chepstow Bookshop Chepstow
Chorlton Bookshop Manchester
Clitheroe Books Clitheroe
Cole’s Books Bicester
Crediton Community Bookshop Crediton
Dartmouth Commubnity Bookshop Dartmouth
David’s Bookshop Letchworth
Ebb & Flo Bookshop Chorley
Ennis Bookshop Ennis
Epping Bookshop Epping
Far From the Madding Crowd Linlithgow
Fitz-Gerald’s Bookshop Macroom
Fordingbridge Bookshop Fordingbridge
Forest Bookshop Coleford
Forget-Me-Not Culceth
Forum Books Kids Corbridge
Gerrards Cross Bookshop Gerrards Cross
GLO Bookshop Motherwell
Grove Bookshop Ilkley
Guisborough Bookshop Guisborough
Gutter Bookshop Ltd Dublin 8
Harbour Bookshop Kingsbridge
Horizons Bookshop Burnham
Hunting Raven Books Frome
Jacqson Diego Story Emporium Westcliff on Sea
Jaffe and Neale Chipping Norton
Kemptown Books Brighton
Kett’s Books Wymondham
Kirkdale Bookshop London
Leaf Hertford
Ledbury Books and Maps Ledbury
Lindum Books Lincoln
Little Ripon Bookshop Ripon
Mostly Books Abingdon
Nenagh Bookshop Nenagh
New Hedgehog Bookshop Penrith
Newham Bookshop London
Niche Comics and Bookshop Huntingdon
Octavia’s Bookshop Circencester
Pages of Hackney London
Pritchards Crosby
Rathfarnham Bookshop Rathfarnham
Red Lion Books Colchester
Rhyme & Reason Bookshop Sheffield
Scarthin Books of Cromford Cromford
Seaways Bookshop Fishguard
Siop Cwlwm Oswestry
Storytellers Inc St Annes on Sea
Swan Books Upminster
Tales on Moon Lane London
The Bookshop Kibworth
Torbay Bookshop Paington
Totnes Bookshop Totnes
Wallingford Bookshop Wallingford
Walter Henry’s Bookshop Bideford
Wenlock Books Much Wenlock
Whitby Books Whitby
Word Power Books Edinburgh
D5 Creation