…your gifts many

With gratitude and best wishes.
May your heart be full © j.i. kleinberg 2021

poetry on film

At a time of year when the word home has a particular resonance, we invite you to view the lovely poem/film “Home” by spoken-word poet Erin Fornoff and director/cinematographer David Knox.

More poetry on film here.

MORE LIGHT

For the season, the holidays, the year ahead, more light.
J.I. Kleinberg

say something

ornament 2017 © j.i. kleinberg

holiday bonus time

Forbes calls him “Publishing’s richest penman.” His online biography says that “he has sold over 350 million books worldwide and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers.” At the rate of about a dozen books a year, on his own and with co-authors, James Patterson is a writing phenomenon.

But even as he’s creating characters and stories, he’s also finding ways to encourage readers and support literacy. Through the Patterson Family Foundation he awards scholarships to students at 22 different colleges and universities around the country. In the last ten years, he has given away more than a million books to students all over the U.S. and has visited hundreds of schools to advocate for youth literacy. In 2015, Patterson showed his gratitude to independent bookstore employees through a donation of $250,000; in 2016 he is doing the same. Patterson is partnering with the American Booksellers Association to distribute the funds, which are granted as bonuses of $1,000 to $5,000 to individual booksellers.

The holiday bonus winners are nominated locally and selected by Patterson himself. We congratulate this year’s 149 winners, including the following independent bookstore employees at some of our favorite Cascadia-region stores:

• Caitlin Luce Baker, University Book Store, Seattle, WA
• Erin Ball, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA
• Kenny Coble, King’s Books, Tacoma, WA
• Madison Duckworth, Liberty Bay Books, Poulsbo, WA
• Emily Fuggetta, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR
• Kim Hooyboer, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA
• Sarah Hutton, Village Books, Bellingham, WA
• Victoria Irwin, Eagle Harbor Book Co., Bainbridge Island, WA
• Ruby Meyers, Annie Bloom’s Books, Portland, OR
• Emma Nichols, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA
• Linda Watson, Powell’s Books, Portland, OR

let your words be heard!

speak your piece on earth © j.i. kleinberg (with thanks to NASA)

if you shop…

Shop Small. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is Small Business Saturday. Many independently owned stores, possibly including your favorite local bookstore, participate with author appearances, snacks, activities for kids, and much more. Visit Shop Small to find businesses in your area. (Paying with cash helps indies avoid credit card fees.)

wishes

last minute

The Qwerkywriter Bluetooth Keyboard at GadgetFlow

Buddy Wakefield Poem Pens

The Poet Tarot and Guidebook from Two Sylvias Press

All manner of homemade poetry swag on Etsy including Emily Dickinson tights

Noisy Water: Poetry from Whatcom County, Washington – available at Village Books

The Emily Dickinson Tarot Deck from Factory Hollow Press

congratulations, booksellers!

James Patterson’s bio doesn’t need a lot of superlatives. The facts are enough: “In 2011, it was estimated that one-in-four of all hardcover suspense/thriller novels sold was written by James Patterson, he is the first author to achieve ten million ebook sales, and he holds the Guinness record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers of any author.” Patterson writes books for adults and children and, to his enormous credit, invests his time and money to encourage reading and readers.

This holiday season, Patterson is giving away $2 million in grants and bonuses to independent bookstore employees and school libraries. Working with the American Booksellers Association, Patterson invited readers to nominate hardworking employees of independent bookstores and from the 2,848 nominations, “Patterson personally selected the booksellers who will receive bonuses ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.”

The list of 87 winning employees was announced yesterday and we extend special congratulations to these booksellers who serve us in the Cascadia region:
Grass Roots Books & Music, Corvallis, OR: Charnee Rose
Green Bean Books, Portland, OR: Earl Dizon
King’s Books, Tacoma, WA: sweet pea Flaherty
Powell’s Books, Portland, OR: Carol Easter
Powell’s Books, Portland, OR: Kevin Sampsell
The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA: Karen Maeda Allman
Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA: Rich and Patti Harriman
Village Books, Bellingham, WA: Joan Terselich

See the complete list on the ABA’s Bookweb.