Griffin Bay Bookstore Award Announcement

Laura Norris and Griffin Bay Bookstore are lucky winners of one of James Patterson’s $500 Holiday Bonus awards.

All across the country, 500 booksellers from Maine to California, Florida to the Dakotas, were each awarded the special bonus, 100 of them going bookstores specializing in children’s literature or with an outstanding children’s collection.

This award is fitting for Griffin Bay Bookstore with its mission to promote literacy and inspire the love of reading in the community’s children and young adults.

The award comes as Griffin Bay Bookstore brings its 40^th anniversary celebrations to a close. Owner Laura Norris, says of the honor: “Because our loyal customers and our island community continue to give enthusiastic support, we are able to keep to our commitment to promoting a vibrant literary culture in the islands. Our place in the community is a result of hard work, careful planning, and dedication to literature, to promoting literacy and great reading—all made possible with a wonderful staff of well-read and well-versed bibliophiles, each with a particular area of expertise.”

In his statement announcing the 2019 awards, Patterson put it this way: “I’ve said this many times before, but I can’t say it enough: booksellers save lives. Children’s booksellers especially — they guide children to books they’ll genuinely enjoy and in turn create a new generation of readers. I’m happy to be able to acknowledge them and the important work they do in any way that I can this holiday season.”

The 2019 recipients of Patterson’s award were chosen from a pool of 2,500 nominations, submitted to the American Booksellers Association (ABA). The Holiday Bonus Award is administered by the author who has teamed up with the ABA to share his personal fortune to help promote and sustain America’s independent bookstores.

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