Authors and illustrators join Garth Stein and Amor Towles in funding matching pool for bookstore/comic shop grant program
A dozen authors and illustrators have joined together to create a matching pool of $40,000 to drive the next stage of fundraising for Binc’s Survive to Thrive grant program, which will provide substantial grants to as many as 200 independent bookstores and comic shops contending with the effects of the pandemic.
Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Amor Towles, author of A Gentleman in Moscow, have been joined by:
- Sandra Boynton, author most recently of Jungle Night, which comes with a free audio version by Yo-Yo Ma on cello;
- Michael Chabon, co-editor of Fight of the Century: Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU Cases, and author of Moonglow, and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, among others;
- Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot See and, coming in September, Cloud Cuckoo Land;
- Gayle Forman, author of the forthcoming books, We Are Inevitable (June) and Frankie & Bug (October), as well as If I Stay;
- Linda Kass, author of Tasa’s Song and A Ritchie Boy;
- Ann Patchett, who serves as a Binc ambassador, working to raise the foundation’s visibility, is the author of a forthcoming book of essays, These Precious Days (November), as well as The Dutch House, and other books;
- Chris Raschka, author and illustrator of In the City and The Blue Table, among other books. He is the illustrator of Caldecott Medal winner, The Hello, Goodbye Window;
- Charlaine Harris, author of The Russian Cage, and the Sookie Stackhouse novels, upon which the TV show True Blood was based;
- Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here;
- Kiki Thorpe, author of The Never Girls series and other books for young readers.
“We are grateful to this stellar group of authors and illustrators for coming together to raise the visibility of the Survive to Thrive campaign, helping to get the word out among their readers and fans, and for their generous donations which will double the next $40,000 in campaign contributions,” said Binc’s executive director Pamela French. “Every gift will help us reach our campaign goal of $2 million total by June 1.”
Join these authors and double the impact of your gift to Survive to Thrive. Donate now: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/book-industry-charitable-foundation/survive-to-thrive
Binc announced the launch of Survive to Thrive, which will provide grants of up to $10,000 to as many as 200 independent bookstores and comic shops, with $1 million raised from corporate donors in the publishing and bookselling industries, but like the majority of Binc’s fundraising, the Foundation is counting on grassroots donors, readers and fans, to make the campaign’s ambitious goal of $2 million total.
“Survive to Thrive is an impactful campaign which will boost our bookstores and comic book stores over the top of the hill, providing both economic and energetic support to our essential local literary communities. Bookstores and comic book stores are the incubators of imagination in our world, and they deserve a big hug from us all…in lieu of hugs, donations are also appreciated!” said Garth Stein.
Stein, chair of Binc’s Author Leadership Circle, served as convenor of the $40,000 matching pool, putting out the call for authors and comics creators to join him in capturing attention and raising funds for the Survive to Thrive campaign. He is the author of The Art of Racing in the Rain — which has sold more than 6 million copies, been translated into 35 languages, and spent more than three years on the New York Times bestseller list. His newest project is a graphic novel with Matthew Southworth, The Cloven, which came out in July 2020.
The first author to join the matching grant pool was Amor Towles, the author of the New York Times best sellers A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility. His new novel, The Lincoln Highway, will be out October 5.
“The vitality of reading in America depends upon on our incredible network of independent bookstores, which curate our literature across all its genres and which consistently place just the right books in our hands at just the right time,” Towles said.
The Survive to Thrive grant program is open to independent bookstores and comic shops throughout the United States. Grants of up to $10,000 will be made via a juried review process designed to provide grants to stabilize stores and help them thrive. Depending on fundraising, the program will provide grants to as many as 200 brick-and-mortar bookstores and comic shops that have been able to adapt throughout the pandemic and have community-minded innovation plans going forward.
“These matching grant gifts are especially important because they effectively double the value of each donation made right now,” French said. “All gifts, of any size, will help Survive to Thrive reach its goals and help preserve the local bookstores and comic shops that mean so much to our communities.”
Survive to Thrive is accepting applications through May 10. Find out more about eligibility and apply at https://binc.smapply.io/
