Iowa Bookstore Workers Score Bonuses From Famous Author

For the eighth time, a man who's been writing books for nearly 50 years has given holiday bonuses to workers at independently-owned bookstores. This year, six people who work at Iowa bookstores are receiving bonuses, and half of them are in the Iowa City area.

This holiday season, James Patterson, the author of 'Along Came a Spider' and over 200 other novels since 1976, is donating $300,000 to 600 booksellers across the U.S. Each recipient receives $500.

According to the American Booksellers Association, booksellers can be nominated by customers, owners, employees, managers, fellow booksellers, publishing professionals, authors, or be self-nominated.

The 2023 Iowa winners include Suzanne Gleeson from Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City:

Katy Herbold of Sidekick Coffee & Books in University Heights:

Aimee Kline from The Curiosity Shop in Pella:

Joshua Langseth of The Haunted Bookshop in Iowa City, Rachel Ramirez-Sensouk from Storyhouse Bookpub in Des Moines:

and Rachel Trainum from Dog-Eared Books in Ames.

Patterson began giving holiday bonuses to bookstore employees in 2015, taking 2020 off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are other Iowans that have won, since 2017. *The 2015 and 2016 winners are no longer published on Patterson's website.