Literarian Award for James Patterson

Novelist James Patterson, who grew up in a large, working-class Irish family in the Bronx, won the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award, which honors individuals for a lifetime of achievement in expanding the audience for books and reading. The prolific and best-selling author was recognized for donating books – more than 250,000 books for children to children in the United States.
Patterson, who received the award at the 66th National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner on November 18, at Cipriani, 55 Wall Street, in New York City, said: “I’m doomed to being a doer.” Speaking of his efforts and issuing a call to action, he said: “Let’s make sure there’s another generation of readers out there, and bookstores and publishers.” ♦