James Patterson to donate £250k to independent bookshops

Crime writer to offer grants of up to £5,000 to combat online booksellers such as Amazon and promote children's reading

James Patterson, the American author whose crime fiction has sold hundreds of million of copies round the world, is to donate £250,000 to independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland.

Patterson, who has topped the New York Times bestseller list a record 57 times with his Alex Cross thrillers, said bookshops played an "essential role" in society and children's development and that their plight in the face of cheap online booksellers such as Amazon needed to be highlighted.

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