Campaign Seeks Donations for Child Refugee Charity

On September 3, author Patrick Ness launched a fundraising campaign, pledging to match up to £10,000 in donations, to support Save the Children, a U.K.-based charity assisting children caught in the current refugee crisis in Europe and the Mediterranean.

Following Ness’ initial call to action on Twitter, fellow authors jumped on the chance to share links to the campaign and donate money themselves. Big-name authors offered to match donations of £10,000, including John Green (as well as his brother, Hank Green), Jojo Moyes, David Nicholls, Paula Hawkins, and Suzanne Collins. Ness’ publishers in the U.K., U.S., and Australia offered to make donations, as did publishers large and small from around the world.

Since the campaign’s start, more than 6,000 donors have raised upwards of £650,000, the equivalent of a million U.S. dollars.

Nialle Sylvan, owner of The Haunted Bookshop in Iowa City, Iowa, saw the fundraiser take shape over Labor Day weekend and is challenging indie booksellers to donate £500 (about $770 U.S.) to the campaign, either on their own or as part of a group donation.

“My interest here is in seeing this other part of the author-to-reader process weigh in on the importance of this cause,” she said.

On Twitter, Sylvan has tagged bookstores from coast to coast to urge donations to the campaign. She hopes to see 19 other bookstores join Haunted Bookshop to bring the total contribution from indie booksellers to £10,000.

Earlier this week, Sylvan donated £500 to the campaign on behalf of Haunted Bookshop and Ness acknowledged the donation. Noting that an indie bookseller had shared its earnings, he urged his followers to “go to an indie bookshop and buy £500 of books.”

On The Haunted Bookshop blog, Sylvan has compiled “The List of Never Giving Up,” a list of titles by authors who have donated to the cause, that she hopes to see shared by libraries, teachers, or bookstores as a way to support those who have been generous with their money and time. The list highlights each author and links to their websites and books.

Booksellers looking to support Ness’ campaign can make a contribution here. Those looking to pool funds for a group donation can contact Sylvan via e-mail or at the bookstore at (319) 337-2996.

As the movement to support aid for refugees intensifies, the book industry has continued to respond with fundraisers, promotions, and donations.

In London, the Big Green Bookshop is collecting books for a migrant camp in Calais, a port in northern France. At the camp, nicknamed “The Jungle,” teacher Mary Jones is collecting donations for the Jungle Books Library, in particular titles that will help refugees with English and French. Book donations are being collected at the Big Green Bookshop, and monetary donations can be made here.

Also in Europe, the German Publishers & Booksellers Association, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and LitCam have joined together to coordinate Books Say Welcome, a program in Germany that sets up Reading and Learning Corners in areas populated by refugees to provide them with quick and easy access to reading materials. Beginning September 19, bookstore customers in Germany will be invited to make donations to the Corners. The Frankfurt Book Fair is also offering free tickets and events for refugees interested in attending the fair this October.

In the U.S., Interlink Books will publish Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity on October 1. The proceeds from the cookbook, which includes recipes from more than 80 famous chefs and cookbook authors from around the world, will go toward food relief efforts for Syrian refugees. A special event kit for the cookbook is available to booksellers; learn more here.