October 15 Deadline for Phase One Bookseller Relief Fund Grants

To provide assistance to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as quickly as possible, the Bookseller Relief Fund Board created a two-phase relief process and set October 15 as the deadline for applications for relief under Phase One of the plan.

In Phase One, any employees (who worked for 25 hours or more a week) in any retail bookselling entity located within the federally declared disaster area will be eligible to receive a one-time $500 grant if they provide by October 15, 2005, their name; their current address, phone number, and e-mail address; and the name and address of the store where they worked, as well as the name of the store's owner or their immediate supervisor. In addition, booksellers applying for funds must submit a statement affirming that they are no longer being paid by the store where they worked. (Applications may be submitted electronically at www.bookweb.org/read/8126; or a form may be downloaded in PDF format and mailed or faxed to the fund.)

Under Phase Two of the Relief Fund effort, a subcommittee of the Bookseller Relief Fund Board will review more expansive requests for assistance from the owners of bookstores within the federally declared disaster area based on a more detailed statement of need.

Booksellers interested in filing a more detailed request for assistance should contact Walker at [email protected] or at (800) 637-0037, ext. 6612.

All necessary documentation for relief from the fund should be sent to the attention of Walker [by mail to Bookseller Relief Fund, c/o ABA, 200 White Plains Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591; by fax to (914) 591-2720; or by e-mail to [email protected]].

For more about the BRF, go to www.bookweb.org/read/8092.