James Patterson to give $1m to US indies

Author James Patterson has pledged to give $1m of his own money to independent bookshops in the US.

Patterson appeared on CBS "This Morning" to discuss his plans to improve literacy and said it was important that more parents encouraged their children to read and find new books.

In order to help families do that, Patterson announced he planned to give away £1m to indie bookshops as long as they have a children’s sector and are financially viable.

Patterson said: “We’re making this transition to e-books and that’s fine and good and terrific and wonderful, but we’re not doing it in an organised, sane, civilised way. So what’s happening right now is a lot of bookstores are disappearing, a lot of libraries are disappearing or they’re not being funded, school libraries aren’t being funded as well. This is not a good thing. It used to be you could find books everywhere. You go to Sweden, Sweden has 8 million people, a book will sell a million copies there.”

Patterson also appeared on the show to discuss his new children’s book Treasure Hunters.

He added: “Parents have to step up. You can be your kids’ friend, but you’ve got to be their parent, and they have to read at home. The end.”