James Patterson, a successful author, provides Christmas bonuses to many bookstore employees.

Staff members at Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama, City Lights Books in San Francisco, and The Nook in Cedar Falls, Iowa, are among the 600 booksellers who will be receiving $500 holiday bonuses from James Patterson. The renowned bestselling novelist has been recognizing independent bookstore employees with these bonuses since 2015.

Expressing his gratitude, Patterson stated, “Booksellers save lives. Period. I’m happy to be able to acknowledge them and all their hard work this holiday season.” His comments were released in a statement on Tuesday through his publisher, Little, Brown and Company.

The recipients of these bonuses, such as Davis Gustafson from Thank You Books and Erin Messer from City Lights, were nominated by their colleagues, customers, and others. Other winners include Brandon Conrad from The Nook, Gina Marx from The Lynx in Gainesville, Florida, and Kirstin Kraig from Whale’s Tale Books in Lakewood, Colorado. Patterson selected the winners from a pool of thousands of applications.

“We appreciate Mr. Patterson’s financial generosity as well as his generosity of spirit. We all continue to be awed by, and grateful for, Mr. Patterson’s continuing support of independent booksellers,” Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, said in a statement. “It means everything to have him recognize and reward the valuable role booksellers play in the industry.”

Along with his gifts to booksellers, Patterson has given millions of dollars to schools, libraries and literacy programs. In 2015, the National Book Foundation presented him an honorary National Book Award – the Literarian Award – for “outstanding service to the American literary community.”