Writers, Publishers, Booksellers Team Up With Red Cross

WFTRC counter-top donation box at Shakespeare & Co.

Last year, two devastating events took place in Nashville, Tennessee. In May, the city suffered a damaging flood. In November, one of the area's beloved bookstores, Davis Kidd, closed. This year, Nashville native Holly Tucker is stepping up to make a difference and raise money for an organization she cherishes.

Tucker, a passionate volunteer for The Red Cross, a professor at Vanderbilt University, and a writer who is gearing up to release her new book, Blood Work (Norton), spearheaded Writers for the Red Cross in recognition of Red Cross Month (March 1-31). It is on online event intended to raise funds and awareness for the Red Cross and its work in communities across the country. Publishing-related items will be auctioned and services by author, publicists, and editors are being donated. Authors have been posting about what the Red Cross means to them. All donors who give over $25 will be able to select one free book from a selection that has been donated by publishers.

The event has been a way for Tucker to work through the losses her area has recently endured, she said. “It also allows me to combine two of my passions: my volunteer work at the Red Cross and my work as a writer... From Blood Work to Writers for the Red Cross, all roads always seem to lead back to the same place: my love for the Red Cross and the amazing work it does.”

Tucker modeled the event after a similar project that was initiated by three YA authors (Myra McEntire, Victoria Schwab, and Amanda K. Morgan) after the flood last fall. With their blessing, she began getting the word out, and now, roughly 128 authors, more than 16 independent bookstores, seven editors, six book blogs, six agents, two national writers' organizations, and 16 other publishing professionals have jumped on board. “We're all just delighted by how well it's turning out,” said Tucker.

Wanda Jewell, executive director of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) was immediately interested in the cause, notifying her organization's bookstore affiliates, many of whom agreed to donate 5 percent of the month's sales to the cause.

Jewell is hoping this event will benefit both parties – the Red Cross, as well has the participating bookstores, she said.

“Wanda came to us through Rebecca Joines Schinsky, [of The Book Lady's Blog] who may be the most devoted person to her local bookstore that I have ever met,” said Tucker. Joines Schinsky is participating by auctioning off a “mystery bag of 10 books.”

Another one of the many bookstore partners is Shakespeare & Co., in Brooklyn, New York, who set up a counter-top display that was distributed, along with other helpful tools, by the event organizers. Alicia D'Amico, a bookseller at the store, made a sign to encourage support by offering a free galley to anybody who donates.

“The Red Cross does great things so we were happy to drum up any support for them,” said D'Amico. “It's so important for bookstores to be involved in their communities; with the foot traffic we get being located across from Brooklyn College, hosting a donation box and tweeting about it was the least we could do. I think it will do well.”

Tucker cited commitment to community as the connection between the book world and the Red Cross. She emphasized what has been stated on their site: “Writers share a commitment to community by bringing people together through their stories. And these communities continue to be strengthened as readers come together with writers in their local bookstores, in book clubs, online through social media...and through partnerships with national organizations with a similar mission of community: national organizations like the American Red Cross.”

Tucker added, “Booksellers know a thing or two about community! Indie bookstores are places where connections among readers and writers are fostered every day in the communities they serve and beyond.”

Tucker encourages more booksellers to support the cause by using a donation box, organizing a sale, donating an auction item, or simply spreading the word.