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Mystery donor pledges £250k to UK bookseller hardship fund

In the UK, a crowdfunding campaign has raised around £380,000 (A$742,700) for booksellers affected by the Covid-19 crisis, after a mystery donor pledged £250,000 (A$488,600), reports the Bookseller.

Penguin Random House UK also pledged £60,000 (A$117,260) to the hardship fund, while the Booksellers Association pledged £60,000 (A$117,200). Money raised is going to booksellers via hardship grants administered by the Book Trade Charity, with 15 grants of between £700 (A$1370) and £4,000 (A$7820) having been distributed so far.

‘The donor just wants to say they are committed to independent bookshops as part of a mixed bookselling economy and they want to show some support and we were their chosen vehicle through which to do that on the basis of the crowdfunder,’ the Book Trade Charity CEO David Hicks said.

The campaign was launched by Gayle Lazda from the London Review Bookshop, Picador commissioning editor Kishani Widyaratna and Daunt Books publisher Zeljka Marosevic initially as a £10,000 (A$20,125) fundraiser.

 

Category: International news