James Patterson, the best-selling author, has donated $2 million to PEN America to build communications capacity and help the premier writers’ organization speak louder in defense of free expression against evolving threats in the United States, online, and around the world.
The gift to PEN America from the Patterson Family Foundation marks a milestone in the prolific author’s philanthropy with a total of $100 million donated to literacy causes. Patterson has long been an advocate for writers and reading, donating more than one million books to schools across the United States, cultivating the careers of thousands of teachers and young writers, fortifying classroom libraries around the country, and backing independent booksellers who needed money to keep operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
