Source : Times of India
Paula Hawkins, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman and many other authors are donating thousands of books to Oxfam for sale in the charity’s shops to raise money for its work.
Oxfam is an international organisation that fights poverty and inequality and promotes sustainable development. They have various projects running in several countries. One of their sources of income is from their chain of bookstores and they often participate in the Hay Festival.
The authors who donated books to this cause include Margaret Atwood, Ruth Jones, Germaine Greer, Greg James Kate Garraway, Paula Hawkins, Marcel Somerville, Jensen Button, Robert Webb, and Neil Gaiman
Many publishers also chipped in: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette UK, Faber and Faber, Bloomsbury, Pavilion, Pan Macmillan and Profile Books all donated several books.
Andrew Franklin, founder and managing director of Profile Books, told The Bookseller, “Oxfam has many friends in the book world, who support Oxfam’s essential work in some of the most difficult environments on earth. It is a noble organisation delivering life-saving aid like clean water to the world’s most profoundly disadvantaged people. That’s why Profile Books, along with other publishers, has donated thousands of books to Oxfam to sell in its shops and raise much-needed cash. I’m glad we can demonstrate our support for Oxfam in such a practical way. And we will continue to do so as long as the need is there.”
Andrew Horton, Oxfam trading director expressed gratitude towards the generosity of the book community.
“We estimate that the thousands of books donated to Oxfam by our friends in the publishing industry could raise over £25,000 from sales in Oxfam shops”, he said to The Bookseller, “The authors have also donated thousands of books personally. Book donations are vitally important to Oxfam because they raise millions of pounds for our work helping the world’s poorest people escape the daily grind of living with dirty water and hunger. These valuable book donations and the sales they generate really will change the lives of people who desperately need help for good.”
