WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Academy received a grant from bestselling author James Patterson to support the school library. 

In addition, Scholastic Reading Club will match each dollar of Patterson’s donation with “bonus points” that teachers can use to acquire books and other materials for their classrooms. 

The Academy was selected from 27,924 applicants.

“The Academy is extremely grateful to receive a Patterson/Scholastic Grant for our students, faculty, and surrounding community members who visit Bracken Memorial Library each day,” Headmaster Chris Sandford said. “The grant allowed us to continue the Bracken Memorial Library Author series, a program of free events featuring nationally recognized authors. This year we were honored to welcome Forrest Pritchard, Matthew Dicks, Joe Lindley and children’s author Sandra Horning to campus to speak about their work, passion for writing, and the importance of reading for personal development. We hope to continue our Author Series for many years to come.”

As part of an ongoing effort to keep books and reading a number one priority in the United States, bestselling author James Patterson, together with Scholastic Reading Club, made a commitment to help save school libraries nationwide. 

This year alone, Patterson personally donated $1.75 million to school libraries nationwide, with grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 allocated to each of the 467 selected schools.

“These grants are my humble acknowledgement of some of the terrific work taking place in libraries,” author James Patterson commented. 

“Here’s to communities supporting school libraries. Here’s to a country that makes reading a priority.”