Time Acknowledges What Indies Already Knew

Ann Patchett, the 2012 Indies Choice Award winner for Most Engaging Author, has been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

In an essay for Time, Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, wrote of her friend: “Ann Patchett is a woman of wisdom, determination, generosity and courage. Her readers have probably always suspected this. Ann’s moral code, after all, thrums throughout her novels — where characters are often called upon to summon up their decency, take a bold action and shift forever some stale old paradigm of power.”

And, Gilbert said, Patchett herself took such a bold action when she partnered with Karen Hayes to open Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee, to fill the void left by the closings of Borders and Davis-Kidd Booksellers.

Nashville’s readers are grateful for their “brick-and-mortar oasis,” Gilbert said, ‘but the world watches carefully, wondering: Will this endeavor actually work? Can one determined soul really make a dent against the dehumanizing wall of humongous corporate progress?

“Don’t worry; I already know how this story ends, because I know the author well. Trust me — Ann Patchett will see to it that the good guys win.”

Patchett will be honored as one of Time’s 100 at a gala next Tuesday at New York City’s Lincoln Center, along with this year’s other honorees, “who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us, and change our world.”

ABA member booksellers will have their own opportunity to salute Patchett, along with the other winners of this year’s Indies Choice and E.B. White Read-Aloud awards, at the June 5 Celebration of Bookselling Author Awards Luncheon at BookExpo America. The event is free and open exclusively to two booksellers at each ABA member store. Booksellers who would like to attend should book now via this online reservation form. Questions regarding the lunch should be addressed to Mark Nichols, ABA development officer.

Patchett’s keynote address at Winter Institute 7, one in which she shared all her reasons for opening Parnassus Books, was a truly galvanizing experience. Readers can listen to her Wi7 keynote, available here in an MP3 file. The audio, which is about 40 minutes long, begins with an introduction of Patchett by ABA Board member Matt Norcross, the co-owner of McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Michigan.