With many organizations seeking to assist those who lost so much on September 11, a number of publishers are contributing proceeds from the sales of certain titles to related charitable causes. ReganBooks has announced that all royalties from In the Line of Duty: A Tribute to New York's Finest and Bravest will be turned over to the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. Rodale Books and Beliefnet report that all royalties earned by From the Ashes will go to the NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund for the education of children of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives during rescue attempts at the World Trade Center. Rodale president Stephen P. Murphy says, "It is our hope that this book will give comfort to readers and that the money raised by this project will give aid to those most immediately affected by this devastating act of terrorism."

Kit Hinrichs, author of Long May She Wave: A Graphic History of the American Flag (Ten Speed Press), has announced that he will donate a portion of his royalties to the American Red Cross 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund. The September 11th Fund is designated as the beneficiary for a portion of Carolyn Quick Tillery's royalties from At Freedom's Table (Cumberland House). Brook Noel, author of I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye, is giving all of her personal royalties to various organizations devoted to victims' families. Her publisher, Champion Press, is donating a portion of proceeds from all sales between September 11 and December 31 to charities as well. Noel says, "We hear people telling us the best thing to do now is 'get back to our normal schedule and life.' This isn't possible. My job is to help people find a new life, a new sense of purpose in a new world where their loved one is absent."

The American Red Cross will receive a portion of the proceeds from Collectors Press's sales of United We Stand!: A Visual Journey of Wartime Patriotism by Richard J. Perry, and the same organization is set for a portion of the profits from A Cup of Comfort, edited by Colleen Sell, sold by Adams Media between October 15 and December 31. Prima decided to reprint its bestseller Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America by Yossef Bodansky in a trade paper edition only after arranging for a "substantial portion" of the profits to be given to the American Red Cross. The Red Cross, the September 11th Fund and the Firefighters' Fund will share up to $200,000, predicts Sports Publishing, from sales of its new book, America's Heroes. Zondervan printed an entire new Red Cross edition of Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey with a new foreword by the author. Although it normally sells for $12.99, the book in its new version has a cover price of $6.99, and all author royalties and company profits will go the American Red Cross.

All profits from the sales of Brotherhood, published by American Express Publishing and Ogilvy & Mather and distributed by Sterling, will go to the Twin Towers Fund and the Family Assistance Project of the FDNY Fire Safety Education Fund. Rick Boyko, chief creative officer at Ogilvy & Mather and the man behind the book's creation, says, "Since September, our firemen, both the lost and surviving, have come to symbolize the full range of emotions our nation and our city have experienced. We've included in this book all the firehouses who have lost members from their ranks."

A charity benefiting victims of September 11 will receive proceeds from Crossroad Publishing's sales of Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America. Disaster relief groups will also receive 100% of royalties from America Out of the Ashes published by Honor Books. Thomas Nelson is giving a percentage of proceeds from sales of How to Live Through a Bad Day by Jack Hayford to New York's Firefighters' Fund for families of those lost in the tragedy. The New York Firefighters' Fund will also benefit from sales of ExtremeWord USA The Bible from Thomas Nelson.

National Geographic Books is giving booksellers an American flag when they purchase Star-Spangled Banner: Our Nation and Its Flag by Margaret Sedeen, and a portion of this title's proceeds will go to September 11 relief efforts. The same house will put all profits from the sale of It's Still a Dog's New York by Susan Roth toward providing free copies of the book to elementary schools in New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as to the ASPCA. Peter Kash, author of Make Your Own Luck from Prentice Hall Press, has set up a fund to donate his proceeds from the January 2002 book. "Both my wife and I are involved with several charities," he says. "We thought it important to direct proceeds both to children who were orphaned in the WTC tragedy and to children who were not affected directly, like my own children, who still have nightmares."

All profits and royalties from Finding God's Peace in Perilous Times will be given by Tyndale House to the Salvation Army, which will pass them on to a special fund for families affected by September 11. Forrest Church, senior minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City and editor of Restoring Faith: America's Religious Leaders Answer Terror with Hope (Walker), will donate his royalties to the All Souls Emergency Relief Fund established following September 11. Maya Baran, Walker's marketing director, says, "Walker & Company will contribute a percentage of sales on each copy sold and any profits from sales of Restoring Faith to the Red Cross Liberty Disaster Relief Fund, which supports the ongoing expenses of the families of the terrorist victims in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania."

Books to the Rescue

Not all contributions from publishers and authors are in cash. Knowing the value of the counsel between book covers, many are helping by giving books away.

Elaine Leong Eng, M.D., author of "Martha, Martha": How Christians Worry (Haworth Press), has recently been in contact with the night chaplain for New York's Fire Department to give copies of the book to grieving firefighters and to see how she can work with them. She also gave 70 copies directly to others who have lost loved ones or who narrowly escaped the collapsed towers.

"One of our own efforts was to donate a few thousand copies of When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Rabbi Kushner to the American Red Cross as a resource for the families of the victims of the World Trade Center attacks," says Mary Ellen Curley, group marketing director, HarperCollins General Books Group.

More than 1,000 copies of Ambiguous Loss by Pauline Boss were given by Harvard University Press to those in the tri-state area who suffered loss on September 11. A psychotherapist, Boss asserts that ambiguous loss, not knowing if the loved one is alive or dead, is potentially the most stressful and debilitating of losses.

Among those deeply affected by the incomprehensible events are the young, and to assist adults attempting to reassure them, Hyperion gave copies of Ten Talks Parents Must Have with Their Children About Violence and Safety by Dominic Cappello to PTA organizations throughout the country and a shipment of 1,200 copies to New York Is Book Country's effort to distribute books to New York libraries in the wake of September 11. Impact Publishers gave 110 copies of another book that can benefit children, "I Wish I Could Hold Your Hand...": A Child's Guide to Grief and Loss by Pat Palmer to Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) in New Jersey. Connie Magee, marketing and special projects manager, says they were "to be given to surviving children and families of the New Jersey/New York Port Authority Police Department, formerly headquartered in the sub-basement of the World Trade Center."

Counselors associated with the American Red Cross received 600 copies of Remembering Well by Sarah York and 150 copies of In Times of Crisis and Sorrow by Carol M. Noren, both published by John Wiley's Jossey-Bass imprint. Linda Peavy, Judson Press associate publisher and director of marketing, says, "During the course of the tragic events on September 11, we mailed free copies of Surviving Grief: 30 Questions and Answers for a Time of Loss [by A.M. Brady Reinsmith] to several churches in the New York and Washington, D.C., areas. We also provided three free books to each Barnes & Noble bookstore in the Manhattan area. A 50% discount is currently being offered to all bookstores that purchase the release."

Utilizing modern technology, McGraw-Hill offered the public free e-book copies (in a variety of formats and from several venues) of The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery and Growth by Glenn R. Schiraldi.

New Horizon Press assistant editor Lynda Hatch reports that a package of several books was sent to "various mental health organizations, recovery groups and the human resources departments of companies formerly housed in the World Trade Center who lost employees." Among the house's books are Living with an Empty Chair by Roberta Temes and I'm Grieving as Fast as I Can by Linda Feinberg.