NEW YORK (AP) — James Patterson is announcing the first round of school libraries to receive grants from an initiative he and Scholastic Reading Club launched in March, and he continues to raise the amount of money he will donate.

The best-selling author said Tuesday that he has given $500,000 to 127 schools, from Berryville Middle School in Arkansas to the Pierre Indian Learning Center in South Dakota. Individual grants range from $1,000 to $10,000, part of a program Patterson and Scholastic originally set at $1.25 million, but now stands at $1.75 million. On Tuesday, he committed an additional $250,000, the second time he increased funding by $250,000.

Patterson has given away millions in recent years to libraries and independent booksellers while also sponsoring numerous literacy projects.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

More From KXRB