Random House gives US$5,000 Christmas bonuses to employees due in part to success of its 'Fifty Shades of Grey' books, which sold more than 20 million copies; other bestsellers include 'Gone Girl' and 'The Racketeer'

Sandy Yang

December 7, 2012 (UPI Quirks in the News) – Publisher Random House, based in New York, said employees are receiving $5,000 Christmas bonuses due in part to the success of its "Fifty Shades of Grey" books.

Spokesman Stuart Applebaum said Chief Executive Officer Markus Dohle announced the bonuses Wednesday at a company Christmas party. Workers will receive the bonuses in their paychecks next month, ABC News reported Friday.

Employees who have been with the company for at least a year will receive $5,000 bonuses while employees who have been with the company for a shorter amount of time will receive a prorated bonus.

The bonuses came after "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James sold more than 20 million copies, and further success for Random House this year came in the form of "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn and "The Racketeer" by John Grisham.

James has described her runaway bestseller as a love story "with quite a bit of sex in it."

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