2007 James Patterson Pageturner Awards
The PageTurner Awards, funded by best-selling mystery author James Patterson, are $250,000 in annual cash prizes "intended to celebrate the people, companies, schools and other institutions in the U.S. and Canada who find original and effective ways to spread the excitement of books and reading." This year, 37 prizes of various sizes were bestowed. Among the winners was The Philadelphia Alumni Writers House at Franklin & Marshall College, where I gave a 'Relatively Important' reading in 2007. Hooray, Writers House, and congrats to Kerry! http://www.fandm.edu/pawritershouse.xml
2007's big winner of an Individual Award ($25,000) was John Freeman, president of the National Book Critics Circle. It's wonderful to see a passionate advocate of book reviews recognized like this:
[from the Patterson PageTurner website]
It's no secret that book coverage in the media dwindles from year to year. John Freeman, president of the National Book Critics Circle, took on this giant issue almost single-handedly by launching a national campaign to bring back book coverage. He solicited, edited, and posted more than a hundred essays about the importance of reading, the necessity of criticism, and the role communities can play in their own newspapers. When the book editor position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was eliminated, Freeman flew to Atlanta and led a peaceful protest from which grew a petition to reinstate the job signed by nearly 7,000 people, including Sara Paretsky and the late Norman Mailer. Freeman moderates panels and continues to actively develop programs about this issue.
Big organizational winners included the following:
[from the Patterson PageTurner website]
Literacy Partners ($50,000)
For 35 years, Literacy Partners has provided high-quality, free, community-based adult and family literacy programs to more than 25,000 New York City residents to ensure that all adults have access to the education needed to fully realize their potential as individuals, parents, and citizens.
www.literacypartners.org.
First Book Marketplace ($25,000)
a subsidiary of the award-winning nonprofit organization First Book, is an online store that sells high-quality children's books at deeply discounted prices to organizations serving children from low-income families.
http://www.fbmarketplace.org/servlet/StoreFront
One More Story, Inc. ($25,000)
an online library of the best of children's classic and contemporary literature.
http://www.onemorestory.com
2007's big winner of an Individual Award ($25,000) was John Freeman, president of the National Book Critics Circle. It's wonderful to see a passionate advocate of book reviews recognized like this:
[from the Patterson PageTurner website]
It's no secret that book coverage in the media dwindles from year to year. John Freeman, president of the National Book Critics Circle, took on this giant issue almost single-handedly by launching a national campaign to bring back book coverage. He solicited, edited, and posted more than a hundred essays about the importance of reading, the necessity of criticism, and the role communities can play in their own newspapers. When the book editor position at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was eliminated, Freeman flew to Atlanta and led a peaceful protest from which grew a petition to reinstate the job signed by nearly 7,000 people, including Sara Paretsky and the late Norman Mailer. Freeman moderates panels and continues to actively develop programs about this issue.
Big organizational winners included the following:
[from the Patterson PageTurner website]
Literacy Partners ($50,000)
For 35 years, Literacy Partners has provided high-quality, free, community-based adult and family literacy programs to more than 25,000 New York City residents to ensure that all adults have access to the education needed to fully realize their potential as individuals, parents, and citizens.
www.literacypartners.org.
First Book Marketplace ($25,000)
a subsidiary of the award-winning nonprofit organization First Book, is an online store that sells high-quality children's books at deeply discounted prices to organizations serving children from low-income families.
http://www.fbmarketplace.org/servlet/StoreFront
One More Story, Inc. ($25,000)
an online library of the best of children's classic and contemporary literature.
http://www.onemorestory.com