2009 Literary Awards

PEN USA is proud to announce the winners of the 2009 Literary Awards. Honoring outstanding work by writers in 10 separate genres, the prizes will be presented at the 19th Annual Literary Awards Festival (also known as LitFest), which will be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 6:30pm.

This year’s winners are:

     Fiction:  KIM BARNES, A Country Called Home (Alfred A. Knopf)
     Creative Nonfiction:  STEVE LOPEZ, The Soloist (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
     Research Nonfiction:  LESLIE T. CHANG, Factory Girls (Spiegel & Grau)
     Poetry:  SEIDO RAY RONCI, The Skeleton of the Crow (Ausable Press)
     Children’s Literature:  KATHI APPELT, The Underneath (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
     Translation:  MAXINE CHERNOFF & PAUL HOOVER, Selected Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin (Omnidawn Publishing)
     Journalism:  KAREN OLSSON, Before and After (Texas Monthly)
     Drama:  MARISELA TREVINO ORTA, Braided Sorrow (El Centro Su Teatro)
     Teleplay:  GEORGE MASTRAS, Breaking Bad: Crazy Handful of Nothin’ (Sony/Gran Via/Highbridge)
     Screenplay:  DUSTIN LANCE BLACK, Milk (Newmarket Press)

In addition to the literary prizes, PEN USA’s LitFest gala will feature several other honors. As a tribute to his writing accomplishments, legendary author Elmore Leonard will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In a career spanning 60 years, Leonard has published 43 novels and numerous short stories, creating a distinct literary style that has delighted readers and influenced a new generation of writers. Books like Swag, LaBrava, Freaky Deaky, and Tishomingo Blues are not only classics of the crime genre, but some of the best writing of the last half century. Leonard’s most recent novel, Road Dogs, has received some of the best reviews of his career. He is currently finishing his next book, entitled Djibouti, to be published in 2010 by HarperCollins/William Morrow.

The 2009 Award of Honor will go to Ben Goldhirsh and GOOD Magazine (http://www.good.is/). Goldhirsh is the founder and CEO of GOOD, a multi-platform media company that produces content at the intersection of entertainment and relevance. GOOD’s efforts include print, video, online, and live events “for people who give a damn.” Active in both regional and international philanthropic endeavors, Goldhirsh is also one of the Directors of The Goldhirsh Foundation, which supports dynamic social programs, environmental initiatives, innovative medical research, and leading cultural institutions.

Serving as Master of Ceremonies for this year’s event will be Emmy-winning producer and political analyst Lawrence O’Donnell. Other special guests for this evening include Walter Mirisch, Oscar-winning producer of In the Heat of the Night, presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Elmore Leonard; and Mark Johnson and Vince Gilligan, executive producers and creators of Breaking Bad, presenting the Teleplay award to Writer’s Guild nominee George Mastras, as well as recent Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, who’ll receive the Screenplay award for Milk.

Tickets are now ON SALE. Contact Mann Productions at (323) 314-7000 or Mann.Productions@sbcglobal.net or visit our online store.

Click here to download the official Press Release.