POETS & WRITERS IS MORE than a magazine. We are a nonprofit organization that puts money directly into the hands of writers who give readings and lead workshops in museums, prisons, homeless shelters, libraries, and senior centers. Your subscription to Poets & Writers Magazine supports the all-important work of cultivating literary activity in urban and rural communities throughout the United States.
In Celebration of Writers
| The Numbers Behind the Poets & Writers Benefit |
|
| Number of years the benefit has been held: 21 |
|
| Number of guests at this year’s dinner: 442 |
|
| Number of authors who served as table hosts: 40 |
|
| Number of additional guests at the after party: 132 |
|
| Dollars raised: 480,000+ |
|
Nearly 450 book-industry professionals, including agents, editors, publishers, printers, distributors—and, of course, readers!—joined to celebrate writers at the annual Poets & Writers benefit dinner, held on March 2 at Capitale in New York City. The Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award was presented to Maria Mazziotti Gillan, John Grisham, and Elizabeth Nunez. Established in 1996, the Writers for Writers Award recognizes authors who have given generously to other writers or to the broader literary community. Honorees are nominated by past winners, other prominent writers, and the board of directors of Poets & Writers. The award is named for Barnes & Noble in appreciation of its extraordinary support of Poets & Writers. In addition, Jonathan Galassi, the president and publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, received the 2011 Editor’s Award, which recognizes a book editor who has made an outstanding contribution to the publication of poetry or literary prose over a sustained period of time. Among the speakers at the event was Erica Jong, who spoke movingly of her involvement with Poets & Writers since its founding in 1970. Leadership for the dinner was provided by benefit chair Michael Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins U.S. General Books and Canada, and the event raised a record-breaking $480,000. Proceeds support Poets & Writers’ programs for writers, including Readings/Workshops, the Writers Exchange Award, and its Web site, pw.org.
Credit: Christopher Smith