POETS & WRITERS IS MORE than a magazine. We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving creative writers. We pay fees to writers giving readings and leading workshops, provide information and advice to authors, and help them connect with one another and with audiences. We also sponsor a number of awards and prizes. Learn more at pw.org.
In Celebration of Writers
| The Numbers Behind the Poets & Writers Benefit |
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| Number of recipients of the Writers for Writers Award, established in 1996: 47 |
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| Number of recipients of the Editor's Award, established in 2009: 4 |
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| Number of guests at this year's dinner: 408 |
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| Number of authors who served as table hosts: 33 |
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| Dollars raised: 400,000+ |
This year’s Poets & Writers benefit dinner, which was held on Thursday, March 29, in New York City, raised over $400,000. The annual fund-raiser provides vital support to the organization’s programs for creative writers, including Readings/Workshops, the Writers Exchange Award, pw.org, and this magazine.
More than four hundred people gathered for the event at Capitale, a venue housed in a 119-year-old Beaux Arts landmark located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Michael Jacobs, president and CEO of ABRAMS, served as this year’s dinner chair, helping to garner broad support from the publishing community. Author and humorist Andy Borowitz was the emcee.
Three writers received the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award: David Baldacci, Kwame Dawes, and Carol Muske-Dukes. The award recognizes writers’ contributions to other writers and to the literary community. Kathryn Court, president and publisher of Penguin Books, received the Editor’s Award for her sustained contribution to the publication of poetry and literary prose.
Poet, novelist, and performer Sapphire spoke about her long association with Readings/Workshops. She recalled that, as a young writer, the program validated her work, whether she was leading writing workshops in prisons or participating in poetry slams at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City. “Poets & Writers has allowed many poets and writers to hold their heads high and say, ‘I do something worth getting paid for,’” she said.