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Press Releases | |
April 6, 2000
Contact:
"Meet the Writers" Book Fair Attracts 70 East End Authors
Jane Finalborgo
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081Contact: Suzanne Donovan sdonovan@southampton.liu.edu FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 6, 2000
"Meet the Writers" Book Fair Attracts 70 East End Authors The 23rd Annual John Steinbeck Event Kicks Off the Summer Season in the Hamptons
Southampton, NY-Seventy (70) writers from eastern Long Island will meet the public and autograph their new work at the 23rd Annual John Steinbeck "Meet the Writers" Book Fair & Art Preview on Friday, May 5, from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Elaine Benson Gallery in Bridgehampton. The art preview is titled "Generations 2000."
Among the authors scheduled to attend the Book Fair are Shana Alexander (The Astonishing Elephant), Nelson DeMille (The Lion's Game), Betty Friedan (Life So Far), Kaylie Jones (Celeste Ascending), Kenneth Koch (New Addresses), Peter Matthiessen (Bone by Bone), Joe Pintauro (House Made of Air), and many more.
Author/journalist Dava Sobel, whose widely-acclaimed Galileo's Daughter (Walker & Company, 1999) sold more than a half-million copies, will be the 12th recipient of the John Steinbeck Award when Southampton College, Long Island University, hosts the traditional kick-off to the Hamptons' summer season. David Steinberg, president of Long Island University, will present Sobel with the award.
A former science writer for The New York Times, Sobel now lives in East Hampton, N.Y. Her book Longitude (Walker & Company 1995), about the influence of an 18th century British clock maker on navigation, was a best-seller as well and subsequently translated into more than 20 languages worldwide. She has also written several health-related books.
East End writers who have been published since last May and are interested in participating may still do so by calling Carol Gilbert at Southampton College, at (631) 287-8348.
The Steinbeck "Meet the Writers" event benefits the library and the Writing Program at Southampton College. Through the Steinbeck Award, named for the Nobel Prize-winning author who lived his final years on Long Island's East End, the College recognizes East End writers who have made contributions to literature and humanity. Past honorees include E.L. Doctorow, Lanford Wilson, Peter Matthiessen, Kurt Vonnegut, Terrence McNally, Betty Friedan, David Ignatow, Wilfrid Sheed, Edward Albee, James Salter, and, in 1999, Susan Isaacs.
The Book Fair is sponsored by Kimco Realty Corporation and Bridgehampton Commons. Elaine Steinbeck, widow of the author, and Kimberly Goff, owner of the Elaine Benson Gallery, are co-chairs of the event. The 2000 Book Fair will be the second without Elaine Benson, who passed away in October 1998. The $15 tickets can be purchased at the door for this rain-or-shine event. The Benson Gallery is located at 2317 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton. For questions about the event, please call Carol Gilbert at (631) 287-8348.
About the Steinbeck Project: Since its 1977 inception the Steinbeck Project has raised several hundred thousand dollars for Southampton College. Funds have helped establish the Visiting Writers program, the annual Steinbeck Lecture, student writing awards, scholarships, and acquisitions for the College library. Thanks in part to the 1998 launch of the MFA program in English and Writing, the College is gaining national recognition as a center for writing.
The College will also host its annual Summer Writers Conference June 28 - July 6, a forum for writers of all genres to study and discuss the craft of writing.