|
||
|
|
|
|
Press Releases | |
Feb 14, 2000
Contact:
"Meet the Writers" Bookfair Honors Dava Sobel
Jane Finalborgo
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081Author Dava Sobel will be the 12th recipient of the John Steinbeck Award when Southampton College of Long Island University hosts 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.
Writers of new books will meet the public and autograph their works at the rain-or-shine event, which benefits the John Steinbeck Project at Southampton College and traditionally kicks off the summer season in The Hamptons. East End writers who have published books since last May and are interested in participating should call Carol Gilbert at Southampton College, at 631-287-8348.
Through the Steinbeck Award -- named for the Nobel Prize-winning author who lived his final years on the East End of Long Island -- Southampton College recognizes contributions to literature and humanity by East End writers. E.L. Doctorow became the first recipient at the 1989 Book Fair, followed by Lanford Wilson, Peter Matthiessen, Kurt Vonnegut, Terrence McNally, Betty Friedan, David Ignatow, Wilfrid Sheed, Edward Albee, James Salter and 1999 honoree Susan Isaacs.
Dava Sobel's popular and critically acclaimed writing efforts have found their way into historians' and general fans' hearts alike. Her books, Longitude (Walker & Company, 1995), about John Harrison, an 18th century British clock maker who invented a timepiece crucial to navigation, and Galileo's Daughter (Walker & Company, 1999), have sold more than 500,000 copies each, and have been translated into 23 languages worldwide.
"In Galileo's Daughter, we hear Galileo's voice, we sense his pain and share his excitement, and once again we marvel at how the human mind, and heart, can lift so much," wrote the New York Times Book Review.
A former award-winning science reporter for The New York Times, Sobel now lives in East Hampton, NY. Born in the Bronx, she graduated from the prestigious Bronx High School of Science. She is also author of several health-related books.
The John Steinbeck "Meet The Writers" Book Fair benefits the library and the Writing Program at Southampton College. It is sponsored by Kimco Realty Corporation and Bridgehampton Commons. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door.
About the Steinbeck Project: Since its 1977 inception, the Steinbeck Project has raised several hundred thousands dollars for Southampton College. Funds have helped establish a Visiting Writers program, the annual Steinbeck Lecture, student writing awards, scholarships and acquisitions for the College's library. Thanks in part to the 1998 launch of an MFA program in English and Writing, the College is gaining national recognition as a center for writing. The MFA program features a famed Circle of Writers who make the East End their home, including: author and Emmy-winning journalist Roger Rosenblatt, the Parsons Family University Professor in Writing; poet William Hathaway; award winning playwright and cartoonist Jules Fieffer; National commentator and columnist Shana Alexander; screen actor and monologist Spalding Gray; and novelists Indira Ganesan and Kaylie Jones. For information about the MFA in Writing, contact Noreen McKenna at 631-287-8200. The College also will host its annual Summer Writers Conference from June 26-July 6, a forum for writers of all genres to study and discuss their craft.
Elaine Steinbeck, widow of the author, and Kimberly Goff, are co-chairs of the event. The 2000 Book Fair will be the second without Elaine Benson, who passed away in October 1998.
The Benson Gallery is located at 2317 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton.