Press Releases

May 2, 2002
Bookman Press Poetry Award to be Presented at Steinbeck Book Fair

Southampton College MFA in Writing Program Student to be Honored

Contact:
Patricia Conway (PR@southampton.liu.edu)
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

The Bookman Press of New York will present the first annual Bookman Press Poetry Award to a student in Southampton College's M.F.A. in Writing Program at the 25th Annual John Steinbeck "Meet the Writers" Book Fair & Art Preview. The event will take place on Friday, May 10 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Elaine Benson Gallery in Bridgehampton. The award winner will be considered for publication in the Bookman Press Plain Editions.

This year's Book Fair marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Steinbeck, and the 25th anniversary of the Book Fair. Writers of new books will meet the public and autograph their works, which benefits the John Steinbeck Project at Southampton College.

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Book Fair and the 100th anniversary of John Steinbeck's birth, Long Island University is publishing a commemorative journal that will be available at the Fair. The journal is a compilation of the project's history, news articles and photographs from the first 25 years, and excerpts from the literary works of past Award winners including E.L. Doctorow, Kurt Vonnegut, Edward Albee and Dava Sobel.

Writers participating in the event include Peter Matthiessen (The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes), Dava Sobel (Letters to Father), Helen Harrison (Hamptons Bohemia), James Brady (Warning of War) and ABC News correspondent Lynn Sherr (America the Beautiful: The Stirring True Story Behind Our Nation's Favorite Song).

Translator Gregory Rabassa will be the 14th recipient of the John Steinbeck Award. Rabassa is a distinguished professor of Romance languages and comparative literature at Queens College. He has translated over 40 works from Spanish and Portuguese into English, including the works of Julio Cortazar, Mario Vargas Llosa, Jorge Amado, Octavio Paz, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Since its inception in 1977, the John Steinbeck Project has raised funds for Southampton College of Long Island University, which have been used to establish a Visiting Writer's Program, the annual Steinbeck Lecture, student writing awards and scholarships, and acquisitions for the College Library.

Tickets can be purchased at the door. The Benson Gallery is located at 2317 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton. For further information, please call Carol Gilbert at (631) 287-8348.