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James Patterson, Jennifer Egan, Larry Kramer & Doris Kearns Goodwin

2019 Writers Hall of Fame Honorees

Literary Landmark Dedication For Helen Hayes & Charles McArthur In Nyack, NY

Rockland County’s First Literary Landmark to be Dedicated on

October 10

Nyack - “Pretty Penny” has been designated as Rockland County’s first Literary Landmark, honoring the late Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur, owners of “Pretty Penny” from 1932-1993. Literary Landmarks is a program of United for Libraries, a Division of the American Library Association.

All are invited to a public dedication on October 10 at the Nyack Public Library (59 S. Broadway, Nyack, NY 10960) at 10:30 AM, the 122th birthday of Helen Hayes. Joyce Bulifant, (former daughter-in-law of Hayes and MacArthur and television star) and the families of Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur will comment on the designation along with Rocco Staino, director of the Empire State Center for the Book and Veronica DeMeo Bosch, President of The Historical Society of Rockland County.

Writer and actress Helen Hayes (1900-1993) and her husband Charles MacArthur (1895-1956) settled into their gracious home in 1932 and named it Pretty Penny. Hayes, known as the First Lady of the American Theatre, lived at Pretty Penny for over six decades writing several best-selling books including “On Reflection,” “Loving Life,” and her autobiography “My Life in Three Acts.” She was the first woman to be honored with an Emmy, Grammy Oscar, and Tony Award (EGOT). Two Broadway theaters have been named in her honor.

Charles MacArthur was a journalist, Broadway Playwright, Hollywood Screenwriter, and WWI veteran whose observations about the war are captured in his book “A Bug’s Eye View of the War.” MacArthur’s most notable plays include “Ladies and Gentlemen,” “Jumbo,” and “The Front Page,” all co-written with Ben Hecht. With more than twenty produced screenplays, MacArthur was nominated three times for the Academy Award and won in 1936 for “The Scoundrel.” MacArthur’s 1931 screenplay, “The Sin of Madelon Claudet,” starred Helen Hayes in the title role for which she won her first of two Academy Awards. page2image21121088

The Pretty Penny Literary Landmark Committee: Joyce Bulifant, Elliott Forrest (ArtsRock), Matthew Seig (Rivertown Film), Clare Sheridan (HSRC), Richard Skipper (Richard Skipper Celebrates), Craig Smith (Phoenix Theatre Ensemble), and Joel Vig.

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Featured Programs

Colson Whitehead's New York

Singular Sensation

by Michael Riedel

Cobble Hill

by Cecily von Ziegesar

The Best Presidential Writing

by Craig Ferhman

Wild City - A Brief History of New York City in 40 Animals

by Tom Hynes

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Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island

New York State's 2020 selection for National Book Festival Great Reads from Great Places

The Empire State Center for the Book has selected Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island (Abrams, 2019) by Jennifer Thermesto represent New York State at the 2020 National Book Festival. The book is the state’s selection for the Festival’s “Discover Great Places Through Reading” map. Each state chooses one book about the state or by an author from the state that is a good read for children or young adults. The map is listed in “Great Reads About Great Places” on the websites of both the Library of Congress http://read.gov/greatreads/ and Empire State Center for the Book https://www.nyla.org/2020-great-read/?menukey=CFTB.

Thermes uses dazzling maps and informative sidebars in Manhattanto explore the 400+ year history of Manhattan Island. In Manhattan the reader travels back in time to discover how a small rodent began an era of rapid change for the island. It explains how a street plan projected the city’s future, and how epic fires and storms led to major feats of engineering above and below ground. Through dramatic illustrations, informative sidebars, and detailed maps inspired by historic archives, Manhattan explores the rich history that still draws people from all around the world to the island’s shores today. From The Battery downtown up to Inwood, every inch of the island has a story to tell.

This year the National Book Festival will be a virtual event held on September 25-27, 2020 at LOC.Gov/bookfest and a special PBS broadcast on September 26 at 6 pm ET. States will feature videos of their Great Read selections in the festival’s virtual Roadmap to Reading exhibits. Selected state Great Reads videos will also be featured On KidLit.TV at https://kidlit.tv/GreatReadsFromGreatPlaces.

2020 Hall of Fame Induction Postponed until 2021

Click here to view video announcement

2020 Hall of Fame Inductees

Edwidge Danticat, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Lore Segal & Garry Trudeauamong those to be inducted into NYS Writers Hall of Fame in 2020.

Noted writers Edwidge Danticat, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Lore Segal, and Garry Trudeau are among the seven members of the 2020 Class of Inductees for the NYS Writers Hall of Fame. The four will attend the induction on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, at the Princeton Club of New York. Rocco Staino, who serves as the Director of theEmpire State Center for the Book, made the announcement on February 4 during a Facebook Live event on the center’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EmpireStateBook/).The Center for the Book is the organization that oversees the Hall of Fame. In addition, three deceased writers: Bill Finger, Anna Katharine Green, and Oscar Hammerstein II will be inducted.

“This year is the elevent anniversary of the New York State Writers Hall of Fame” said Rocco Staino, Director for the Center of the Book. “Each year the interest in the Hall of Fame grows with a number of nominations coming from the general public.”

The full list of the 2020 inductees is as follows:

Edwidge Danticat – New York raised and educated Haitian-American novelist.

Bill (Milton) Finger– Bronx raised co-creator of Batman.

Anna Katharine Green – Buffalo resident was the mother of the detective novel.

Oscar Hammerstein II – Lyricist and librettist of the American theatre..

Andrea Davis Pinkney –Author of numerous books for children and young adults.

Lore Segal –Novelist, short story writer and author of children’s books.

Garry Trudeau – Raised in Saranac is the creator of Doonesbury.

This year the NYS Writers Hall of Fame is presented in conjunction with the New York State Writers Institute, a literary organization which is based at the State University of Albany. The institute enhances and celebrate literature, writing, and performance.

This year’s NYS Writers Hall of Fame inductees were chosen by a selection committee:

Barbara Genco, retired librarian from Brooklyn Public Library and Editor of Collection Management at Media Source; Paul Grondahl, Director of the New York State Writers Institute; Brian Kenney, Director of the White Plains Public Library; Stefanie Peters, Editor, Library of America; Lisa Lucas, Executive Director, National Book Foundation; Kathleen Masterson, Director of the Literature and Theatre Programs, New York State Council on the Arts; Ira B. Matetsky Esq., Partner, Ganfer, Shore, Leeds & Zauderer; Christine McDonald, retired director, Crandall Library in Glens Falls; Andrew Medlar, Director, Brooklyn & New York Public Libraries BookOps; Bertha Rogers, Creator, New York State Literary website and map; Will Schwalbe, Author and Journalist; Cynthia Shor, Executive Director of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association; and Rocco Staino, Director of the Empire State Center for the Book.

The Empire State Center for the Book is the New York State affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and is housed at the New York Library Association.

For additional information on the Empire State Center for the Book and the New York State Writers Hall of Fame, please contact Rocco Staino at rocco.staino@gmail.comor 914-475-3857.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jennifer Egan, James Patterson, Larry Kramer, Ntozake Shange,

Richard Peck & William Cullen Bryant

to be Inducted into NYS Writers Hall of Fame

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Larry Kramer

Ntozake Shange

Richard Peck

William Cullen Bryant

Noted writers Jennifer Egan, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Larry Kramer, and James Patterson are among the seven members of the 2019 Class of Inductees for the NYS Writers Hall of Fame. The four are expected to attend the induction on Tuesday, June 4, 2019, at the Princeton Club of New York. Rocco Staino, who serves as the Director of the Empire State Center for the Book, made the announcement on February 7 during a Facebook Live event on the center’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EmpireStateBook/).The Center for the Book is the organization that oversees the Hall of Fame. In addition, three deceased writers: William Cullen Bryant, Richard Peck, and Ntozake Shange will be inducted.

“This year is the tenth anniversary of the New York State Writers Hall of Fame” said Rocco Staino, Director for the Center of the Book. “Our anniversary class shows the diversity in literary heritage of New York State.”

The full list of the 2019 inductees is as follows:

William Cullen Bryant - romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.

Jennifer Egan – Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and short story writer.

Doris Kearns Goodwin – Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian.

Larry Kramer – Playwright, author and public health advocate.

James Patterson – Author and reading advocate.

Richard Peck – Newbery Award winning author of novels for young people.

Ntozake Shange – Black feminist, playwright and poet.

This year’s NYS Writers Hall of Fame inductees were chosen by a selection committee:

The Empire State Center for the Book is the New York State affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book and is housed at the New York Library Association.

For additional information on the Empire State Center for the Book and the New York State Writers Hall of Fame, please contact Rocco Staino at rocco.staino@gmail.comor 914-475-3857.

Contact: Rocco Staino, Director

Empire State Center for the Book

Phone:914-475-3857

Email: Rocco.Staino@gmail.com

Empire State Center for the Book Announces Romance Novel for 2018 Route One Reads

May 2, 2018- Guilderland, NY—For the fourth consecutive year, the Empire State Center for the Book will participate in Route One Reads, a roadtrip-inspired reading list that explores various genres through the network of state Center for the Book affiliates located along Route 1. In 2018, the theme of the reading will be romance novels, and the selected book to represent New York is Sex in the City by Candace Bushnell.

With Sex and the City, Bushnell captured the country’s attention by breaking down the bedroom doors of New York’s rich and beautiful and exposing the true story of sex, love and relationships. Bushnell’s writing introduced the nation to “modelizers,” “toxic bachelors,” and the women who are looking for Mr. Big as they glide in and out of the star-studded social scene.

“This book has become an iconic representation of a certain time in New York City social history,” said Rocco Staino, Director of the Empire State center for the Book. “People come to the city and want to visit the haunts of Carrie and her friends.”

The diverse reading list created by Route One Reads highlights each individual State Center for the Book while celebrating the East Coast as a whole. By participating in Route One Reads, readers can travel across 15 states and the District of Columbia without taking a single footstep, or load selected books into the car for a literary road trip. The full list of featured books for the 2018 Route One Reads initiative is available along with a map of participating states at Route1Reads.org.

Route One Reads is a partnership between the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, and its affiliates in: Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Virginia; and, Washington, D.C.

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About Route One Reads: Connecting the 2,369 miles of U.S. Route 1 from Ft. Kent, Maine, to Key West, Florida, the Route One Reads initiative is a partnership between 16 affiliate Centers for the Book to promote books that illuminate important aspects of their states or commonwealths for readers travelling the major and meandering highway. The initiative was launched at the 2015 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit Route1Reads.org or follow #Route1Reads on Twitter.

About Empire State Center for the Book: The Empire State Center for the Book is committed to the book in all formats. Interests of the Center include the promotion of the culture of reading, literature, literacy, book arts, and book history throughout New York State. The Center will work with publishers, libraries, museums, educational institutions, scholars, authors, illustrators and other interested parties to enrich book culture for the people of New York. The Center for the Book relies on grants, sponsorships and the contributions of individuals who share the ideals and support the mission of the Center to promote literature, literacy and libraries.

To learn more, visit www.empirestatebook.org.

About the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress: Established by Congress in 1977 to “stimulate public interest in books and reading,” the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. It sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers and collaborations with nonprofit reading-promotion partners and through the Young Readers Center and Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. The Center for the Book is part of the Library’s National and International Outreach service unit. For more information, visit Read.gov.

Grant Cottage Designated New York's 26th Literary Landmark

U.S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site has been named the 24th New York State Literary Landmark by United for Libraries and the Empire State Center for the Book. Literary Landmark status is granted to community locations associated with a literary figure, author, or his or her work. Ulysses S. Grant completed the second volume of his memoirs at cottage, just days before his death in 1885.

The Friends of Grant Cottage will hold a public Literary Landmark Plaque Dedication Ceremony at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 16 at Grant Cottage, featuring keynote speaker David S. Nolen, Assistant Editor at Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and contributor to the annotated edition of The Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.

Early-release copies of the annotated memoirs will be available for purchase and signing by Mr. Nolen. Other speakers will include Rocco Staino, Director of Empire State Center for the Book and Alane Ball-Chinian, Saratoga-Capital Regional Director of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. U.S. Grant (portrayed by Steve Trimm) and Mark Twain (portrayed by Kevin O'Brien will be in attendance and available for tin-type photographs by Glens Falls Art (weather permitting).

Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant has never been out of print and stands as a work of profound political, historical and literary significance, praised by such diverse critics as Mark Twain, Thomas Nast, Henry James, Gertrude Stein, Edmund Wilson, Bruce Catton and Gore Vidal.

Grant Cottage thanks generous sponsors Saratoga Arms, Northshire Bookstore, and Glens Falls Art for making the Literary Landmark status possible:

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U.S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site is the final home of Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War Commanding General of the U.S. Army, 18th U.S. President and beloved American public figure. Impoverished by a Ponzi-style swindle and dying of throat cancer, he moved to the Cottage on June 16, 1885. With the love and support of his family, his publisher Mark Twain, and the nation at large, he completed Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant only days before his death on July 23, 1885. The two-volume publication ensured his family’s financial security and gave the world one of the most critically acclaimed memoirs by a U.S. president or historic military figure.