Sunday Spotlight--NYS Writers Hall of Fame

Two years ago, New York State created special ways to recognize and honor the talented cadre of writers with New York connections.  Thus, in April 2010, the Empire State Book Festival was born; and in collaboration with the Empire State Center for the Book, the New York State Writers Hall of Fame was established.  The book festival and hall of fame inductions have become popular annual celebrations in the state capital of Albany.

The Hall of Fame members are a veritable who's who of the literary world.  The 2012 group includes living authors Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Pete Hamill, and E.L. Doctorow, as well as deceased writers Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Wright, Edna Ferber, Henry James, Mary McCarthy, Marianne Moore, John Cheever, Washington Irving, Barbara Tuchman, and Hart Crane.  Madeleine L'Engle, who was mentioned in my November 29 blog post, is a 2011 inductee.

These hall of famers are a wonderful representation of New York's rich literary history.  The lists of inaugural 2010 inductees and the class of 2011 are accessible via this link:  NYS Writers Hall of Fame Members

How many of these authors are you familiar with?

Catherine

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Sunday Spotlight--NYS Writers Hall of Fame was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.blogspot.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.