I had the pleasure of staffing the National Book Award Readings this year at The New School on Nov. 18th. Going in, I hadn't heard of any of the finalists (an indication that a visit to the bookstore was long overdue) but among the highlights of the night:
-rubbing elbows with the likes of Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio; the president of Penguin Books; the Robinson family of the Scholastic Corporation; and a couple editors from Knopf.
-scooting outside in 20 degree weather due to a fire alarm that went off during reception
-meeting a man who only wanted autographs; wanted nothing to do with the readings. Asked my coworker and I if we were here 10 years ago, lamented about how the event used to be so much more glam. We looked at each other - do we LOOK 30?
-the readings going way later than expected. per expected.
-a finalist's adorable baby daughter who couldn't stay still so we played high-five with her in the lobby and watched her bounce around in ways only a baby can
More on this year's winners: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2008.html. Congrats!
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