| Literary Lights Dinner 2008
Sunday, April 20th!
The 2008 Literary Lights Dinner will be a gala celebration of its 20th Anniversary of honoring New England authors!! The elegant, black-tie dinner will take place at Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel with a reception starting at 6:00 PM and dinner following at 7:00 PM. There is a very exciting line-up of authors and presenters this year which include 8 Pulitzer Prize winners and 2 National Book Award recipients.
This year’s honorees will be:
The Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes, Minister at Harvard, will give the keynote address.
For ticket information.
Literary Lights 2007 was held on April 29, 2007
The authors honored as Literary Lights for 2007 included four Pulitzer Prize winners and a recipient of the National Book Award! Each author was introduced by a peer or former “Light.” Over 450 people attended the gala, black-tie evening which made over $110,000, allowing the Associates to make a gift of $100,000 to the David McCullough Conservation Fund.
Roy Blount, Jr. was the keynote speaker. Other honorees were Philip Caputo, Robert Campbell, Patricia Cornwell, Niall Ferguson, Julia Glass, Chet Raymo, Paula Vogel and Franz Wright. The Associates also gave an award to Bernie Margolis, President of the Boston Public Library for being the “guiding literary light of the Library.”
|
|
Literary Lights 2006 was held on April 30, 2006
The Associates of the Boston Public Library is very pleased to announce that the Literary Lights Dinner of 2006 was the best ever. The dinner was held at The Boston Park Plaza Hotel and honored eleven outstanding authors who call New England their home.
George Colt
Anne Fadiman
Stephen Greenblatt
Galway Kinnell
Robert Jay Lifton
Gregory Maguire
Megan Marshall
Mary McGarry Morris
Haruki Murakami
Simon Winchester
Each Literary Light of 2006 was presented by a peer and former “Light.” This year, the Associates was proud to present these authors who spoke for a few minutes to introduce “their” author:
Roger Kennedy for David Gergen
Bill Martin……George Colt
James Wood……Anne Fadiman
Frank Bidart……Stephen Greenblatt
Erica Funkhouser……Galway Kinnell
John Dower……Robert Jay Lifton
Kathy Lasky……Gregory Maguire
Justin Kaplan……Megan Marshall
Anita Shreve……Mary McGarry Morris
Alan Lightman……Haruki Murakami
Nathaniel Philbrick……Simon Winchester
 |
|
David Gergen was the keynote speaker and was positively electrifying. He is currently a professor of public service at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and director of its Center for Public Leadership. He is also editor-at-large for U.S. News & World Report. In earlier years, he served as a White House advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. David Gergen is author of the bestselling Eyewitness to Power in which he said, “leaders of the future must have inner mastery; a central, compelling purpose rooted in moral values; a capacity to persuade; skills in working within the system; a fast start; a strong, effective team; and a passion that inspires others to keep the flame alive.” |
In addition to celebrating the accomplishments of these 11 New England writers, the evening raised money for the David McCullough Conservation Fund and the programs, services and collections of the Boston Public Library. The Associates created the McCullough Fund in 2001 to help preserve the Boston Public Library’s precious treasures.
Associates
of the Boston Public Library
700 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
Phone: 617-536-3886
Fax: 617-536-3813
e-mail: associates@bpl.org
|