Thursday, May 28, 2009

$50,000 George Washington Book Prize Awarded to Annette Gordon-Reed for The Hemingses of Monticello

Mount Vernon, VA — The fifth annual $50,000 George Washington Book Prize, honoring the most important new book about America's founding era, was awarded at Mount Vernon on May 28 to Annette Gordon-Reed for The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (Norton, 2008). Gordon-Reed—author of the highly acclaimed Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy, which offered convincing evidence for the existence of an intimate relationship between the Founder and his slave—was honored for her most recent book, an epic history of the Hemings family that has also won a National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for History.

"The Hemingses of Monticello answers important questions about America's founding generation," the jurors wrote. "It offers insight into a matter central to the early Republic and its most famous personage, helping us to appreciate the contradiction Jefferson lived and bequeathed to generations to come."

A professor of law at New York Law School, Gordon-Reed spent more than seven years working on The Hemingses of Monticello. Her meticulously researched account documents not only Jefferson's relationship with Sally Hemings, but also the lives of four generations of the family that lived with Jefferson from the 1770s until he died in 1826. "I think the inability to see enslaved people as individuals is a legacy of slavery that has carried over to the way we see black people today," Gordon-Reed said. "I wanted to put all the Hemingses into a context that would make people see them, not just as slaves, not just as part of a particular problem, but as human beings."

Sponsored by Washington College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington's Mount Vernon, the George Washington Book Prize was presented to Gordon-Reed at a black-tie dinner attended by some 200 luminaries from the worlds of book publishing, politics, journalism and academia. The $50,000 prize is one of the most generous book awards in the country.

"Deeply researched and beautifully written, this magnificent book recenters our whole idea of the founding era and of race in American history," said James G. Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which funds the award.

The Mount Vernon event also celebrated the works of two other finalists: Kevin J. Hayes for The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson (Oxford, 2008), and Jane Kamensky for The Exchange Artist: A Tale of High-Flying Speculation and America's First Banking Collapse (Viking, 2008). The books were selected by a three-person jury of distinguished American historians: Joyce Appleby, professor of history emerita at the University of California, Los Angeles, who served as chair; Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Maryland; and Jay Winik, best-selling author and one of the country's leading public historians.

Gordon-Reed's book was named the winner by a panel of two representatives from each of the three institutions that sponsor the prize, plus historian Patricia Bonomi of New York University.

"The George Washington Book Prize honors books that bring the past to life," said Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold director of Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, which administers the award. "The Hemingses of Monticello does this beautifully, and with a sense of deep empathy not just with Monticello's slaves, but with Jefferson himself. Gordon-Reed blends the research skills of a master historian with the humane insights of a novelist."

Created in 2005, the George Washington Book Prize was presented in its inaugural year to Ron Chernow for Alexander Hamilton and in 2006 to Stacy Schiff for A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America. This is the third time it has been awarded for a book about slavery—in 2007 it went to Charles Rappleye for Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution, and last year to Marcus Rediker for The Slave Ship: A Human History.

About the Sponsors of the George Washington Book Prize

Washington College was founded in 1782, the first institution of higher learning established in the new republic. George Washington was not only a principal donor to the college, but also a member of its original governing board. He received an honorary degree from the college in June 1789, two months after assuming the presidency. The C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, founded in 2000, is an innovative center for the study of history, culture and politics, and fosters excellence in the art of written history through fellowships, prizes, and student programs.

Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the study and love of American history. The Institute serves teachers, students, scholars, and the general public. It helps create history-centered schools, organizes seminars and programs for educators, produces print and electronic publications and traveling exhibitions, sponsors lectures by eminent historians, and administers a History Teacher of the Year Award in every state. The Institute also awards the Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and George Washington Book Prizes, and offers fellowships for scholars to work in the Gilder Lehrman Collection. The Institute maintains two websites, www.gilderlehrman.org and the quarterly online journal www.historynow.org.

Since 1860, over 80 million visitors have made George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens the most popular historic home in America. Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington's place in history as "First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen." Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, America's oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853. www.mountvernon.org.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

$50,000 George Washington Book Prize to be Awarded at Mount Vernon

Annual Prize One of Largest Literary Awards


Chestertown, MD — The $50,000 George Washington Book Prize will be awarded at Mount Vernon on May 28 to the author of the most important book on America's founding era published in 2008. The fifth annual award ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m. at George Washington's Mount Vernon home overlooking the Potomac River, with music and candlelit tours of the mansion, and a black-tie dinner.

Washington College, which co-sponsors and administers the award, announced the three finalists in February to commemorate George Washington's birthday. They are Annette Gordon-Reed's The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (Norton); Kevin J. Hayes's The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson (Oxford); and Jane Kamensky's The Exchange Artist: A Tale of High-Flying Speculation and America's First Banking Collapse (Viking).

The books were selected by a three-person jury of prominent American historians: Joyce Appleby, professor of history emerita at the University of California, Los Angeles, who served as chair; Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Maryland; and Jay Winik, best-selling author and one of the country's leading public historians.

The George Washington Book Prize ($50,000) is one of the most generous in the United States, with a monetary award greater than the Pulitzer Prize for History ($10,000) and the National Book Award ($10,000). Washington College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City, and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association collaborated in 2005 to create the prize, which was awarded in its inaugural year to Ron Chernow for Alexander Hamilton; in 2006 to Stacy Schiff for A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America; in 2007 to Charles Rappleye for Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution; and in 2008 to Marcus Rediker for The Slave Ship: A Human History.

About the Sponsors of the George Washington Book Prize

Washington College was founded in 1782, the first institution of higher learning established in the new republic. George Washington was not only a principal donor to the college, but also a member of its original governing board. He received an honorary degree from the college in June 1789, two months after assuming the presidency. The C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, founded in 2000, is an innovative center for the study of history, culture and politics, and fosters excellence in the art of written history through fellowships, prizes, and student programs.

Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the study and love of American history. The Institute serves teachers, students, scholars, and the general public. It helps create history-centered schools, organizes seminars and programs for educators, produces print and electronic publications and traveling exhibitions, sponsors lectures by eminent historians, and administers a History Teacher of the Year Award in every state. The Institute also awards the Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and George Washington Book Prizes, and offers fellowships for scholars to work in the Gilder Lehrman Collection. The Institute maintains two websites, www.gilderlehrman.org and the quarterly online journal www.historynow.org.

Since 1860, over 80 million visitors have made George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens the most popular historic home in America. Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington's place in history as "First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen." Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, America's oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853. www.mountvernon.org.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Washington College Awards Nation's Largest Undergraduate Literary Prize at 226th Commencement

Graduating Senior Wins $68,814

Chestertown, MD — Most college seniors will look back on their graduation ceremony as a day of pomp and circumstance culminating in a handshake and a diploma. For William Bruce, 21, a Washington College English major from Rydal, PA, the ceremony brought another reward: a check for $68,814.

Bruce's prizewinning portfolio—a collection of poems, critical essays and creative nonfiction—earned him the largest literary award in the country exclusively for undergraduates, the Sophie Kerr Prize, presented Sunday, May 17, 2009, during the College's 226th Commencement ceremonies.

The awarding of the Sophie Kerr Prize, given annually to the graduating senior who demonstrates the greatest "ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor," has in recent decades been a highlight of the commencement ceremony at the liberal arts college on Maryland's Eastern Shore. This year's Prize—at its highest-ever dollar amount, despite a declining economy—ranks among the largest literary awards in the world.


Bruce was one of 31 students to submit a portfolio for consideration this year, competing in what English Professor Kathryn Moncrief described as a "talented and deep pool of contenders" representing diverse genres. "We saw incredible promise in this year's group," Moncrief said. "We expect many will be successful as writers, scholars, and editors." Moncrief chairs both the English Department at Washington College and the Sophie Kerr Committee, which awards the Prize.

What made Bruce a stand-out, Moncrief said, was his range. Bruce's portfolio included six poems, a critical essay on three contemporary poets, a meditative essay on the Inauguration of Barack Obama, an excerpt from a larger work of creative nonfiction incorporating oral testimony from a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, and a personal essay entitled "Super Team for Jesus."

"He tackled three different genres with equal facility," Moncrief said.

"Will is an extraordinarily promising writer," said Joshua Wolf Shenk, the director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House, and Bruce's instructor in creative non-fiction. "He's able to develop gripping stories, with compelling images, even as he maintains a self-conscious relationship to the construction of narrative. He's an exciting, energetic voice."


Professor Jehanne Dubrow, who taught Bruce in her poetry class, commented on Bruce's "confident and adventurous voice" as well as his "understanding of the ethical responsibilities of the poet." "His poems show the influences of his study," Dubrow said.

Professor Robert Mooney, who advised Bruce on some of his prose projects, called Bruce "a writer who looks at others with empathy and curiosity. He gives a voice to those who are voiceless."

Bruce is a 2005 graduate of Abington Senior High School in Abington, PA.

The Sophie Kerr Prize is the namesake of an Eastern Shore woman who made her fortune in New York writing women's fiction during the 1930s and 1940s. In accordance with the terms of her will, one-half of the annual income from her bequest to the College is awarded each year to the graduating senior demonstrating the best potential for literary achievement. The other half funds scholarships, student publications and the purchase of books, and brings an array of visiting writers, editors and publishers to campus to read, visit classes, and discuss student work. Her gift has provided the nucleus for a thriving community of writers on the bucolic Eastern Shore campus.

Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, it is the first college chartered in the new nation.

Author/Radio Producer Michael Buckley to Present "Voices of the Chesapeake Bay" May 13

Chestertown, MD — Author/radio producer Michael Buckley will give a talk and Power Point presentation entitled Voices of the Chesapeake Bay at the Kent County Public Library’s Main Branch on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. The talk is part of the Voices of the Chesapeake Bay Tour sponsored by the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment which will bring Mr. Buckley to visit and record interviews in every county surrounding the Chesapeake Bay region.

For the past nine years, Michael Buckley has recorded over 300 interviews with various Chesapeake people on a wide variety of subjects. His book, Voices of the Chesapeake Bay (www.geareduppublications.com), features 53 of those interviews with people such as former Maryland Governor Harry Hughes, ESPN Sailing Analyst Gary Jobson, Presidential Medal of Honor winner and former EPA Administrator Russell Train, master boat builder Mike Vlahovich, Vienna farmer and mayor Dr. Russell Brinsfield, and many, many others. The Voices book includes interviews with scientists, athletes, watermen, Native Americans, historians, and many others from throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Half of the 53 interviews from the Voices of the Chesapeake Bay book were recorded on Maryland's Eastern Shore. (www.VoicesoftheChesapeakeBay.org).

Each week for the past fifteen years Michael Buckley has produced and hosted of The Sunday Brunch on 103.1 WRNR-FM featuring the Voices of the Chesapeake Bay interview series (7-10am on 103.1 WRNR). Mr. Buckley is also a weekly columnist for The Capital, a founder of The American Historical Theatre in Philadelphia, and, currently, Program Manager for the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College.

The Voices of the Chesapeake Bay talk and book signing will take place at the Kent County Public Library’s Main Branch from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13th. A wine and cheese reception will follow.

Author John Barth to Give Reading at Washington College's Rose O'Neill Literary House

Chestertown, MD — Author John Barth will present a reading at Washington College's Rose O'Neill Literary House on Saturday, May 16, at 2:30 p.m.

The reading highlights the dedication of the newly renovated Charlotte Goldsborough Fletcher Porch. Over the years, the Literary House porch has been the site for an array of events; the Washington Post dubbed it "the Carnegie Hall of literary readings."

Thanks to a generous donation by the late Charlotte Goldsborough Fletcher—herself an author and historian—the porch has undergone a makeover this spring.

Barth's Fletcher Porch reading is presented by the Rose O'Neill Literary House, the Office of Alumni Affairs and the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

Barth is the author of a number of renowned postmodern novels: Giles Goat-Boy, The Sot-Weed Factor and the National Book Award-winning Chimera, among many others. His latest work, The Development, a collection of interrelated short stories, was published to wide acclaim in 2008.

Admission to Barth's reading is free and open to the public.

Fireworks Light up the Night at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — To celebrate Reunion Weekend and the 2009 Commencement, Washington College will present a fireworks display on Saturday, May 16, beginning at 8:20 p.m.

Fireworks-goers can come to the Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium to view the dazzling display. Admission is free and open to the public.