The Rules of Survival is a 2006 National Book Award finalist. I'm taking my new digital camera to New York for the festivities, and the plan is to post photos and details while I'm there.
Photos and comments for Wednesday, November 15, 2006
The winner in the Young People's Literature category (aka "our team"): M. T. Anderson for OCTAVIAN NOTHING.
And now, the photo blog:
I spent almost the entire day with the lovely and smart Libba Bray. We ended up where all the writers go, at Starbucks with our laptops. That's her. We do not have a picture of me working, but I did. I wrote 723 words today! They were all relevant.
The National Book Awards Dinner
So, I got dressed, met my editor Lauri Hornik in the lobby, and over to the Marriott Marquis went we. Where we saw a lot of glamorous people, and I took photos, and other people took my camera and took photos, and here it all is, harum-scarum:
Anjulee Alvares, publicist at Penguin, photographer of much of the photos on this blog, and fabulous person, looking gorgeous.
Carolyn Coman.
The shoes that Carolyn Coman was wearing. I did not distract her attention, trip her, and steal them, because I was on my best behavior. However, I may need to find out where she shops.
Emily Romero from Penguin, and me. They made us wear the medals. Martine didn't bring hers because she thought the instructions to wear them were a joke. Fran Lebowitz commented later from the podium that we all had to wear the medals because where on earth were we ever going to wear them ever again, after tonight? Perhaps she is right, but I have a certain coat hook in mind.
Speaking of Fran Lebowitz, that's her, or rather her image, projected on a screen during the dinner. That came later on. Meanwhile, back to the opening reception and all the people in their black tie.
This is an interesting sequence. I am obviously telling Gene something or other.
I have yet more to say. (I am noticing in this picture that I suddenly bear a marked resemblance to my mother. Hm.)
I have amused Gene. I look smug.
Here's John, who runs absolultely all of Penguin, and Eileen Kreit, who runs things at Penguin Puffin. I think they look pretty good for corporate types. Note to self: look up John's last name.
And here are the lovely ladies of Penguin: Eileen Kreit, Emily Romero (a VP), Lauri Hornik (my editor! but also a VP... wait, there are a lot of VPs in this picture, possibly everyone except me), me, and Anjulee Alvares. Wasn't it nice of them to dress all in black so as to set off my white dress?
Lauri and Ginger Knowlton, my agent. (I still love saying that. "My agent.")
And here they are with me. That's my editor on the left, and my agent on the right. A girl feels really taken care of.
You can look at us again.
And here is Jude Watson, one of the judges in the Young People's category. Did you know that the judges (in all categories) were not allowed at any of the NBA festivities, lest they be corrupted by contact with any of the nominees, and that each group met to make their choice of winner from the five finalists TODAY?
And speaking of judges, that's Margaret Bechard, chair of the Young People's judges, and Linda Sue Park, also a judge, and me in the middle.
Margaret and her husband, who called this a "prom picture."
Martine Leavitt and her husband. Did I mention earlier that Martine did not bring her medal? She wasn't alone. The non-fiction winner, Tim Egan, forgot his too.
I must confess that there was no possibility I would forget.
And here's Tobin Anderson and Nicole, on the red carpet area, where the photographers lived.
Here are the photographers. I would call them Papparazzi, but I am not perfectly sure how to spell that.
Now we Young People got to pose for the photographers. Gene, Martine, Patricia, me, Tobin.
We posed some more.
And then a little more.
And we kept posing. And I am short. Two inch heels tonight.
And then I posed.
And you can look at me a little more here. I seem to have something to say to someone. I wonder what it was, and I wonder who it was.
I really had quite a good time.
A rare solemn moment, and a still rarer one in which I have my mouth shut.
Are you bored yet? We're about to go on in to dinner!
Throughout the meal, they projected authors and their books on rotation on the big screens. I took pictures of the ones that mattered.
And after dinner, Margaret Bechard was introduced to announce the Young People's winner. Here she is:
I couldn't get a shot of her at the podium, so that's actually her face projected onto the big screen. By the way, I had been quite amused by Fran Lebowitz as MC right up until this point, but she mispronounced Margaret's name while introducing her, and that was it. I was done with Fran.
And here is Tobin Anderson, accepting the award. Congratulations! He was beaming, and articulate, and also made us all laugh.
You can listen to Tobin's speech (and those of the three winning adults) here, via podcast:
And so, good night. See you tomorrow (well, later today)! I will have wrap-up NBA thoughts. I may not be able to post them until the evening, though.
-Nancy, 12:35 am.