National Book Awards - Seventeenth Annual Awards Presentation

The NYPR Archive Collections | Jan 1, 2000

This is a recording of the The National Book Committee presentation of the 17th Annual National Book Awards, hosted by Mason Gross at the Lincoln Center Philharmonic Hall. Awards are presented to:

Janet Flanner for "Paris Journal" (Arts and Letters)
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. for "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House" (History)
James Dickey for "Buckdancer's Choice" (Poetry)
Katherine Anne Porter for "The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter" (Fiction)

Donald McGannon begins by announcing Mayor John V. Lindsay who says a few words about the book publishing community.

Mason Gross announces that Thornton Wilder received the National Medal for Literature and requests that the audience make their nominations for the next recipient. He then presents each National Book Award winner with a $1000 check and each winner gives a short acceptance speech.The award for Science, Philosophy and Religion was withheld, the first such occurrence.

Before concluding the ceremony, Dr. Eric Goldman reads a telegram from President Lyndon B. Johnson.


Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection


WNYC archives id: 150024
Municipal archives id: T1895

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