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Poet Susan Atefat-Peckham and her six-year-old son were killed in a car accident in Ghor Safi, Jordan, on February 7, 2004. A professor in the MFA program at Georgia College & State University, Atefat-Peckham was in the Middle East as a Fulbright scholar teaching creative writing at the University of Jordan. She was 33. The following Direct Quote was originally posted on October 12, 2001, following the publication of her book That Kind of Sleep.
President George W. Bush is requesting that Congress increase the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts by $18 million in 2005. The proposal would raise the NEA's budget from $121 million in 2004 to $139 million in 2005. It would be the largest increase since 1984.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. recently announced the finalists for the 2003 Discover Great New Writers Awards. The winners in each category will receive $10,000. Second-place finalists receive $2,500, and third-place finalists receive $1,000. The winners will be named on March 3.
The National Book Critics Circle, a professional organization composed of 600 book critics and reviewers from across the country, recently announced the finalists for this year's book awards.
Stephen King won't be the only writer receiving an award on November 19 at the 54th National Book Awards ceremony in New York City.
Australian-born novelist D.B.C. Pierre won the 2003 Man Booker Prize for Vernon God Little, published by Faber & Faber. He received £50,000 (approximately $80,000). Pierre was chosen from a shortlist including Monica Ali, Margaret Atwood, Damon Galgut, Zoë Heller, and Clare Morrall.
Short story writer Lydia Davis of Albany, New York, is among 24 individuals who will receive a $500,000 fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Harold Augenbraum was recently named executive director of the National Book Foundation, the nonprofit organization that sponsors the annual National Book Awards.
After 14 years as executive director of the National Book Foundation, Neil Baldwin recently announced his resignation. He will leave his position after this year's National Book Awards ceremony on November 19.
