Who: Cara Robertson, Harold Holzer, Sarah Blake, Adrienne Brodeur, Roland Foster Miller, Matthew Rimi von Barton
What: Livestreamed book awards salon
Where: New England Society Zoom
When: Thursday, September 10, $25, 6:00
Why: The annual New England Society Book Awards, which honors titles by New England-based authors and/or books about New England history and culture, was scheduled to be held at the National Arts Club, but because of the pandemic it has been moved to Zoom, where it will take place September 10 at 6:00. The salon, featuring author acceptance speeches, a group interview emceed by NES board member Matthew Rimi von Barton, and an audience Q&A, will celebrate this year’s winners: The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson for Historical Nonfiction, Monument Man: The Life & Art of Daniel Chester French by Harold Holzer for Art & Photography, The Guest Book by Sarah Blake for Fiction, and Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me by Adrienne Brodeur for Biography/Memoir.
“New England continues to draw from a deep well of talented writers,” Book Awards chair Roland Foster Miller said in a statement. “This year’s winners examine subjects as diverse as Daniel Chester French (the Lincoln Memorial sculptor), and Lizzie Borden’s double-murder trial, where readers take a virtual seat in the jury box. In her provocative memoir, Adrienne Brodeur, the publisher and editor, chronicles her life with her mother and her mother’s lover, and Sarah Blake’s novel tracks the foibles and challenges of three generations of a New England family summering in an island cottage in Maine.” The Zoom salon is open to the public; the $25 donation supports the New England Society [Ed. note: My wife is an NES officer] and its outreach, including the Scholarship Program, which “provides financial help to New York City students attending colleges and universities in the New England states.”