THE 24th ANNUAL LITERARY AWARDS

THE 24th ANNUAL
LITERARY AWARDS FESTIVAL
Sponsorship Opportunities
Protecting free expression worldwide
and nurturing the writer’s voice. www.penusa.org
The 2013 Literary Awards Festival
Molly Ringwald and
Panio Gianopoulos
Kathryn Bigelow
Anjelica Huston
and Harrison Ford
Governor Jerry Brown
Susanna Hoffs, Laura Dern, and Jay Roach
Shohreh Agdashloo
Oliver Stone, Laura Bickford, and Michael Tolkin
THE 24th ANNUAL
LITERARY AWARDS
November 11, 2014
Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA
PEN Center USA’s annual awards program is a unique, regional competition that recognizes literary
excellence in eleven categories: fiction, creative nonfiction, research nonfiction, poetry, children’s and young
adult literature, graphic literature, translation, journalism, drama, teleplay, and screenplay. Past award
winners include novelists Barbara Kingsolver, Maxine Hong Kingston, T.C. Boyle, screenwriter and director
Paul Thomas Anderson, and Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, the partnership that created and produces
Homeland. Each year, PEN Center USA releases a call for submission of work produced or published during
one calendar year by writers living west of the Mississippi River. Entries are reviewed and judged by a panel
of distinguished writers, critics, and editors. Winners are announced the following September and receive
a $1,000 cash prize, a free year of membership with PEN Center USA, and an invitation to the Annual
Literary Awards Festival in Los Angeles.
The Literary Awards Festival includes a cocktail reception, dinner, and the presentation of four major
honorary awards in addition to the literary prizes. The gala is the only one of its scope on the West Coast
and is attended by more than 400 prominent members of the literary community. Past recipients of the
Lifetime Achievement Award include novelists Joyce Carol Oates, James Salter, Elmore Leonard, Walter
Mosley, and U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, as well as the legendary multi-genre writers Joan Didion,
Larry Gelbart, Gore Vidal, Ray Bradbury, and, for his screenwriting, Billy Wilder. The Award of Honor has
been given to Kickstarter, Dave Eggers, Ben Goldhirsch, Hugh Hefner, Jeff Bezos, and Gloria Steinem. The
evening also features the prestigious First Amendment Award, given to a candidate who has worked
domestically to protect the First Amendment, as well as the Freedom to Write Award, given to a candidate
who has fought for international freedom of expression. These two awards honor men and women who
have produced exceptional work, often in the face of extreme adversity.
“Coming to this event reminded me of everything I love about PEN. The writers who make up PEN care passionately
about the freedom to write, whether it’s in the classroom or for journalists abroad. We care about writers in prison,
and we care about writers who are not given the tools to express themselves in schools in Los Angeles. We believe in
giving writers a voice and, if necessary, the training for that voice.”
—Kate Gale, Huffington Post
The 2014 Festival Honorees
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
NORMAN LEAR
Norman Lear has enjoyed a
Annenberg School for Commu-
long career in television and
nication and Journalism (2000-
film, and as a political and so-
present), a multidisciplinary
cial activist and philanthropist.
research and public policy cen-
Known as the creator of Archie
ter dedicated to exploring the
Bunker and All in the Family,
convergence of entertainment,
Lear’s television credits include
commerce, and society; and the
Sanford & Son; Maude; Good
Business Enterprise Trust (1989-
Times; The Jeffersons; Mary Hart-
2000), an educational program
man, Mary Hartman; Fernwood
that used annual awards, busi-
2Nite; and the dramatic series
ness school case studies, and
Palmerstown U.S.A. His motion
videos to cast a spotlight on ex-
picture credits include Cold
emplary social innovations in
Turkey, Divorce American Style,
American business. In 2000,
Fried Green Tomatoes, Stand By
photo: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times
Norman and Lyn, along with a
Me, and The Princess Bride. In 1982, he produced the
friend, bought one of the few surviving original prints
two-hour special I Love Liberty for ABC. In 1999,
of the Declaration of Independence. From 2001 until
President Clinton bestowed the National Medal of
the presidential election of 2008, the document
Arts on Mr. Lear, noting that “Norman Lear has held
toured the country as the centerpiece of the Decla-
up a mirror to American society and changed the
ration of Independence Road Trip. Through its ag-
way we look at it.” He has the distinction of being
gressive outreach to young and first-time voters, the
among the first seven television pioneers inducted
Declare Yourself project resulted in the registration
into the Television Academy Hall of Fame (1984). He
of over 1 million new voters in the 2004 general elec-
received four Emmy Awards (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)
tion. Mr. Lear’s business career began in 1959 with
and a Peabody Award (1977) for All in the Family, as
his co-founding of Tandem Productions, Inc. In 1974,
well as awards from the International Platform As-
he and his partners created T.A.T. Communications,
sociation (1977), the Writers Guild of America (1977),
later known as Embassy Communications. He is cur-
and many other professional and civic organizations.
rently chairman of Act III Communications, a mul-
Beyond the entertainment world, Mr. Lear has
timedia holding with interests in the recording, mo-
brought his distinctive vision to politics, academia
tion picture, broadcasting, and publishing industries.
and business by founding several nonprofit organi-
Mr. Lear is married to Lyn Davis Lear and resides in
zations including People For the American Way
Los Angeles, California. He has six children and four
(1980-present); the Norman Lear Center at the USC
grandchildren.
The 2014 Festival Honorees
FIRST AMENDMENT AWARD:
GLENN GREENWALD + LAURA POITRAS
Laura Poitras is a
Glenn Greenwald is
documentary film-
the author of several
maker,
journalist,
bestsellers, includ-
and artist. She is
ing How Would a Pa-
currently finishing a
triot Act? and With
trilogy of films about
Liberty and Justice for
post-9/11 America.
Some. Acclaimed as
The first film, My
one of the 25 most
Country, My Country,
influential political
focused on the Iraq
commentators
War and was nomi-
photo: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images
nated for an Acad-
by
The Atlantic, one of
America’s top 10
emy Award in 2007. The second, The Oath, was about
opinion writers by Newsweek, and one of the Top
Guantanamo and won a cinematography award at
100 Global Thinkers for 2013 by Foreign Policy,
the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Poitras is editing
Greenwald is a former constitutional law and civil
the third film, whose focus is NSA mass surveillance.
rights litigator. He was a columnist for The Guardian
Poitras’s films have premiered at festivals worldwide
until October 2013 and is now a founding editor of
and have received honors including a Peabody Award
a new media outlet, The Intercept. He is a frequent
and Emmy nominations. She has taught filmmaking
guest on CNN, MSNBC, and various other television
at Duke and Yale Universities. Her work was selected
and radio outlets. He has won numerous awards for
for the 2012 Whitney Biennial, where she held a
his NSA reporting, including the 2013 Polk Award
Surveillance Teach-In. She is the recipient of a 2012
for national security reporting, the top 2013 inves-
MacArthur Fellowship. In January 2013, Poitras was
tigative journalism award from the Online News As-
contacted by an anonymous source claiming to have
sociation, the Esso Award for Excellence in Report-
evidence of NSA illegal activity. After several months
ing (the Brazilian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize),
of anonymous emails, she traveled to Hong Kong
and the 2013 Pioneer Award from Electronic Frontier
with Glenn Greenwald to interview the source, Ed-
Foundation. He also received the first annual I. F.
ward Snowden. Her NSA reporting contributed to
Stone Award for Independent Journalism in 2009 and
a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service awarded to The
a 2010 Online Journalism Award for his investigative
Guardian and Washington Post. Along with Glenn
work on the arrest and detention of Chelsea Manning.
Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill, she is co-Founder
In 2013, Greenwald led the Guardian reporting that
of The Intercept. She currently lives in Berlin.
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service.
The 2014 Festival Honorees
FREEDOM TO WRITE AWARD:
JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS
Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning
journalist, filmmaker, and the founder of Define
American, a campaign that seeks to elevate the
conversation around immigration in America. In
June 2011, the New York Times Magazine published
a groundbreaking essay he wrote in which he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an
undocumented immigrant, stunning media and
political circles and attracting international coverage. A year later, he appeared on the cover of
Time magazine worldwide with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover
story he wrote. Since then, he has testified at a
United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
on immigration reform, and written and directed
Documented, a documentary film on his undocumented experience. It world-premiered at the AFI
Docs film festival in Washington, D.C. in June
photo: Gerry Salva Cruz
2013, was released theatrically in May 2014, and
aired on CNN in June 2014. He’s written for daily
produced and wrote. It world-premiered at the
newspapers (Philadelphia Daily News, San Francisco
2010 Tribeca Film Festival and aired on Showtime.
Chronicle) and national magazines (The Atlantic,
That same year, he wrote an exclusive profile of
Rolling Stone) and was a senior contributing editor
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for
at the Huffington Post. At the Washington Post, he
the New Yorker. He has appeared on several na-
was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for
tional and international television and radio pro-
covering the Virginia Tech massacre, and his 2006
grams, including Nightline, The O’Reilly Factor, and
series on HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. inspired
The Colbert Report. He currently resides in Man-
The Other City, a documentary film that he co-
hattan.
The 2014 Festival Honorees
AWARD OF HONOR:
VICE
VICE is a global
News, a dedicated
youth media com-
news channel; Noisey,
pany and the indus-
a music discovery
try leader in produc-
channel; The Cre-
ing and distributing
ators Project, dedi-
the best online video
cated to the arts and
content in the world.
creativity; Mother-
Launched in 1994 as
board, covering cul-
a punk magazine,
tural happenings in
VICE now operates
technology; THUMP,
out of 36 offices
focusing on global
dance music and cul-
globally, and has expanded into a mul-
VICE co-founder:
Shane Smith
Accepting for VICE:
Eddy Moretti, Chief Creative Officer
ture; and Fightland, a
channel dedicated to
timedia network, including the world’s premier source for original
the culture of MMA. VICE acquired British fashion
online video, VICE.COM; an international network
publication i-D in 2012 and re-launched i-D’s digital
of digital channels; a television & feature film pro-
presence at i-D.co, a video-driven fashion site. In 2013,
duction studio; a magazine; a record label; and a
VICE launched a news-magazine series on HBO titled
book-publishing division.
VICE. The Emmy Award-winning series just com-
VICE’s digital channels include VICE Sports, a
sports channel; MUNCHIES, a food channel; VICE
pleted its second season; seasons three and four to air
in 2015 and 2016.
THE 2014 LITERARY AWARD WINNERS
“Writers can be a miserable lot, but something wonderful seems to happen when you drag them away from the
computer and dump them in a ballroom full of free food, drink, and other writerly company. It brings out their best
side, from sly wit to hidden passion to even a generosity of spirit.”
Creative Nonfiction:
GRETA EHRLICH for Facing the Wave
Drama:
OCTAVIO SOLIS for Se Llama Cristina
Fiction:
LINDSAY HILL for Sea of Hooks
—Patrick Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Screenplay:
BEN COCCIO for The Place
Beyond the Pines
Teleplay:
JUDD APATOW and LENA DUNHAM
for Girls “Together”
Journalism:
CRAIG MALISOW for Deadly Charades
Translation:
WAYNE A. REBHORN for The Decameron
Poetry:
VICTORIA CHANG for The Boss
Young Adult and Children’s Literature:
MARGARITA ENGLE for The Lightning
Dreamer, Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist
Research Nonfiction:
BILL MINUTAGLIO and STEVEN L. DAVIS
for Dallas 1963
Graphic Literature:
MIMI POND for Over Easy
THE 2014 LITERARY AWARDS FESTIVAL
Sponsor Objectives
Sponsor Benefits:
PEN Center USA’s Literary Awards Festival is the only event of
Examples of sponsor benefits include:
its kind on the West Coast. It is attended by a wide range of individuals—from leaders in the entertainment industry and champions of First Amendment rights to prominent members of the
Los Angeles political community and the writers, both budding
and established, who make up the PEN Center USA family. Sponsor participation in the Literary Awards Festival will meet the following objectives:
• Generate brand awareness among the influential attendees of the Literary
Awards Festival and the PEN Center USA community at large
• Exclusive naming rights to the Literary
Awards Festival and honoree awards
• Product integration into Literary Awards
Festival
• Brand signage
• Logo on Literary Awards Festival promotional materials, tribute book, and virtual
program
• Press and media promotion
• Provide press and publicity around your participation in and support
of the Literary Awards Festival
• Year-round presence on PEN Center USA
website
• Contribute to philanthropic efforts and social responsibility for your
organization
• Advanced notice and VIP tickets to PEN
Center USA screenings throughout the year
• Connect your organization with leaders in the PEN Center USA community through special events and other forums
• Attendance at PEN Center USA’s Literary
Salons
Sponsor Benefits: Media Coverage
Media partners for Literary Awards Festivals in recent years include:
Past Literary Awards Festivals have been covered in:
THE 2014 LITERARY AWARDS FESTIVAL SPONSOR LEVELS
PRESENTING SPONSOR
PARTNER
Minimum Commitment: $100,000
Minimum Commitment: $25,000
• Co-naming/branding opportunity (with PEN Center
USA) at the event
• One Premier table (10 tickets) at Literary Awards Festival
• Two Premier tables (20 tickets) at Literary Awards Festival
• 2 tickets to each of the quarterly PEN Center USA literary
salons for one year
• 4 tickets to each of the quarterly PEN Center USA literary
salons for one year
• Advanced invitations and VIP seating for 2 at PEN Center
USA film screenings for one year
• Advanced invitations and VIP seating for 4 at PEN Center
USA film screenings for one year
• Recognition in all LitFest press releases/media
• Logo/brand placement on step and repeat
• Logo/brand placement on “virtual program” during event
• Recognition in all Literary Awards Festival press releases/media
• Full-page ad placement in tribute book
• Logo on PEN Center USA website with live hyperlink
• Opportunity to include item in gift bag
• Individual logo/brand placement on “virtual program”
during event
• Full-page ad placement in the printed tribute book
• Option to include item in gift bag
PATRON
Minimum Commitment: $10,000
• One Executive table (10 tickets) at Literary Awards Festival
• 2 tickets to each of the quarterly PEN Center USA literary
salons for one year
STRATEGIC SPONSOR
• Advance invitations and VIP seating for 2 at PEN Center
USA film screenings for one year
Minimum Commitment: $50,000
• Opportunity to include item in gift bag
• Two Premier tables (20 tickets) at Literary Awards Festival
• Logo/brand placement on “virtual program” during event
• 4 tickets to each of the quarterly PEN Center USA literary
salons for one year
• Full-page ad placement in tribute book
• Advance invitations and VIP seating for 4 at PEN Center
USA film screenings for one year
FRIEND
Minimum Commitment: $5,000
• Recognition in all Literary Awards Festival press releases/media
• One Preferred table (10 tickets) at Literary Awards Festival
• Logo on PEN Center USA website with live hyperlink
• Two tickets to each of the quarterly PEN Center USA literary salons for one year
• Opportunity to include item in gift bag
• Logo/brand placement on “virtual program” during event
• Logo/brand placement on “virtual program” during event
• Half-page ad placement in tribute book
• Full-page ad placement in tribute book
Sponsor levels include a number of pre-selected benefits. We are happy to explore additional options,
including naming rights for portions of the evening, tailored to your particular goals. Please contact
sponsorship@penusa.org for more information.
PEN CENTER USA Our Mission
PEN Center USA, one of two centers in the United States representing the writers’ organization
PEN International, was founded in 1943 and incorporated as a nonprofit association in 1981. The
official PEN center for American writers living west of the Mississippi River, we’re the third largest
PEN International center in the world.
Our mission is to stimulate and maintain interest in the written word, to foster a vital literary
culture, and to defend freedom of expression domestically and internationally.
We endeavor to create a world in which freedom of expression is guaranteed for all writers, and
where friendship and intellectual cooperation thrive among writers and readers worldwide.
PEN Center USA defends and promotes freedom of expression throughout the world by
advocating for the release of imprisoned writers and for the protection of writers who suffer
political prosecution, persecution, and censorship in the astonishing number of countries
where these injustices remain commonplace.
Through its programming and services, PEN Center USA cultivates a diverse, dynamic, and
engaged literary community that includes emerging and established writers, translators, editors,
agents, publishers, booksellers, teachers, librarians, readers: everyone who loves and supports
language and literature.
OUR COMMUNITY
Our membership of more than 600 writers includes renowned poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists
(for the letters in the acronym “PEN”) as well as television and screenwriters, critics, historians, editors, journalists, and translators. Our leadership is comprised of preeminent writers, artists, attorneys, and thoughtleaders whose combined achievements are remarkable.
Board of Directors
Advisory Board
Marvin Putnam, Board Chair
A.L. Bardach
David Francis, Vice President
A. Scott Berg
Jamie Wolf, Vice President
Leo Braudy
Nancy Hardin, Secretary
James L. Brooks
Robert Wallace, Treasurer
William Broyles, Jr.
Reza Aslan
Sandra Cisneros
Cari Beauchamp
Sandra Dijkstra
Laura Bickford
Janet Fitch
Henry Bromell (1947-2013)
Stephen Gaghan
Nina Colman
Jonathan Kirsch
Charles Day
Eric Lax
Matt Galsor
Norman Lear
Miranda Heller
Jack Miles
Lauren Levy Neustadter
Michael Parks
Linda Leibovitch
Richard North Patterson
Albert Litewka
Kit Rachlis
Tom Lutz
Richard Reeves
Daniel Miller
Carolyn See
Bonnie Nadell
Mona Simpson
Steve Salardino
Jane Smiley
Rita Watnick
April Smith
Elias Wondimu
Janet Sternburg
Scott Turow
Adam Somers, Executive Director
Steve Wasserman
Past Literary Awards Festivals
Robert Pinsky
Mark Boal
Joyce Carol Oates
Nicole Holofcener
Danny Strong
Dave Eggers
Protecting free expression worldwide
and nurturing the writer’s voice. www.penusa.org