News & Reviews

WORD: Cormac McCarthy wins Quills Award; charity auction begins Oct. 22

Novelist Cormac McCarthy added The Quills Award to his ever-growing bag of loot, which has quickly filled to the brim thanks to his most recent novel "The Road" (Alfred A. Knopf). Also, The Quills Literacy Foundation said it is auctioning a selection of autographed 2007 Quill Award winner and nominee titles to raise funds for nonprofit organization First Book.

"The Road," a searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and his son walking alone through a burned down America, is widely considered the masterpiece of Cormac McCarthy’s career. In addition to The Quills general fiction nod, the novel has received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize.

Publisher Vintage, a sister imprint under the Knopf Publishing Group, says in its description of "The Road":

Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food -- and each other.

McCarthy is scheduled to pick up his Quill Book Award during a gala awards ceremony on Monday, October 22 at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City. Several other categoy winners will be honored as well during the show. The Quill Book Awards will be hosted by NBC’s Ann Curry and Al Roker along with special guest presenter Stephen Colbert. NBC will televise the awards on tape delay Oct. 27.

Also, the public is invited to bid on several titles that The Quills Literacy Foundation is auctioning off to raise funds for First Book, a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

In a press release, The Quills Literacy Foundation noted that access to books is the single most critical factor determining whether a child will become a reader. The money raised in the auction will be contributed to First Book to provide new books for children who otherwise might not experience the joy of owning them.

Titles to be auctioned include a selection of autographed 2007 Quill Award winner and nominee titles, plus other notable books. Bids can be placed starting October 22 at The Quills website. The auction will end at midnight on October 31, 2007.

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