The New York Public Library has announced the five honorees for this year’s Library Lions awards. This year’s winners include two authors and a playwright, as well activist and author Gloria Steinem.
The NYPL grants five Library Lions awards each year. The awards are presented for “achievements in the fields of art, culture, scholarship, and letters.”
Here’s the complete list of winners:
- Alan Bennett, author and playwright
- Judith A. Jamison, dancer and choreographer
- Maira Kalman, author and illustrator
- Karl Ove Knausgaard, author
- Gloria Steinem, activist and author
Steinem, who is known for her political activism and strong feminism, is probably the best-known of this year’s recipients. All five of the honorees will be recognized at the NYPL’s annual Library Lions gala, which will be held on November 2 at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (the library’s flagship location on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street). The Schwarzman Building is famously decorated with two lion statues flanking its entrance.
The Library Lions awards have been given out by the NYPL annually for more than 30 years. Past honorees include literary titans like Elie Weisel, Margaret Atwood, and Kazuo Ishiguro. The award is also often given to public figures, like South African president Nelson Mandela, and to artists who work in other mediums, like filmmaker Martin Scorcese.
Main image: NYPL.org
Stephen Lovely, writer