Its a big night for the National Book foundation, for literature, culture, the big night for all of us. Whenever i have the opportunity to stand in front of people i always mention my mothers name, irma jean christin. She is the reason i like to say about my mother i am th imed amm because she is the woman she is or was. My mother was my first teacher. My mother graduated from college the age of 17 the first person i17 in the firstperson in her fo college for me to be a wellknown literary advocate in this nation, a place where only a few generations ago it would have been illegal for me to read is no small thing. [applause] literature is the birthright of every single one of us if you can read in at least one language you are in my definition free. That is to say no one can pull the wool over your eyes are give you what they want to call alternative facts and convince you what you know to be true is in fact not true at all. If you can read at least one language, you have the wherewithal to educate yourself to be a self educated, a learner for life. Literature and its place in civilization is unparalleled. Its the stories we tell each other that define who we are, why we are here, what our mission is in life. It is the story that holds our civilization together and we are going to begin tonight by honoring the foundations Lifetime Achievement nominees and the first of these honorees is receiving the award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary community, a person which has given and approving a remarkable dedication to expanding the audience for books and reading. Last year they honored the foundation and other past winners include my angela, scholastic robinson, david kurz, sesame streams own and tonights honoree is exceptional as well in his service to the Literary Community and to introduce him, the author of eight novels including state of wonder, and a special affinity for short story is hosting a podcast where i read a short story [laughter] thank you. [laughter] the importance came to my attention with a copy that sits on my bedroom at home in los angeles with a stack of some of my favorite books. The winner of so many prizes including the falconer award, the orange prize for fiction, the work translated into more than 30 languages and named one of the 100 most influential people on the planet, by Time Magazine and in her spare time a coowner of the books in nashville tennessee. It is a pleasure to bring to the stage ive had a lot of friends ask me why im getting on another plane at the end of a very long book tour to fly back to new dark indigo to the National Book award and i told them i was asked to present the literary award for Outstanding Service to the Literary Community, and i was pretty much go anywhere to have the chance to say nice things about orrin considering all the wonderful things he has done for me, considering all the wonderful things he has done for all of us. And every single friend that i have said this to has been quiet for a minute and then says who . Of course this wouldnt be true. She never asked me this, nor did louise or any of my other beloved bookselling siblings. Hand they know like i do which is to say very well. But to many people in the industry, he is the man behind the curtain at the american booksellers association. He has been working on behalf of the independent bookstores for more than 25 years. He has made us stronger, more practical, more united, more expensive and i would place the bet he has been in more bookstores in this country than any other person ever and he is treated ahestreated as equally. Hes fought for our rights as a smallbusiness ownersmallbusina passionate lover of literature he fostered the community through his leadership. Every year at christmas he goes and works in a bookstore. He worked at my bookstore and i am here to tell you, this is a guy that knows how to sell a book. It brings me to no end to find out that the start as a senior staffer in congress and then went on to work for the march of dimes before coming here. This is the perfect Training Ground for someone that would leave booksellers as we are a weird combination of politics and big hearted charity. Hes seen us through box stores, amazon, financial downturns and never once gave up. Instead he helped us reinvent ourselves to fit the times and he was one of the leaders for the local thrift initiative, thank you very much. There was a time you never would have seen a bookseller served as a judge for an important award like this one even though booksellers read pretty much around the clock and we have or anything for that as well. As he steps away from this job, he is leaving us so much better and stronger than he has found us and for everything i am so grateful. But i also want to say that there is a lesson in this tonight. If you do not know orrin, you need to spend time with your local booksellers and with the american booksellers associati association. And when you are called to service, answer the call because independent booksellers play an outsider role in holding up writers and publishing and they deserve our respect and support. If retirement doesnt suit you, brother, opened a bookstore. You would be so fantastic at it and if you are not ready to open your own, come and work here. We love you, i love you, thank you for everything. Ladies and gentlemen. [applause] [cheering] good evening. First of all, let me of course express my extraordinary thanks and appreciation to and patrick for that incredible introduction. I told her just before she came up you dont allow somebody to introduce you to youve already introduced at other events. Of course most of you in this room know her as one of americas best loved writers but those of us in the bookselling Community Know her as a colleague, as an intrepid advocate for bookstores who inspired us everyday. Thank you for what you do and of course for being such a good friend to me and book stores all across the country. Thank you very much. [applause] i would like to thank the National Book foundation particularly my friends david steinberger, morgan, marcus, caroline and of course the incomparable lisa lucas for this extraordinary honor. When lisa called me some months ago to tell me my selection, i was in a word dumbfounded. I have grown a little bit more. I kind of like the sound but for one moment the impact of this extraordinary special recognition will never diminish. I am most grateful. Im humbled ti am humbled to beg this tonight in the company of americas best writers. I congratulate all of the nominees for tonights awards. Like all of you i am eagerly looking forward to the announcement of the winners though in my book each and every one of you is a winner for the remarkable craft that you bring to your work. [applause] i want to acknowledge my friends in the publishing and Distribution Community that are here tonight. I have had the privilege of working with so many of you for so many years and while we may not always agree on everything, i am convinced the partnership between publishers and independent booksellers has forged a kind of stronger Book Community that has spread the joy of reading to millions of americans and i thank you for that. I want to also acknowledge tonight the presence of my kids. They have been on this journey with me for virtually their entire lives. Of course on occasions like this we know how much we miss some of the present with us but i know she is smiling down on us tonight. I want to thank my bookselling family represented by jamie from flyaway books north carolina. My senior staff colleagues jolie and dan and of course five booksellers who served on this years judging committees, mark, john and kristin. We are grateful to the National Book foundation for including booksellers on the panel. Working on behalf of the indie booksellers these past years has been a dream job. Ive never ever not wanted to go to work. The creativity, ingenuity and resilience of booksellers is nothing less than remarkable. Though i know the National Book foundation has singled me out tonight for this award for which i am sincerely humbled, i accept it on behalf of the thousands of booksellers all across the country who every day thousands and thousands of times perform a special act of magic by placing the right book in a readers hands. Whether it entertains, teaches or inspires it makes the world a better place and for me to have been associated with that magic has been the highlight of my professional life. I was asked recently about what it was about my job that i liked the most and i knew the answer almost immediately. I responded by saying i have a good friend in every town and city in america but alone around the world and in the words of the poet think where mans glory most begins and ends and i say my glory was i had such remarkable friends. Thank you for this honor. [applause] there is a metal that goes along with your honor. I dont want you to leave the stage without it. [laughter] [applause] the second Lifetime Achievement award tonight will be the medal for distinguished contribution to american letters. Previous winners include stephen king, maxine kingston, tom wolfe and the late greats Tony Morrison whose work will leave on in the dna of readers, writers and thinkers for generations to come. Its given to a writer who over the course of their career has ranged in which threw their bodies of work into tonight the honoree in his books have had an extraordinary impact on the generations as well. As our dear departed said if you cant find the book you want to read, you must write it. Its a nice honor he has been walking the talk bringing the literary to another group of human beings marginalized by hetero normative america and to present to him the author of nine books the best title of which is to be mr. Know it all but tarnished wisdom, hes a photographer and has been shown all over the world. Hes made 16 films. There are storytellers and then storytellers storytellers. Ladies and gentlemen it gives me a great pleasure to introduce to the stage a genius storyteller, david waters. John waters. Thank you, thank you so much. [cheering] distinguished contribution to american letter hes certainly done that and weimar. Evan white helped start the Health Crisis and is an aids activist, survivor and still loves sex. Hes written so many memoirs mighmystruggle seems dingy in te details. [laughter] hes pisse pissed off suzanne ae but now in the world is a better place for it. Edmund stillwell said its scary and h he is rich in has writtene about childrens books. Think of the wisdom he could share with kids. [laughter] he explained to intellectuals everywhere in 1977 that the bias against is unreasonable. Maybe its time he translates this in a less threatening way for the next generation of young readers. [laughter] it seems he has won and deserved more awards than meryl streep it never makes the public feel stupid unless they are lying in front of the tv not reading. Edmund white is self depreciating it proud, optimistic when things seem disastrous and he reveals more in his books about his personal life than seems possible, sensible or correct and my god how hes kept his sanity. Weve read about his parents in his memoir of his resiliency is all inspiring. He speaks death several times but still looks today for love online. Hes lived long enough to know the difference [inaudible] yet he accepts the facts are used to have sex with seven different people a week and nowe need seven lawyers to ask even one person for a date. [laughter] he is an American Writer who dared write that affinity biography of french literary icon and still get rave reviews. Am i the only one of the readers that likes the later work even more than the first . Give me 2003 over the 1982 story any day. I know a little bit of the 1950s coming out thats not a thing abouthe thing that the fen the early 18 hundreds he wrote about here. Have you read unpublished vice published in 2018 . Good god, and an exhausting book list an extraordinary reader consumed that will make you hungry to following the blueprint and do the same. Its the perfect fetish when he is your literary. My favorite of all the books my lai was published in 2005 it even shocked me. [laughter] read the chapter my master. Too much information its even better because there isnt enough shame. Its amazing. What did your age and think when he first read it, i first asked. What could she have possibly thought about, and the kids at thatthe prison didnthavepresent reading the details of their teachers kinky affairs, he laughed and said my students never got around to reading my book. I wasnt worried. Edmund white is beyond a dignified and guess over the top distinguished as the award acknowledges that he is disreputable and remains delightful. This honor comes with a 10,000dollar prize you know hes going to spend it on books. Hes made an exceptional impact on the literary heritage as a National Book foundation stated that sounds a little high bowling for me. Im here to add he has done the same for me the book buying games the last 46 years, 28 bucks and they are all really good. This room tonight is definitely not empty and we salute you. As a kid i used to say what do you want, and thatll . Im here tonight saying the same thing. Here it is, come on up here and get it. [applause] [cheering] writers love to complain about how difficult it is to write. Maybe they feel guilty about not having a fulltime job where they must be to come you at, sit through endless meetings, forgo naps, enjoy only two week vacations and stay sober at least during the day. In reality, nothing could be as bad as office works out writers pretend in their interviews to write eight hours a day. And then claim to slave over five drafts which is unbelievable. Only confusion and bad decisions could account for more than three drafts. They once remarked writing fiction is not a fulltime job. Only writers as prolific can claim it is. The rest of us observe other peoples books and write too many emails. How else to do with the obligatory eight hours. Pornography, cooking and adultery are other ways. [laughter] [applause] and of course drinking. I once read so many writers are alcoholics because they can get away with it. Im not denying that i had my struggles with after four novels i managed to get a fifth published and that was through the intervention convinced random house to take it after they had already rejected it. In our culture we ignore beginning writers and honor the experienced excessively. When i started submitting novels in the 1960s, my subject matter was offensive especially since i didnt write about hustlers or criminals or drag queens that the middleclass guy sharing an office with you. The familiar is more threatening than the exotic. Years later various editors would tell me that they had been moved by mice at missions but havent dared to accept them unless their colleagues would think they themselves were gay. My First Published novel red gay only to someone with xray vision. My second, knock turns for the king maples was damned in the New York Times book review for being too obviously gay, explicit according to that critic had e. Clips to whatever small talent i might have had. It was only my fifth published book that was favorably received. Harpers magazine in england once declared me the most maligned man in america and now that is no longer true if it ever was. [laughter] today im happy to say that there are many brilliant gay writers. Andrew sean greer and there was another masterpiece in manuscript. The hit play on broadway, allen one to occur aboard and in my opinion is the best novelist, period come in the uk. Even people who are not gay are willing to write about gay men like on the way. Now everything is so confused that my forthcoming novel a saint from texas is about a nine and a baroness who are only gay around the edges. [laughter] when i first started getting published in the 1970s, writers on oddly enough are the only visible and now tv series and major films and the celebrities are usually or a gay or if they are up to speed, transgender or gender fluid. Gay subject matter represented in every genre. There are still many. It seems they are rewriting American History and turning the Founding Fathers into the founding mothers. Where, one wonders, are the gay villains, mad scientists, even the National Book award has seen fit to honor a gay novelist and for that i am very grateful. To go from being the most maligned in a mere half a century is indeed. I would like to thank my next novel and the love of my life, my husband of 25 years and always my first reader, my sister, margaret, john waters for three decades of friendship and that hilarious introduction, my agent, my publicist, the great features and of the arts that is with us tonight and my wonderful editor. Thank you. [applause] Edmund Valentine 3. [applause] valentine is his middle name. Went to the University Class of 62. My daughter and my money both went to michigan. [laughter] we will now break for dinner and for those of you watching the live stream of tonights ceremony stay tuned for the halftime show. I understand it will be condi a west and donald trump sitting not breathing. [laughter] to announce the winners of the 70th National Book awards. Enjoy the meal. [applause] esteemed guests, please welcome lisa lucas, executive director of the National Book foundation and david steinberger, chairman of the board of the National Book foundation. [applause] here we are again. I am lisa lucas executive director of the National Book foundation. And im david steinberger, chairman of the board of directors. [applause] 70 years of the National Book awards which of course means this is the 70th time publishers, authors, editors, readers, librarians, booksellers and everyone involved in the magic of speaking and sharing and p