Press Release

David Quammen Wins the 1997 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism

(New York City, April 8, 1997) ­ The New York Public Library last night announced the winner of The 1997 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. Author David Quammen won the literary award, which carries a $15,000 prize, for his book The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions (Scribner).

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, the award was presented to Mr. Quammen at an evening reception, hosted by Dr. Paul LeClerc, President of The New York Public Library, in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Center for the Humanities, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The event also featured a special guest speaker, noted journalist Charles Kuralt. The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award is given annually to an outstanding journalist whose book has made an impact on public consciousness, events, or policy. It is one of the largest annual literary prizes awarded in the United States. Dr. LeClerc and author Henry A. Grunwald, Chair of the Bernstein Award Selection Committee, jointly presented the award to Mr. Quammen.

In The Song of the Dodo, David Quammen focuses on the question: Why do island ecosystems suffer such high rates of extinction? Over the past eight years, with the aid of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Mr. Quammen has travelled the globe in search of answers. The Song of the Dodo developed from his "Natural Acts" column on Guam's bird extinctions, written for Outside magazine. His articles have also appeared in Harper's, Esquire, and Rolling Stone.

The Selection Process
Approximately 180 publishers and editors of major newspapers and magazines and publishing house executives nationwide were invited to submit nominations for the award. More than 70 nominations were received and reviewed, resulting in five finalists who were announced during February.

An independent selection committee comprised of professional journalists and publishers and chaired by Henry A. Grunwald, author of One Man's America: A Journalist's Search for the Heart of His Country (Doubleday), chose the winner. Members of the 1997 selection committee were: Carl Bernstein, writer and journalist; Osborn Elliott, Chairman, Citizens Committee for New York City, Inc.; James F. Hoge, Jr., Editor, Foreign Affairs; Harold W. McGraw III, President and Chief Operating Officer, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.; Roger Rosenblatt, writer and journalist; Alair Townsend, Publisher, Crain's New York Business; Isabel Wilkerson, former Chicago Bureau Chief, The New York Times, and currently Visiting Professor at the Center for the Humanities, Princeton University; and Judy Woodruff, Anchor, Senior Correspondent, CNN.

1997 Award Finalists
In addition to Mr. Quammen, the finalists for the 1997 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award were David Bornstein for The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank and the Idea That Is Helping the Poor to Change Their Lives (Simon & Schuster, May 1996); Osha Gray Davidson for The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South (Scribner, March 1996); Paul Hendrickson for The Living and the Dead: Robert McNamara and Five Lives of a Lost War (Alfred A. Knopf, September 1996); and Peter Maass for Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War (Alfred A. Knopf, February 1996).

About the Award
The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism was established in 1987 as part of a generous gift to The New York Public Library from Helen Bernstein. The gift included an endowment for the position of Helen Bernstein Chief Librarian for Periodicals and Journals, in the General Research Division of the Library. The chair is currently held by Stewart Bodner, who oversees the Periodicals Section's collection of 11,500 current periodicals in 24 languages. This collection is used by some 60,000 researchers annually and is an invaluable resource for writers, artists, journalists, broadcasters, business people, and students.

Previous Winners
This year marks the tenth year that The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award has been given to an outstanding journalist. Previous winners are:

1996 - Tina Rosenberg, for The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism
1995 - Joseph Nocera, for A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class
1994 - David Remnick, for Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire
1993 - Samuel Freedman, for Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church
1992 - Alex P. Kotlowitz, for There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America
1991 - Nicholas Lemann, for The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America
1990 - Thomas Friedman, for From Beirut to Jerusalem
1989 - Judy Woodruff, for her series of television reports focusing on the Iran-Contra affair
1988 - James Reston, in special recognition of his 50-year contribution to journalism

Promotional assistance for the New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award this year is provided by Barnes & Noble, Inc., and Publishers Weekly.

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thoerenz: pro: 4/10/97