National Book Foundation has sponsored the National Book Awards since 1950, the nation’s preeminent literary prizes. The Awards are given to recognize achievements in four genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. The Winners, selected by five-member, independent judging panels for each genre, receive a $10,000 cash award and a crystal sculpture.
The New York Society Library is New York City’s oldest library. It is located at 53 East 79th Street.
The New School is known for its literary connections.
The Players Club was founded in 1888. Its members have included Gelett Burgess, Richard Harding Davis, Paul Green, Mark Twain, and Hendrik Willem Van Loon.
Washington Irving’s birthplace was at 131 William Street, New York, New York.
The Plaza Hotel, 5th Avenue and 59th Street, has a plaque stating that it is the Home of Eloise (see Kay Thompson). Writers who have stayed there include F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, John Dos Passos, and J. P. Marquand.
Irving Place, East 17th Street, was named after Washington Irving.
Poets & Writers was created to serve the needs of poets and writers through its publication, “Poets & Writers,” and its Readings and Workshops program.
Washington Irving High School, Irving Place and 17th Street, New York, New York, was named after Washington Irving, and there is a bust of him in front of the school.
The Century Association (now Club) had as members William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, Malcolm Cowley, and Archibald MacLeish.