Founding crew that set up this this program. Tony lucas was a wonderful nonfiction writer and reporter who was not only great at what he did, but also cared a lot about the field. This kind of work is not part of mass culture shall we say but its a Distinct Community of people who really care about it and are devoted to it and help and support each other and it was very important to tony to be part of that community he put on with me as his sort of deputy a big conference on nonfiction writing at new York State Writers Institute in albany back in 91 or 92 called telling the truth at the time of his death. He was the president of the Authors Guild he just, you know did as much as he could possibly do not just for his own work, but for other people who do this work, and and i think he would be really pleased to see what this Program Named after him has become i never got to know mark linton because he had died i think by the time we started this program i got to know his widow and his his children who are here very well and i gather he was an equally remarkable man, but i cant sort of tell you about it from experience and he had a passion for historical writing especially historical writing thats done. For people who . Are historians and people who arent historians too, which does not describe all historical writing and it was just a wonderful coming together to have the morning lucas family in the morning linton family find each other at a moment in the late 1990s and come together and build this program together. Its its really been a wonderful experience for everybody and and and produce a bunch of great events and winners our partner in this is the naaman foundation at harvard. This event is held alternate years, i guess in even numbered years. Its here in an odd numbered years. Its in cambridge at the Neiman Foundation our partner in running this and marie lipinski. Whos the head of the Neiman Foundation couldnt be here tonight, but you know, i want to thank her and everyone there for the role they have in in this program. So i want to just set up the awarding of the awards and then well have a discussion i should say. Two other things about this this particular Prize Program one. We are somewhat distinctive among journalism awards in that were not just operating after the fact it was very important to tony and to all of us who work on this to understand. I mean this wouldnt apply to anybody in this room, but sometimes it can be hard to get a book written and sometimes you run out of money and and so a little cash and validation and community can be a big help and its its this that describes our work in progress award, which is a particularly distinctive feature of the lucas prizes. And the other thing is as you know seen in the event we put on back in 91 tony really like to have a conversation among nonfiction writers, you know, were all nonfiction writers so we can like let our hair down a little bit and i dont think im the only one who sometimes feels like fiction writers get to be like real writers with a capital w and nonfiction writers are subject matter experts, you know, like whats what should be our policy on this and thats not how we think of ourselves and so it was important to tony to create a sort of space where we could talk about what its really like to do this work and well do that after we after we confer the awards. So first i want to thank the judges of these awards they do as my kids would say a ton of work because these are not always short books and and its wonderful that they spend the time to do this out of devotion to nonfiction the judges who are here, i believe and forgive me if ive left you out or Rachel LouiseSnyder Anthony dipama and julia pastor. So can you like stand up and take a bow . Thanks to the board of the lucas prizes. And again, these are the ones i think are here and if ive left you out. Im sorry and ask you collectively to stand up and take about also Jonathan Alter shay earhart, sam friedman and pamela paul. We have last years mark clinton history prize winner here with us william thomas. Can you stand up in . And we have mark linton and im sorry Michael Linton and lily linton here. Can you all we did but theyre gone. Okay. Well they were here and we applaud them in their very recent absence and the whole family for their ongoing and general support for making these awards possible. Were grateful for their support of the awards and for the research grants, they give two students in Sam Friedmans book writing class every year. I think we have some students here this year, but i dont know for sure. But if if so, welcome, and now well give out the awards. Abby come on up. This is abby wright who runs most of the prizes here at the school and shell give me a hand presenting the awards. Okay. The J Anthony Lucas book prize is presented to a booklength work of narrative nonfiction on a topic of American Social or political concern that exemplifies the literary grace commitment to Serious Research and original reporting that characterized the distinguished work of the awards namesake the prize carries a 10,000 honorarium. This years judges bruce tracy the chair jess bruder julia pastor and Thomas Chatterton williams. This years winner is author and journalist Andrea Elliott for her book invisible Child Poverty survival and hope in an american city. Andrea is an Investigative Reporter for the New York Times and the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize a george polk award and overseas press club award and other honors most importantly. Shes a graduate of columbia journalism school. The judges citation reads invisible child is a Tour De Force of of reporting and meticulous and unflinching depiction of intergenerational american poverty. Andrea elliott spent eight years following her subject 11 year old dasani and her parents is seven siblings in and out of new york city homeless shelters Court Schools welfare offices and ultimately the Pennsylvania Boarding School that offers the first chance of hope exemplifying the best of the lucas tradition elliott exposes the granular texture of daily life with deep empathy the punishing sameness of material want and in the process paints sweeping portrait of contemporary American Life still marked by prejudices and injustices set in motion in the past. As the number of homeless americans continues to rise. This is a book that demands and deserves our attention. Congratulations, andrea. Here to assist others will join you in a minute. This years finalist for the j. Anthony lucas book prizes awarded to journalists and author patrick. Radden kiefer for empire of pain the secret history of the sackler dynasty. Patrick is an author and a staff writer at the new yorker. The judges right in their citation that empires pain is a revelatory. Look inside the rise of one of the most powerful and ruthless dynasties in america whose indifference toward the consequences of their actions is enabled by the astronomical wealth and privilege. Thats shield them with reporting and research of impressive depth and breadth patrick gratin kief weaves. The Facts Figures depositions firsthand interviews and original documents into a harrowing and heartbreaking reading experience empire of pain is a searing portrait of a Massive PublicHealth Crisis one of the most devastating in recent memory as well as the ambition greed and insularity of the family at its center patrick couldnt be here with us tonight, but we salute him. The mark linton history prize is awarded annually to a work of history on any subject that best combines intellectual distinction with felicity of expression and carries a 10,000 honorarium. This years judges were julia keller Anthony Depalma and carrie greenridge. This years winner is author jane ragoska for surviving cotton. So stalins polish massacre and the search for truth. Jane is a british author and filmmaker of polish origin and is also the author of gerda tarot inventing robert kappa with a particular interest in the in the turbulent period from the 1930s to the cold war in europe. The judges write in their citation to the chili and brutal abstraction of the phrase mass grave surviving cotton provides an eloquent and crucial clarification. They were individuals those 22,000 polish prisoners of war secretly murdered during World War Two and buried in a polish forest. For decades the crime was blamed on the nazis. As rugoiska traces with a quietly masterful breadth of detail, however evidence now proves that stalin personally ordered the massac. Thus her book is part detective story part historical narrative part biography of the victims and part moral reckoning with urgent relevance to contemporary conflicts. Congratulations. Jane. Come on. Should sit this years finalist for the mark linton. History prize is katie booths the invention of miracles language power and Alexander Graham bells quest to end deafness katie teaches writing at the university of pittsburgh and was raised in a mixed hearing and deaf family. This is her first book. The judges citation reads a complex and profoundly moving historical saga. The invention of miracles is an insightful portrait of the extraordinary life of Alexander Graham bell as well as a retelling of his decadeslong crusade to teach the deaf to speak with their lips and not their hands. Relying on bells own papers and those of his contemporaries as well as diving deeply into the archives. Deaf community both focuses on the Cultural Impact of bells work with the deaf without shying away from the more controversial aspects of his mission bypassing sign language interpreting deaf genealogy and flirting with the now discredited science of eugenics before distancing himself from its most radical ideas. Superbly written. And decidedly subjective the invention of miracles provides a challenging portrait of an imperfect genius. Katie could not be with us tonight. Finally the two J Anthony Lucas work in progress awards in the amount of 25,000 given annually to aid the completion of significant works of nonfiction and on a topic of american political or social concern. This years judges were Rachel Louise snyder the chair. Paul golub and david troyer roxanna askarian wins the first award for we were once a family the heart murder suicide in the system failing our kids. She is an independent investigative journalist focused on the child on Child Protection and criminal Legal Systems and a native of las vegas the judges citation reads tracing the devastating story of the hart families shocking murder suicide after the childrens adoptive mothers drove the entire family of california cliff asgarian paints a moving portrait of lost lives and failed systems within ever present lands on poverty and racism asgarians investigation illuminates, the innumerable ways Child Welfare agencies failed these six young black children and indicts the ways the most vulnerable among us or imperiled by the very systems created to protect them. Congratulations roxanna. Cross my friend but we have to smile. Okay, the second works in work in progress award goes to magiang for the life sex work and love in america may as a reporter at vanity fair her reporting from afghanistan has received the south asian journalist. Associations daniel pearl award. Judges citation carefully piecing together the vast mosaic of forces that often compel sex work in America Today poverty neglect racism addiction discrimination john diseffects the ways in which women are punished disproportionately for the actions of men her tireless reporting on the chaotic and have hazard world of domestic sex trafficking grapples with the very idea of how we think about sex workers today including not only the stigma around them, but also the very idea of what it means culturally criminally and sociologically to rescue someone. Congratulations may okay now its time for our panel discussion, which will be led by pamela paul. Whos a member of the lucas board. So im going to leave the stage and shes going to come up pamela until very recently like about a week ago or something was the editor of the New York Times book review, which shed done for nine years. Is that right . And she oversaw all book coverage at the time. So former arts correspondent for the economist pamela joined the times in 2011 as the childrens books editor. And is the author of eight books now, shes just starting a career as a times opinion columnist. I believe two columns so far, so shes off to a flying start and come on up and dont dont go here go there and ill go down and listen to you. Thanks everybody. Two quick things before we start one. Im not actually going to be checking my phone, but i am being texted your questions on my phone. So that is why im holding this. Im not distracted and the second thing i just want to say now that im allowed to have Public Opinions that it is my opinion that it is really good and right that we take a moment to note that there are four women winners up here. It was you know when i joined the book review only 11 years ago. There was still this sort of background to be if like women writing serious nonfiction. So now it just feels natural and good and just so congratulations to everyone here. I just want to start off by asking a really basic question of each of you and im going to start im not going to go down in order. Im going to start with the two who have written their books just to make a little bit easier on those who are not quite done to tell us about the origin story of your book and project because andrea, i know you started this when you were at the time it started from your journalism. Yes. So first of all, i want to just say im so incredibly honored to receive this. Award and lucas is a hero and i am sitting in this room with mentors of mine in this room including sam friedman whose book class. I would like to think really planted the seed of this if were talking about origins many many years ago and my daughters here and my agentina and i just owe them so much. Shes telling me to speak up. Okay. Thank you for that. So you know. Well what i would say about it to to kind of summarize it is that i have been drawn to. You know human existence into the the narratives of people more than anything else and i had been doing that for a really long time when i found my way into this story of but in a very ironic manner, which was a statistic is what did it i saw one in five children were growing up poor in america. I thought that was strange and kind of outrageous. I called colleagues started, you know working the phones to kind of figure out. Why this wasnt a bigger store story and in way it wasnt a bigger story because and thats part of the reason it was such a big story is that it is a stubborn problem and it wasnt going away and we were coming upon half a century after lbjs declared were on poverty and some gains had happened but a lot remained to be done. And so just from that kind of like many many thousands of feet above the ground jump out of the sky. I wound up landing finally in the life of dasani after a long long search and by the time i met her my typical reporter checklist had kind of gone out the window. I had this checklist that was based on a certain demographic profile that meant it was a smaller family that maybe she was part latina. I am latina would have been easier i would have been able to speak spanish with her parents all of those things just wound up being kind of background noise because when i met her she just grabbed my heart and i felt electrified around her and her family. I felt like these were people whose lives i wanted to know and then you know when i find usually is that if thats the case for me, its gonna be the case for the reader. And so thats that was how it all began and but i never thought i would have spent as much time as i wound up spending with them. Well speaking of time just quickly how long to do spend reporting this series that appeared in the paper. And at what point did you say to yourself . Theres more and theres a book here, and i want to do that. So i really think that writing a book is a little bit iii. This is im just gonna say it. Its a little bit like getting married. You know, you have to be very very much in love because you know, its gonna be really hard and i hadnt fallen in love until then with a story this way. I just i didnt decide to write a book. I think it just kind of chose me. I i dont even remember when the moment was but i do remember picking up the phone and calling tina and saying will you be my agent because this series is is running in the paper literally was day two of the series and my phones ringing off the hook, and i think i have a book and you said sure and its quickly became a book, but it was it was it was in my mind, i think. As a book long before that moment, and i think its it just it took possession of me. You know, its a story that just took possession of me and kept showing me everything i didnt know and i thought i knew the city. I thought i knew but here it really is. Look at this the history. I thought i knew no go deeper and at every turn i felt like it was. An education in so many new and important issues. And so thats why it took as long as it did because i felt i owed it to the story to go as deep as i did. Jane for you, im assuming you went into this knowing this was going to be a book. But how did you what was the origin of the project . I really recognize that thing about being possessed by an idea because ive lived with this subject for several years now. I think the seed