Aisha Tyler will host and Amy Poehler will present at the 24th Annual Literary Awards Festival, honoring the best writing in the western United States, PEN Center USA announced on Wednesday.
Tyler will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies, presenting awards to a distinguished group of writers who will take home $1,000 cash prizes. Poehler will present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Norman Lear.
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PEN Center USA has announced that Mimi Pond has won the organization’s Graphic Literature Award with special mention for her graphic memoir, “Over Easy.”
Previously announced Literary Award winners include Gretel Ehrlich, Octavio Solis, Lindsay Hill, Craig Malisow, Victoria Chang, Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis, Ben Coccio, Derek Cianfrance, and Darius Marder, Judd Apatow and Lena Dunham, Wayne A. Rebhorn, and Margarita Engle.
Additionally, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras will receive the First Amendment Award and Jose Antonio Vargas will be honored with the Freedom to Write Award.
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Tyler and Poehler are literary figures as well as actors. Tyler has published two books, “Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Post-Modern Girl” in 2004 and “Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation” in 2013. Poehler’s first book, “Yes, Please,” will be published in October by Dey Street Books.
The 2014 PEN Awards, chosen by panels of writers, editors, critics and journalists belonging to Beverly Hills non-profit PEN Center USA, will be handed out at a ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.