The Moth will present acclaimed journalist, novelist, and humorist Calvin Trillin with the Moth Storytelling Award at its annual Moth Ball on Tuesday, November 16th at Capitale in New York City.
Trillin's honor will be the centerpiece of a star-studded evening celebrating The Moth, the 14 year old non-profit organization dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. A strong literary voice chronicling the American scene for more than four decades, Trillin has taken storytelling to new heights in every conceivable genre and medium from childhood memoir to food essay to political satire. His diverse and prolific career includes contributing to the New Yorker since 1963 and writing his weekly "Deadline Poet" column for the Nation since 1990.
"The reservoir of style that flows through Calvin's work finds its source deep in the well of his own personal stories and his willingness to make himself vulnerable by telling them", said the Moth's Artistic Director,
Catherine Burns. "A journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and satirist, Calvin is above all, a raconteur. We salute the courage and skill with which he employs the personal to illuminate the universal. He is a master."
Hosted by Jonathan Ames and
Mike Birbiglia, the gala will also feature one-minute stories told by the Moth GrandSLAM winners from Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles, and the presentation of the $5,000 MothShop Community Scholarship Award, a gift of the Stefany and Simon Bergson Foundation, to
Deborah Allen-Carr, a recent graduate from the Bronx Preparatory Charter School who excels at storytelling. Guests can also star in their own 30's inspired 5 second animation, courtesy of Flipping Fun Flipbooks.
The recent appointment of Joan D. Firestone as Moth Executive Director, caps another year of major growth for The Moth, most notably the continued success of the Moth Radio Hour, which debuted in 2009 and is now carried by more than 200 stations nationwide, making it one of the most successful launches in the history of public radio; the Moth Podcast, which now boasts more than one million downloads a month, and the recent kick-off of a national tour with USA Network which will bring the Moth Mainstage and MothSHOP High School storytelling workshops to four new cities. The Moth continues to be greeted by standing room audiences in New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles, and in cities it tours worldwide.
A veteran theater, arts and education executive, Firestone fits comfortably into the creative milieu of the Moth, enthusiastically working with an artistic staff that she refers to as "the guardians of the art of storytelling." We are grateful for the leadership that Joan brings to the Moth" said Anne Maffei, the Moth Board's Chair.
Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi
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