I was so nervous presenting the PEN Phyllis Naylor Working Writer's Fellowship last May at the Walter Reade Theater in New York City, I had no idea what I said when I stepped away from the microphone. Did I babble? Make huge grammatical errors? Go on and on?The night wasn't about me, thankfully, as evidenced by this photo of Theresa Nelson receiving the award for her captivating work-in-progress, Julia Delaney: The American Version. (Yes, that's me in the background.) PEN put the brief speech on-line recently, and I was relieved to discover that I'd been coherent.
The deadline for letters of nomination for the fellowship is January 16, 2009, so if you know an author who meets the criteria, send it in.