The Center for Fiction - Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner

A celebration of the art of fiction. On Monday, November 9, The Center for Fiction, founded in 1820 as the Mercantile Library, will host prominent members of New York's literary and publishing worlds attending its Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner at the New York Racquet and Tennis Club. The Center is the only non-profit literary organization in the United States devoted entirely to fiction. The 5th Maxwell E. Perkins Award will be presented to Gerald Howard, executive editor at Doubleday. The 2009 Center for Fiction First Novel Award will be presented to one of seven finalists attending the dinner. Cocktails and auction at 6:30 pm. Dinner and award presentations at 7:30 pm. The New York Racquet and Tennis Club, 370 Park Avenue. Tickets from $425; tables at $5000, $7500, $10,000 and $25,000. Contact: Esther McGowan at 212-755-6710 or by email at esther@mercantilelibrary.org.