Literary luminaries lit up the warm and misty evening at the 13th annual Authors Night to benefit the 120-year-old East Hampton Library. In case you didn’t know, this is event is said to be the premier literary event of the Hamptons and one of the nation’s leading annual literary celebrations.
When I arrived, the parking lot was already full and shuttles, golf carts and mini buses helped attendees get to the massive tent that held 100 authors and more than 2,500 guests. The mood inside the tent was electric and abuzz with excitement. The first person I ran into was the “King of Shoes,” Steven Madden, who sold me shoes when I was in high school. He said he has a book coming out next year, he certainly has a story to tell.
Alphabetical rows of long tables of traditionally and independently published authors were filled and ready to chat, sign copies of their books and pose for photos.
The event was hosted by many well-known authors, including Honorary Founding Chair Alec Baldwin; Honorary Co-Chairs Hilaria Baldwin, Robert A. Caro, Dick Cavett, Peter Marino, Malcolm Nance, Jessica Seinfeld,
Stephen Kennedy Smith and Elizabeth Vargas author of Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction.
Other authors in attendance included Alan Alda, signing his new book If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? Also in attendance was James Barron; Ann Brashares; Chef Alex Guarnaschelli from Chopped on the Food Network; New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul with her lovely book, My Life with Bob; Eric Kandel, Jeffrey Lyons and many others.
The line to get a photo with Alec Baldwin author of Nevertheless: A Memoir was long and controlled
by security guards in tasteful green polo shirts making sure the curious didn’t get too close, too fast. Alec posed willingly and happily alone and with his wife Hilaria, who was there with her own new book, The Living Clearly Method.
But where-oh-where was Holly Peterson, author of this summer’s big beach read, It Happens in the Hamptons? Apparently her books were gone fast and furiously and so was she. I was sorry to miss her.
Several media entities were in attendance as well. National Public Radio was there to interview writers, as was News 12. A photographer from The New York Daily News snapped pictures.
The line for the food was long but worth the wait. Lovely canapes, sushi, clams, breads and desserts were creatively presented by local purveyors. A collection of wines and non-alcoholic libations were also available.
It was great to see so much energy, active interest and support for books and authors on the East End of Long Island. At BookTrib.com, where we strive to keep books alive by writing about new books, classics, fiction and non-fiction, we hope that this event and others that celebrate books continue long into the future. For without books who are we as a culture?