Press Release

Journalist Philip Gourevitch Wins the 1999 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award

The Award, for Excellence in Journalism, Honors His Book We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: Stories from Rwanda

New York City, May 4, 1999 -- Philip Gourevitch has won the 1999 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism for his haunting book We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), the Library announced today.  Mr. Gourevitch, whose book brings back into focus an important issue that has largely retreated from public notice, received a $15,000 cash prize.

The ceremony took place at a luncheon hosted by Library President Paul LeClerc in the Trustees Room of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. Dr. LeClerc and Osborn Elliott, Chair of the award's Selection Committee,
jointly made the presentation. Each of the other four Finalists received an Honorable Mention accompanied by a $1,000 prize. Helen Bernstein, in whose honor the award is named, attended the ceremony.

The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award is given annually to an outstanding journalist whose book has made an impact on public consciousness, events, or policy. It is one of the largest annual literary prizes awarded in the United States.

When the Rwandan government implemented a policy in 1994 that called on the Hutu majority to murder the Tutsi minority, 800,000 people were massacred in only 100 days. Philip Gourevitch explores the unfolding of this unimaginable genocide, as well as its background and aftermath, and presents an intimate portrait of Rwandans in all walks of life as they try to cope with the psychological and political challenges of survival. In doing so, this work raises public awareness of the world-wide, long-term consequences of such atrocities.

About Philip Gourevitch
We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: Stories from Rwanda is Philip Gourevitch's first book. He previously won recognition for his series of stories on the Rwandan tragedy. A staff writer at The New Yorker since 1997, he is also a contributing editor to the Forward, as well as a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute. Mr. Gourevitch has reported from Africa, Asia, and Europe for such publications as Harper's and The New York Review of Books. He lives in New York.

1999 Award Finalists
In addition to Mr. Gourevitch, the Finalists for the 1999 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award were Buzz Bissinger, A Prayer for the City (Random House); Roger Cohen, Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo (Random House); William Finnegan, Cold New World: Growing Up in a Harder Country (Random House); and Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind (Simon & Schuster).

The Selection Process
Approximately 180 publishers and editors of major newspapers and magazines and publishing house executives nationwide were invited to submit nominations for the award. More than 40 nominations were received and reviewed, resulting in the five Finalists.

An independent selection committee comprised of professional journalists and publishers and chaired by Osborn Elliott, Chairman of the Citizens Committee for New York City, Inc., then chose the winner. The other members of the 1999 selection committee were: James F. Hoge, Jr., Editor, Foreign Affairs; Harold McGraw III, President and Chief Executive Officer, The McGraw-Hill Companies; Henry Muller, Editorial Director, Time, Inc.;  Alair Townsend, Publisher, Crain's New York Business; Ellis Cose, Contributing Editor, Newsweek.

About the Award
The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism was established in 1987 by Joseph F. Bernstein in honor of Helen Bernstein. The gift included an endowment for the position of Helen Bernstein Chief Librarian for Periodicals and Journals, in the General Research Division of the Library. The chair is currently held by Stewart Bodner, who oversees the Periodicals Section's collection of 11,500 current periodicals in 24 languages. This collection is used by some 60,000 researchers annually and is an invaluable resource for writers, artists, journalists, broadcasters, business people, and students.

Previous Winners
This year marks the twelfth year that The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award has been given to an outstanding journalist. Previous winners are:

1998 - Patty Waldmeir, for Anatomy of a Miracle: The End of Apartheid and the Birth of the New
 South Africa press release
1997 - David Quammen, for The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions press release
1996 - Tina Rosenberg, for The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism press release
1995 - Joseph Nocera, for A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class
1994 - David Remnick, for Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire
1993 - Samuel Freedman, for Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church
1992 - Alex P. Kotlowitz, for There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in
 the Other America
1991 - Nicholas Lemann, for The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It
 Changed America
1990 - Thomas Friedman, for From Beirut to Jerusalem
1989 - Judy Woodruff, for her series of television reports focusing on the Iran-Contra affair
1988 - James Reston, in special recognition of his 50-year contribution to journalism
 

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thoerenz: pro: 05-05-99