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Elaine Sciolino Wins the 2001 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in JournalismThe Award Honors Her Book Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of IranNew York, May 1, 2001 -- Elaine Sciolino has won the 2001 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism for her captivating book Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran. Sciolino, whose book is a journey through the contradictions of the Iranian revolution and the new order it created, received the $15,000 award at a luncheon held in her honor. The award, now in it’s 14th year, honors journalists and their unique role in drawing the attention of the public to important current issues. The ceremony was hosted by Library President Dr. Paul LeClerc in the Trustees Room of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The presentation of the award was made jointly by Dr. LeClerc and Osborn Elliott, Chairman of the Selection Committee. The other finalists received an Honorable Mention: John Conroy for Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People: The Dynamics of Torture (Knopf); Frances FitzGerald for Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars, and the End of the Cold War (Simon & Schuster); Laurie Garrett for Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Trust (Hyperion); and Robert Kaplan for Eastward to Tartary: Travels in the Balkans, the Middle East, and the Caucasus (Random House). Helen Bernstein, for whom the award is named, attended the ceremony. The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award, established in 1987, is one of the largest annual literary prizes awarded in the United States. The winner receives a cash prize of $15,000 and each of the other finalists receives a $1,000 cash prize and an Honorable Mention. Publishers, editors, and executives of major newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses nationwide submit nominations, from which a Library committee selects the finalists. The winner is chosen by an independent Selection Committee of professional journalists and publishers, which this year includes James F. Hoge, Jr., Editor of Foreign Affairs; Harold W. McGraw III, Chairman, President, and C.E.O. of The McGraw-Hill Companies; Tina Rosenberg of The New York Times Editorial Board and herself a former winner of the award; Ray Sokolov, Arts and Leisure Editor of The Wall Street Journal; and Alair Townsend, Publisher of Crain’s New York Business in addition to Committee Chairman Osborn Elliott, Chairman of the Citizens Committee for New York City. The award was established with a gift from Joseph F. Bernstein in honor of Helen Bernstein, formerly a journalist in Palm Beach, Florida. The gift also 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 a collection of 11,500 current periodicals in 24 languages. This collection is used by approximately 60,000 researchers annually and is an invaluable resource for writers, artists, journalists, broadcasters, business people, and students. The previous 14 winners are: ### Contact: Debbie Bujosa, 212-221-7676, dbujosa@nypl.org
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