Paul Giamatti, Jesse Eisenberg and Lili Taylor to Perform Award-Winning Work

Three New York Area Students to Receive Top Awards and $10,000 Scholarships

WHAT:
THE SCHOLASTIC ART & WRITING AWARDS CEREMONY
Pulitizer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, actors Paul Giamatti, Jesse Eisenberg, and Lili Taylor, plus family, teachers and industry leaders, will honor more than 500 of the America’s most talented young artists and writers at The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2009. Poet and spoken word champion Patricia Smith will present novelist and Awards alumnus Thane Rosenbaum with an “Alumni Achievement Award.” Sculptor Tom Otterness will receive his “Alumni Achievement Award” from fellow alum and artist Philip Pearlstein.

The national awards program offers early recognition of creative teens as well as $4 million in scholarships to graduating high-school seniors. 104 New York metro area students (out of 2,414 who entered) are being recognized by the Awards this year. Twelve seniors, including three from the New York metro area, are each receiving the top award and a $10,000 scholarship.

WHEN/WHERE:
THURSDAY, JUNE 4TH
6:00-7:00 PM
CARNEGIE HALL
154 W. 57TH STREET / PRESS ENTRANCE AT 161 WEST 56TH STREET

WHO:
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Tony Kushner delivers the key note
Actors Paul Giamatti, Jesse Eisenberg and Lili Taylor to perform select student works
Artists Philip Pearlstein and Tom Otterness and author Thane Rosenbaum to appear

MORE INFO:
Since Scholastic founded the program in 1923, more than 13 million of America’s most talented teenagers have participated in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. More than 2.5 million have been shared in $25 million in cash awards and college scholarships. Distinguished past Awards recipients when they were teens include Zac Posen, Andy Warhol, Robert Redford, Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Joyce Carol Oates, John Lithgow, Sue Miller, Richard Avedon and Kay WalkingStick.

Contact:
Jennifer Boggs, 212-343-6619 or jboggs@scholastic.com

*According to Carnegie Hall policy, anyone planning to photograph/film/record the event, must be on assignment for a legitimate news outlet and submit a letter of assignment on the official letterhead of the news outlet to enter the press area of Carnegie Hall.