About Steve :: Actor ::
Master of Ceremonies 
2000 National Book Awards

 Steve has hosted the National Book Awards for several years. He has turned them into a more Oscar-like awards ceremony with his humor and attention to detail.

He will not be hosting in 2003, having other time commitments.

 

    
   
The Washington Post
November 16, 2000, Thursday, Final Edition
STYLE; Pg. C01
Susan Sontag Wins National Book Award For Fiction
Linton Weeks , Washington Post Staff Writer

NEW YORK, Nov. 15:  No recounts needed in this selection: Tonight the National Book Foundation, in a swanky soiree at the Marriott Marquis, announced the 2000 National Book Awards.

The winner for fiction was "In America" by Susan Sontag; for nonfiction, "In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex" by Nathaniel Philbrick; for poetry, "Blessing the Boats: Poems, 1988 2000" by former Maryland poet laureate Lucille Clifton; for young people's literature, "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan.

Virtuoso Ray Bradbury, 80, was given a lifetime achievement award.

"To say I'm astonished is an understatement," said a breathless Sontag on receiving the small translucent trophy. She, and the other winners, will also take home checks for $ 10,000 apiece. "I am really more moved than I could say," she said. The novel, her fourth, tells the story of a Polish actress who comes to America in 1876.

"Heart of the Sea," also set in the 19th century, is based on the true tale of 20 whalers whose boat was rammed by a sperm whale. The story inspired another book you might have heard of, "Moby Dick." Philbrick thanked the people of Nantucket, Mass., where he lives.

"I am amazed," said Clifton, professor of literature at St. Mary's College of Maryland in St. Mary's City. "I am amazed continually at the roller coaster of my life."

She called herself "a patch on the coat that is contemporary poetry," adding, "I hope I will continue to try to deserve this award."

Whelan quoted Simone de Beauvoir: "Books saved my life. I think books save the lives of a lot of children." Her "Homeless Bird" tells the tale of a girl in India who marries and is widowed by age 13. She then begins a journey to discover herself.

About 800 well dressed denizens of the publishing world paid $ 1,000 apiece to sit at round tables in the hotel's ballroom. The foundation raised $ 1 million for its education initiatives, said spokeswoman Lydia Voles.

A silver haired and tuxedoed Steve Martin emceed the show for the second year in a row. When contender Joyce Carol Oates did not show up, he asked jokingly if he could "have her finalist medal." It was ironic, in a way, because Martin did write a fascinating novella, "Shopgirl," that appeared this year. Since he has become known as a writer, he said, "my income has dropped."

He made the obligatory joke about "chads." And another: "We're lucky the National Book Awards aren't being held in Texas, where the losers would be taken out and shot."

As the evening wore on and the winners were announced, Martin observed, "It is slowly dawning on me that I will not be receiving an award tonight. Was I misled?"

After the presentations, the winners were taken into another room for photos. "In this country," Gloria Whelan said about being lined up against a wall, "it's all right."

Susan Sontag, who returned from Italy for the occasion, said she was ambivalent about winning a writing award. "You don't want to be disappointed," she said. But, "you know in some deep sense that it's not fair. It's not fair that writers should compete."

In 1986 writer Peter Taylor refused to accept his American Book Award, as the prize was known then, saying that competition among writers was "a disservice to the arts." William Saroyan once refused the Pulitzer Prize.

Sontag also said she doesn't read reviews of her books: "I'm too squeamish. It's painful to be criticized."

Before introducing Bradbury, the literary dessert for the evening, Martin said the event was becoming more like the Academy Awards every year. He pointed to the three large screens overhead where a film clip from "Fahrenheit 451," based on Bradbury's novel, was shown.

Bradbury then took the stage. He said he has one good eye, one good ear, one good leg and that he may be missing other things, "but I'm afraid to look."

As a young kid he once roller skated up to W.C. Fields, who signed an autograph for him. "There you are, you little son of a bitch," the actor said to him.

"And," Bradbury told the crowd, "here I am."

The runner up authors in this 51st awards ceremony received $ 1,000 apiece. Of the 20 finalists, nine had been nominated for awards before. Oates had been a finalist four times. She and Galway Kinnell had each won once. To find the cream, judges churned through 835 titles from 198 publishers and imprints.

At St. Mary's College tonight, Clifton was being celebrated. "She's not only one of the finest poets," said college President Maggie O'Brien, "she's one of the finest friends of students and faculty alike."

Sontag said she was returning to Italy on Thursday, but first, she told friends, she planned to "go get drunk at the Russian Samovar."
 		    
   
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