Meet The Writers: The Steinbeck Project: 1978-2002

by Ken Wheaton, William M. Peterson (Editor), Kimberly Goff-Knollenberg (Editor)

A celebration of 25 years of the "Meet the Writers" Book Fair, the affair that kicks of the Hamptons summer social season each May, and features local writers from the East End of Long Island. Contributors include E. L. Doctorow, Lanford Wilson, Peter Matthiessen, Kurt Vonnegut, Terrence McNally, Betty Friedan, David Ignatow, Wilfrid Sheed, Edward Albee, James Salter, Susan Isaacs, Dava Sobel, Kenneth Koch, Gregory Rabassa, John Steinbeck, Joe Pintauro, Elaine Benson, Elaine Steinbeck, Dan Rattiner, Steven Gaines, Sheridan Sansegundo, Lee Davis, Mary Cummings, and many others. Meet The Writers supports the Steinbeck Project at Long Island University's Southampton College campus.

216 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2002

Reviews

[John Peel · Rating 2 out of 5]

For over 30 years, there was a fundraiser that kicked off the summer season in the Hamptons on Long Island, in order to raise money for the John Steinbeck Room in Southampton College. In 2002, a special book was produced to commemorate 25 years of the events. Long Island authors who had had a book (or more than one) published in the previous year could come along and sign their works. I went along several times (and I'm even mentioned in this book, along with the likes of E.L. Doctorow and Kurt Vonnegut). They were fun events, which this volume tries to capture. The problem is that it's frequently repetitive, reprinting various reviews of the same events. Then follows a section of selections from award-winning writers, and then some works actually written in the Steinbeck Room, which aren't generally very good.