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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 10-04-2011 - 4aORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: October 4, 2011 Action Agenda Item No. ~-- - ~[, SUBJECT: Scott Huler, 2011 Piedmont Laureate DEPARTMENT: Economic Development -- PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No Orange County Arts Commission ATTACHMENT(S): Press Release INFORMATION CONTACT: Martha Shannon, 968-2011 PURPOSE: To introduce and hear a brief selection from creative nonfiction writer Scott Huler, the 2011 Piedmont Laureate, during October (National Arts & Humanities Month). BACKGROUND: The 2011 Piedmont Laureate Program is co-sponsored by the Orange County Arts Commission, the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, the Durham Arts Council, United Arts of Raleigh and Wake County, the Alamance County Arts Council and the Johnston County Arts Council. In its third year, the primary goal of this program is to promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts throughout the Piedmont region. The Orange County Arts Commission participates so that Orange County writers can apply and Orange County sites can host the Piedmont Laureate. The 2011 Piedmont Laureate is contracted for 25 events (such as readings or workshops at public sites) and at least 5 media appearances throughout the five-county area during calendar year 2011. The application process was open to all writers residing in Orange, Durham, Wake, Alamance or Johnston counties who met the guideline criteria. For 2011, applications were accepted from nonfiction writers only. In addition to the program sponsors, the selection panel included Amy Rogers (Novello Festival Press Founder and Publisher), Mark Simpson-Vos (Senior Editor, UNC Press), and John Valentine (Co-Owner, Regulator Book Shop). Banu Valladares (Program Director of Literature and Outreach, NC Arts Council) participated as a panel observer. Several finalists were chosen and interviewed. Raleigh resident Scott Huler was selected as Laureate. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Orange County's portion ($1,350) of the 2011 Piedmont Laureate's stipend and website (www.piedmontlaureate.com) expenses came from 2010-11 State Grassroots funds. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board recognize Scott Huler, the 2011 Piedmont Laureate. 2 ~~~~ AUTHOR SCOTT HULER SELECTED 2011 PIEDMONT LAUREATE Renowned Raleigh writer Scott Huler has been selected as the region's 2D11 Piedmont Laureate. The Piedmont Laureate program is dedicated to building a literary bridge for residents to come together and celebrate the art of writing. Co-sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Alamance County Arts Council, Durham Arts Council, Johnston County Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County, the program's mission is to "promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts throughout the Piedmont region." The program focuses on a different literary form each year (poetry in 2009, novels in 2010, and creative non- fiction for 2011). In author Bland Simpson's letter of support for Mr. Huler's laureate application, he wrote, "Scott Huler is well-known and respected in the journalistic and non-fiction writing profession and he is certainly well thought of and appreciated in our part of the world. I believe he is an excellent choice for the position of Piedmont Laureate...." For being named the Piedmont Laureate, Mr. Huler will receive an honorarium of $7,OOQ and serve for one year. His duties will include presenting public readings and workshops, participating at select public functions and creating at least one original activity to expand appreciation of literature. A schedule of the Laureate's 2D11 activities will be posted in January on the sponsoring agency websites and on the Piedmont Laureate website at www.piedmontlaureate.com. Mr. Huler was born in 1959 in Cleveland and graduated from Washington University in 1981. He was made a member of Phi Beta Kappa because of the breadth of his studies, and that breadth has been a signature of his writing work. He has written on everything from the death penalty to bikini waxing and from NASCAR racing to the stealth bomber for such newspapers as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Los Angeles Times, and such magazines as Backpacker, Fortune and Child. Mr. Huler's award-winning radio work has been heard on "All Things Considered" and "Day to Day' on National Public Radio and on "Marketplace" and "Splendid Table" on American Public Media. He has been a staff writer for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Raleigh News & Observer, and a staff reporter and producer for Nashville Public Radio. He was the founding and managing editor of the Nashville City Paper. He has taught at such colleges as Berry College and UNC-Chapel Hill and has served as guest host on "The State of Things" on WUNC-FM. 3 Mr. Ruler's sixth book, "On the Grid: A Plot of Land, an Average Neighborhood, and the Systems that Make Our World Work," came out in 2010, and his work has also been included in such compilations. as "Appalachian Adventure" and in such anthologies as "The Appalachian Trail Reader, Speed: Stories of Survival from Behind the Wheel" and "Literary Trails of the Carolina Piedmont." Mr. Ruler's work has been translated into five languages. He lives in Raleigh with his wife, June Spence, also a writer, and their two sons. "We live in what we call the Information Age, though nobody seems to know exactly what information is supposed to be," Mr. Ruler said. "Since telling stories is how we make sense of our world, I'm thrilled that through the. Laureate program I'll be spending 2011 sharing stories with Piedmont citizens. Maybe we can take acouple-steps toward making a little sense of our world and turningthe Information Age into the Age of Meaning. How cool would that be?" Applications for the Piedmont Laureate position were received from afive-county area. Aselection- committee comprised of Amy Rogers, Novello_ Festival Press founder and publisher; Mark Simpson-Vos, senior editor, UNC Press; and John Valentine, co-owner, Regulator Book Shop, along with sponsoring agency representatives, reviewed all the applications and made recommendations. Banu Valladares, program director of literature and outreach at the North Carolina Arts Council, also participated as a panel observer. For more informationaboutthe Piedmont Laureate program, please visit www.piedmontlaureate.com.