Poets & Writers, Inc. Will Honor Professor Rigoberto González With Its 2013 “Writer For Writers” Award

The literary contributions of Rutgers-Newark’s own Rigoberto González, associate professor of English, will be honored by Poets & Writers, Inc., which has named him as one of three recipients of the 2013 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Awards.  González will be honored March 18 at “In Celebration of Writers," an annual dinner to benefit Poets & Writers, in New York City.

The Writers for Writers Award was established by Poets & Writers in 1996 to recognize authors who have given generously to other writers or to the broader literary community.  González  is being recognized for  “championing Latina/o writers.” González’s co-honorees are Steve Berry and Judith Kelman.

Past Poets & Writers honorees include James Michener, William Styron, Stephen King, Scott Turow, John Grisham, Anna Quindlen, and Junot Diaz.

González, a New York City resident, is the author of 15 books of poetry and prose, and the editor of Camino del Sol: Fifteen Years of Latina and Latino Writing (U. of Arizona Press, 2010). He is the recipient of Guggenheim and NEA fellowships, winner of the American Book Award, The Poetry Center Book Award, The Shelley Memorial Award of The Poetry Society of America, and a grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts. He is contributing editor for Poets & Writers Magazine, and serves on the executive board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle. For 10 years González wrote a monthly book review column for the El Paso Times of Texas, the only column in the nation’s newspapers dedicated exclusively to Latino literature.

González has been a member of the faculty at Rutgers-Newark since 2008, teaching in the acclaimed Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program.

Established in 1996, the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Awards celebrate authors who have given generously to other writers or to the broader literary community. Nominations are solicited from past winners, other prominent writers, members of the publishing community, and Poets & Writers' Board and staff. These nominations are reviewed and winners selected by a committee comprised of current and past members of the Board of Directors.

Founded in 1970, the mission of Poets & Writers is to foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communication throughout the literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.  Poets & Writers publishes Poets & Writers Magazine, an award-winning bi-monthly journal; produces a website that provides advice, information, and an online community for writers; administers the Readings/Workshops Program, which pays writers fees for giving readings and leading workshops; and sponsors awards for writers including the $50,000 Jackson Poetry Prize, the Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award, and the Amy Award.

Media contact: Carla Capizzi, capizzi@rutgers.edu