The Los Angeles Public Library Awards Dinner was held Sunday, June 12, 2011 at Central Library. Walter Mosley was honored with the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award for his contribution to literature, reading, libraries, and learning. The event included a wonderful buffet dinner with seating in different departments of the library. Guests also enjoyed puppet shows, accordion music, juggling, Shakespeare sonnets, poetry readings and a fun photo booth during the celebratory evening. The evening marked the 25th year since the devastating fire at Central Library in 1986.

Walter Mosley is the author of more than 34 critically acclaimed books, including the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins. His work has been translated into 21 languages and includes literary fiction, science fiction, political monographs, and ayoung adult novel. He is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, a Grammy and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

In his acceptance speech, Mosley stated,
"The library is a doorway to our past and our futures. It doesn't charge what the market can bear; it isn't afraid of a child's curiosity; it doesn't tell you what to think or how to dress. If you work in a library you're working for yourself. If you daydream in a library the front desk feels like they've done their job... The librarians are not meek schoolmarms running around shushing the exchange of ideas; they are what congressional representatives and school teachers should be; they are what our banks and our unions should be; they are the shelter and the refuge for our minds and bodies."
For Mosley's full remarks, please click here.

For more information on the Library Awards Dinner, please contact Charie Laugharn, Executive Assistant to The Council and Special Events Coordinator, at (213) 228-7506.

Past Awards Dinner Honorees:

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