By Kim Velsey 10/26/12 8:00am

Awards

Ann Ferguson of Klara Madlin Real Estate.

Nicholas Palance and Ann Ferguson Snag REBNY’s Residential Deal of the Year Award

Square footage was the first thing on our minds when we walked into REBNY’s Residential Deal of the Year Awards. The Metropolitan Pavilion space was so cavernous that despite a sizable crowd of brokers chatting over cocktails it still felt oddly empty, with a cold draft drifting in from the entrance. Nor did the flickering candles grouped on the tables contribute much warmth or intimacy, but we appreciated the gesture—a nice reminder that we were among those who sold residential real estate for a living.

Shivering, The Observer walked into the scrum of darkly-clad revelers and found ourselves standing next to Halstead president Diane Ramirez. She planted a kiss in the air some ten inches to the left of our cheek and encouraged us to buy raffle tickets in support of REBNY’s “residential member in need fund.” The charity was the real point of the evening, she told us, gentling nudging us toward the table before flitting off. Read More

By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 10/10/12 9:16am

The Literary Life

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National Book Award Finalists Announced

The twenty finalists for the National Book Awards were announced this morning. Each finalist gets $1,000, a plaque and a burst for their book cover. The awards, given by the National Book Foundation in mid-November, are in four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people’s literature.

Many of the finalists are not new to the literary prize circuit. Two recipients of the MacArthur “Genius” grant made the cut, as did five Pulitzer Prize winners, one National Book Award winner, three previous finalists and a recipient of a National Book Foundation lifetime achievement award.  Read More

By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 4:30pm

Oh Yoko!

John and Yoko

Back in The (Former) USSR

Yoko Ono showed up in stylish and stylized basement of the Ace Hotel this morning to give an award the LennonOno grant for Peace to Pussy Riot, the imprisoned Russian punk band.

“I thank Pussy Riot for standing firmly for freedom of expression and making all women proud,” said Ms. Ono, enunciating the band’s name in her signature clipped tone. The grant is awarded every two years as a tribute Ms. Ono’s late husband, John Lennon. Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 3/31/11 3:45pm

Awards

Peabody Awards Go to PBS, NPR… Degrassi

The Peabody Awards–so much more staid and trustworthy than those flashy Emmys!–announced the recipients of their prizes for excellence in media this morning, and the list is deliriously familiar, if worthy: PBS’ Great Performances, American Masters, and American Experience, C-SPAN’s online library, HBO’s The Pacific. All very worthy recipients! But the more lowbrow recipients Read More