St. Louis University Library Associates are dedicated to excellence in literature and to building the collections of the St. Louis University libraries. Annually, they bestow the prestigious St. Louis Library Award on a writer of outstanding literary achievement.

Since 1967, the award has gone to writers such as Saul Bellows, Tennessee William Barbara Tuchman, Joyce Carol Oates and more recently Salaman Rushdie, Don DeLillo, Mario Vargas Llosa and Tony Kushner.

I was fortunate to attend the 2012 dinner reception for Tony Kushner and met some old and new friends who are book lovers in one of the university’s beautiful old libraries.

The Associates not only recognize widely renowned writers, but also those less well known. Through their program known as Evenings at Home, I was a recently invited to discuss “Sugar Hill” at a beautiful Central West End home for a delightful evening of camaraderie and a book talk. My thanks to the Saint Louis University Library Associates