past recipients have included such distinguished individuals as alford kazen, elizabeth hardwick, albertmurray, leslie and paul lean. they've also included institutions including the library of america, dotki archive press and penn american center. as previously announced, this year's recipient of the award is an individual, robert b. silvers, who em bodies an institution the new york review of books. both have been indispensable for the works in the united states for as long as the nbcc has been in existence. the new york review was founded in 1963 as a temporary alternative to new york newspapers that had gone on strike. several of those newspapers, the herald tribune, the journal american and the world telegram and sun are distant memories. but the new york review endid you see and thrives. presenting the award to bob sellers is a frequent contributor to the new york review of books. he is daniel mendelson and he has stood up here on two other joyous occasions. in 2000 he was the recipient of the nbcc's nona blakian citation in excellence in reviewing. and in 2007 his memoir, the lost