Terry McMillan To Be Honored With the Lifetime Achievement Award at the First- Ever 2008 ESSENCE Literary Awards

Terry McMillan To Be Honored With the Lifetime Achievement Award at the First- Ever 2008 ESSENCE Literary Awards

Event Will Kick-off ESSENCE Magazine's "Save Our Libraries" Campaign; ESSENCE Readers To Vote Online for the "Storyteller of the Year"

NEW YORK, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- ESSENCE magazine will celebrate established and emerging African-American authors at the first-annual 2008 ESSENCE Literary Awards on February 7, 2008 at Le Parker Meridien. A "who's who" of publishing will convene at this invitation-only event, which will be hosted by Hoda Kotb, TODAY show co-anchor, and Dr. Ian Smith, creator of The 50 Million Pound Challenge. The ESSENCE Literary Awards will also kick-off ESSENCE's Save Our Libraries campaign. In addition, readers can go to Essence.com to vote for their favorite authors who have penned the best books of 2007 in the Storyteller of the Year category. The deadline to vote is December 15th and finalists will be announced on December 19th on Essence.com.

Author Terry McMillan will be honored during the ESSENCE Literary Awards with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Other categories that will be featured are: Fiction; Non-Fiction; Children's Books; Poetry; Memoir; Commentary/Public Affairs; and Photography. The entries will be judged by a "blue ribbon" panel of influential publishing experts.

The Countee Cullen Branch of the New York Public Library, based in Harlem, will also be the first recipient of ESSENCE's Save Our Libraries campaign, which is designed to honor its contributions and to solicit support in order for it to maintain its services to the community.

"ESSENCE has had an extraordinary literary legacy since its first issue," said Patrik Henry Bass, ESSENCE Senior Editor, Books and Arts. "Terry McMillan, Bebe Moore Campbell, Gloria Naylor and so many other authors first came to the attention of readers through ESSENCE's pages. At the ESSENCE Literary Awards we want to honor writers in their tradition, while acknowledging future generations of African-American authors. We also hope that through our Save Our Libraries campaign, entities such as the historic Countee Cullen Branch will have the crucial resources needed to provide the services our communities so desperately need."

McMillan is known for her works that have brought her critical acclaim over the years-including Mama, Disappearing Acts and The Interruption of Everything. However, it was her blockbuster hit Waiting to Exhale-which has sold millions of copies-that marked the beginning of her ascent to literary stardom. Exhale was turned into a major film, as was McMillan's novel, How Stella Got Her Groove Back. While an undergrad in 1974, McMillan won ESSENCE magazine's first college essay contest for her piece, Black Men and Women: Are We Closer Together or Farther Apart? She is also one of only a few authors who have been featured on ESSENCE's cover for its June 1996 issue.

For 37 years ESSENCE, the preeminent magazine for African-American women, has been the leading gateway for emerging African American literary talent, celebrating established authors and reflecting publishing trends within the African American community. The Essence Best-Sellers List, which appears each month in the magazine and online, is the foremost measure of book sales within the African-American community. In 2006, ESSENCE also launched the ESSENCE Recommended Read Book Club, one of the largest book clubs of its kind with 4,000 members. Throughout the year, ESSENCE selects a recently released, classic fiction or non-fiction title by an African-American author to be highlighted. Each selected title features the Essence Book Club Recommended Read logo on the book's cover. More often than not, a chosen Essence Book Club title shows an increase over an author's previous sales. Author Trisha R. Thomas' book Nappily Faithful is currently featured as ESSENCE's January 2008 issue ESSENCE Recommended Read Book Club pick.

Sponsors for the 2008 ESSENCE Literary Awards are Avon, SuperClubs Breezes Resorts and State Farm. Additional sponsors will be announced at a later date. For more information visit www.essence.com.

About Essence Communications Inc.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the leading media and communications company dedicated to African-American women. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is "Where Black Women Come First". The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, Women Who Are Shaping the World Leadership Summit, Window on Our Women (WOW I & II) and Smart Beauty I, II & III consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD) via Essence Studios. For 37 years, ESSENCE magazine, which has a readership of 8.2 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women's lives. Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at Essence.com.

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FCMN Contact:

Source: ESSENCE magazine

CONTACT: Dana Baxter, +1-212-522-1634, dbaxter@essence.com, or Sheila
Harris, +1-212-522-1089, sharris@essence.com, or Ra'Chelle Rogers,
+1-212-522-2724, rrogers@essence.com, all of ESSENCE

Web site:

http://www.essence.com/

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