PEN/Hemingway Prize Keynote Address Delivered At the John F. Kennedy Library 1 April 2007

Each year the Ernest Hemingway Foundation and PEN/New England award the PEN/Hemingway prize for the year's best first work of fiction. The award is presented at a gala reception at the John F. Kennedy Library, home of the Hemingway Collection, and a distinguished author delivers the keynote address. This year, we're pleased to present the keynote address of Edward P. Jones, who spoke at the ceremony honoring 2007 PEN/Hemingway award winner Ben Fountain and his short story collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara. Jones is introduced by Florence Ladd, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Hampshire College, and author of the novel Sarah's Psalm, winner of the 1997 Best Fiction Award from the American Library Association's Black Caucus.