The Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community is presented to an individual for outstanding service to the American literary community, whose life and work exemplify the goals of the National Book Foundation to expand the audience for literature and to enhance the cultural value of literature in America.
Dave Eggers, author, editor, journalist, publisher, screenwriter, and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center for youth. Eggers’ first book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000), was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has since written a number of books including the You Shall Know Our Velocity (2002) and the novel What is the What (2006), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In addition to writing, Eggers co-founded McSweeney’s (www.mcsweeneys.net), an independent publishing house that publishes two print magazines, Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern (since 1998), The Believer (since 2003), Wholphin (since 2005), a short-film DVD quarterly, and a daily humor website.
