Last night’s National Book Award ceremony, hosted by John Lithgow, was held at Cipriani on Wall Street in New York City (“I thought I should point out, since nobody else has,” said poet Ann Lauterbach, introducing John Ashbery, “that we are occupying Wall Street”). At first, Lithgow seemed a little anxious about, or at least humbled by, his status as an actor hosting such an event, joking, “Am I crazy to envision Philip Roth hosting the Oscars?” and demurring, “I am an actor. I read words written by writers.” But don’t worry — he also got a little plug in for his own memoir, reminding us that, “My first book for grownups came out in September.” Before the official awards were announced came the honorary ones: the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community was presented to Mitchell Kaplan, and the 2011 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to Ashbery, who quipped, “What I write makes no sense. It lacks accessibility,” and made knowing references to the fuss over ‘readability’ around this year’s Man Booker Prize. Hooray insider book industry jokes! We admit that we love them. Then, the official book awards began — click through to find out who won! … Read More