Amherst writers honored with Sammy Awards

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 04-23-2017 9:58 PM

AMHERST — An author best known for her books for young adults featuring characters with disabilities, and the founder of an institution that focuses on the Renaissance era, will both be honored for their contributions to the Amherst literary scene.

Cammie McGovern and Arthur Kinney are the recipients of this year’s Samuel Minot Jones Awards for Literary Achievement, also known as the Sammy Awards, which will be given out for the fourth time during a celebration at the Mead Art Museum on the Amherst College campus at 6 p.m. on May 2.

“I was thrilled to win, but at the same time it was a surprise,” said McGovern, who recently released “Chester and Gus,” a book about an autistic boy told from a service dog’s point of view, and geared toward children in grades 3 through 6.

McGovern, who is earning the award for local literary achievement, started out as a writer of adult fiction, but transitioned to writing for a younger audience, in part, because she is the parent of a now 20-year-old son with autism. She discovered that their stories are “grievously underepresented” in kids books.

“Close to 20 percent of the population are kids with reasonably significant disabilities, and they need to have more of their stories told,” McGovern said.

McGovern, 53, said she loves writing for children. Each book stands alone, often built around coming of age and comedy dramas, but also includes love stories and romance, such as individuals with Down syndrome navigating their way toward love.

Her most successful book is “Say What You Will,” featuring a girl with cerebral palsy who uses a computer talking board to communicate.

McGovern is also known for her involvement in Whole Children, a nonprofit organization based in Hadley that serves over 600 children with special needs in the Pioneer Valley.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Smith students occupy admin building, demand divestment from weapons manufacturers
Valley Art Supplies finds right mix by adding bar to longtime Easthampton business
Three candidates in running for Amherst superintendent
Area property deed transfers, March 28
Champions of change: NHS Student Union advocates for students before administrators, School Committee
Taking a stand by sitting-in: Smith College students continue to occupy College Hall

One of her books, “A Step Toward Falling,” is set in a similar place and her meeting children since the center was created in 2004 has shown that matter their abilities, these children lead “rich, full and complicated lives.”

Living in Amherst for 17 years, McGovern said the Jones is a place where she has worked on her books and has allowed her to feed her changing interests.

“I love the Jones Library and I would say I have written some or most of my books there, quite literally,” McGovern said.

The library has also sustained her children, but she hopes more space would be great and life-changing for teenagers.

She joins a list of previous winners that includes Norton Juster, Julius Lester and Polly Longsworth. “To follow in the footsteps of legends – legends, legends – I am beyond thrilled,” McGovern said.

Kinney, the founding director of the University of Massachusetts Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies, said that the site off East Pleasant Sreet offers events and lectures similar to what one might otherwise only experience at Oxford or Cambridge.

Founded in 1998 at the Dakin estate, Kinney said the center provides access to rare books, a place for scholars to do research and for teachers to teach about the era that ran from 1400 to 1700.

“It’s an attempt to reach out to the community through talks about the Renaissance,” said Kinney, whose Sammy Award is for contributions to Amherst’s literary culture.

The center has featured concerts, an annual Renaissance fair and gardens for the public to enjoy. Kinney said thousands of people have come to the site in the nearly 20 years it has been open.

Kinney said he had the idea for the center but credits three women for convincing then Chancellor David Scott to make it happen. These women were Lee Edwards, a current Jones Library trustee and retired dean of the School of Humanities and Fine Arts, former provost Patricia Crosson, and Beverly Wood, associate chancellor for campus planning.

Kinney, 83, is also the author and editor of 38 books on both Renaissance and other eras, including six books on writer William Faulkner, two on poet Dorothy Parker and a comprehensive catalogue of writer Flannery O’Connor that allowed him to spend extensive time at her former home in Milledgeville, Georgia.

An Amherst resident for 51 years, Kinney said he appreciates the connections the center has provided between townspeople and UMass. “It has taken the community and university coming together to make the center a success,” Kinney said.

Kinney said the Jones is instrumental to everyone in Amherst. “Books are a large part of my life, and I think it’s important for everyone to have books in their lives,” Kinney said.

In previous years, the award has gone to Nat Herold and Mark Wootton, owners of Amherst Books, Amherst Writers & Artists founders Pat and Peter Schneider and Yiddish Book Center founder and president Aaron Lansky.

Janet Ryan, head of programming and outreach at the library, said a list of candidates was compiled by an awards committee last summer, and McGovern and Kinney were selected after discussions and deliberations. Once chosen, their names were brought to the elected trustees for approval.

Robert Masla, an Ashfield painter known for his landscape paintings, has created a print for this year’s celebration, following local artists Turi MacCombie, Tony DiTerlizzi and Diane De Groot handling this art in previous years.

The Sammys are named for Samuel Minot Jones, the library’s first benefactor and namesake, who contributed the initial funding for the endowment that continues to provide a portion of the library budget annually.

All proceeds from the awards ceremony will be used to support the collection.

Sammys tickets are available and can be purchased at the Jones Library or online at www.joneslibrary.org/sammys. Tickets are being sold for $60, $100, $150 and $200.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

]]>