It's been quite a day for Hugo House press releases: It has just been announced that Amazon.com is now a Presenting Sponsor of the Richard Hugo House. Amazon, which until recently did nothing for local arts, is giving a $35,000 grant to the House.

This is wonderful news for the Hugo House. Congratulations, too, to Amazon.com for their bold new foray into philanthropy. I discuss the man who has guided Amazon's change of heart here.

The full press release is after the jump.

SEATTLE — Richard Hugo House is proud to announce Amazon.com as the presenting sponsor of the 2009-2010 Hugo Literary Series, the nonprofit center’s annual series dedicated to presenting new works on a variety of themes from writers and musicians. The Seattle-based company made a generous gift of $35,000, allowing Hugo House to continue to commission new writing from nationally prominent and emerging local authors.

“From the depths of our classrooms to our black box theater, new writing has pulsated throughout Hugo House since its inception, whether that writing is from nationally renowned authors, like Sherman Alexie, or the young Somali girl from Beacon Hill writing poetry about how to be a good Barbie,” says Sue Joerger, executive director. “Hugo House is excited for the opportunity to partner with Amazon.com and continue our dedication to and support of presenting new stories and voices to the world.”

Beginning in October 2007, the Hugo Literary Series sits at the core of Hugo House’s commitment to foster new writing. Comprised of four events per season, each event features three writers and a songwriter or band, all creating new writing and songs from the same theme and writing prompt, ranging from the concrete (Road Trip) to the abstract (Lost in Translation). The nights are collages of unexpected styles and different points of view, and the writers and musicians are encouraged to work without a sense of obligation, censorship or stylistic frame. No one at Hugo House sees the work before it is read or sung in public for the first time. Participants in the Hugo Literary Series include established writers and musicians of national acclaim, such as Sherman Alexie, Aimee Bender, Rick Moody, Richard Rodriguez and Laura Veirs, as well as emerging locals Christa Bell, Ellen Forney and The Maldives.

“Richard Hugo House and Amazon.com share a commitment to help writers, established and debut, create and present great new literary works to the widest possible audience. The Hugo Literary Series embodies that mission by providing a vibrant forum for cutting edge writing here in Seattle, and we are excited and honored to be a part of this terrific cultural event,” says Jon Fine, director of author & publisher relations for Amazon.com.

Over its first two seasons, the Hugo Literary Series has produced 24 new pieces of writing and more than 30 new songs that would not have existed if Hugo House hadn’t commissioned them. Since their debuts, several of the newly-commissioned works have been published or have inspired the authors to begin new writing projects. Lesley Hazleton’s piece for Lost in Translation became a full-length book, “After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam,” to be published in September, 2009. Rick Moody’s story, “Modern Lovers,” for Love is the Drug was published in American Spectator in 2008. Monica Drake’s short story for Love is the Drug, “Mr. Slips,” became the basis of her second novel in progress; Pam Houston (72 Hours) and Vikram Chandra (My Avatar) are all incorporating the pieces they wrote for Hugo House into larger works. Musicians Laura Veirs (Personal Injury) and The Maldives (My Avatar) produced new songs that will appear on their forthcoming albums.

Founded in 1997, Richard Hugo House is the Pacific Northwest’s only literary center, offering classes, residencies and events year-round. Beginning in 2007, Hugo House launched its Hugo Literary Series, part of a greater initiative to promote new writing across all of the organization’s programs. An announcement about the 2009-2010 Hugo Literary Series line-up, featuring preeminent essayist Phillip Lopate, poet Linda Bierds and metal band BloodHag, is forthcoming with ticket sales beginning in late August.

About Richard Hugo House
Richard Hugo House is a home for writers and readers. Our mission is to provide writers of all ages and backgrounds with the resources they need, connect audiences with the world of writing, foster the creation of new work and promote the literary arts as a vital part of our culture. Richard Hugo House is located at 1634 11th Ave in Seattle.