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2010 Literary Festival Honoring
Late Novelist John P. Marquand
The Newburyport Literary Festival this year is pleased to honor the late John P. Marquand (1893-1960), a Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist and a longtime resident of Newburyport. Many of his books had themes that he developed from his life in this city, and for years he entertained his readers with characters and social situations that were resident in a seaside community north of Boston.
 Mr. Marquand was one of the country’s most successful magazine writers, earning national prominence for stories in the Saturday Evening Post. As his career matured, he earned critical respect for his novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for The Late George Apley, in 1938, and developing his Mr. Moto spy series into a movie franchise that resulted in eight successful motion pictures.
Mr. Marquand was born in Wilmington, DE, but moved to Newburyport to live with his aunts after his family sustained financial reverses. He attended Newburyport High School, and showed such promise that he earned a scholarship to Harvard. He graduated in 1915, after writing for collegiate publications such as the Lampoon. Once launched on a writing career, he often focused on the old-line elites and proper New England families, a subject he knew well even if his once-prominent family was now living in reduced circumstances.
Perhaps his most famous novel, The Late George Apley, was a satire of Boston’s upper class. Other Marquand novels with class themes included Wickford Point (1939), H.M. Pulham, Esquire (1941) and Point of No Return (1949). With his success as a magazine writer, a spy novelist and award-winning social satirist, few writers of his era achieved as much success as Mr. Marquand.
This year the Marquand family, including grandchildren and area residents, Beth and Richard Welch will award the first Marquand Award. The recipient is Anita Shreve.
About the Festival
On the roster for last year's festival were literary luminaries from every genre. Anita Shreve, Julia Alverez, Elinor Lipman, Richard Bausch, Peter Orner, Rhina Espaillat, Anne Easter Smith, Tony Horwitz, and, of course our own, Andre Dubus III. to name just a few.
Mark your calendar. The 2010 festival is an event you won't want to miss.
Many individuals and organizations share the vision of the Newburyport Literary Festival. The NLF is especially grateful for the generous support of our founding sponsors, the Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Foundation and the Institution for Savings, who have made it possible for the festival to take root and flourish.
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