White House Announces Recipients of National Humanities Medal

Congratulations to Knopf Doubleday authors Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Plato at the Googleplex, Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Lowland, and Annie Dillard, author of For the Time Being, who were announced as recipients of the 2014 National Humanities Medal. The National Humanities Medal honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens’ engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources. William Adams, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which manages the nominations process for the Medal on behalf of the White House, said: “The recipients of this medal have sparked our imaginations, ignited our passions, and transformed our cultural understanding. They embody how the humanities can serve a common good.” In conjunction with the National Humanities Medals, President Barack Obama presented the 2014 National Medals of Arts to Stephen King for his contributions as an author and to Tobias Wolff for his contributions as an author and educator. The ceremony took place on Thursday, September 10, 2015 in an East Room ceremony at the White House.