HARRISON FORD AND DR. EDWARD O. WILSON

TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE TO

ANNOUNCE NEW SCIENCE AWARD

SAN JOSE, CA – October 6, 2010 – Actor and conservationist Harrison Ford, and world acclaimed naturalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Dr. Edward O. Wilson will hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, October 15, at the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto, California, to announce the newly created PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. 

This new award joins the ranks of other prestigious annual honors given by PEN American Center, which has recognized outstanding voices in literature for over 50 years.  It is designed to acknowledge new and compelling non-academic writing that contributes to the public’s understanding of science and changes how science is approached. Winners will be chosen by PEN American Center each fall, beginning in 2011, with a prize of $10,000 to be granted.  Harrison Ford and Dr. Edward O. Wilson have provided initial funding for the award. 

“I am honored to have my name associated with this award,” said Dr. Wilson. “It is important for science to engage people outside of the walls of academia.  Authors who are committed to helping the public understand our surroundings in new ways are a rare breed.  This is an opportunity to acknowledge their talents.”

Although better known for his popularity as an actor, Ford has played an equally important role as a conservationist.  He is currently an active advisory board member of the E. O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Conservation International.  According to Ford, “Dr. Wilson is not only one of the most respected and decorated scientists in the world, he is also an eloquent, timeless writer.  His words have transcended any single line of research - deeply altering our perspective of the world. It is appropriate that this award is named in his honor.”

Past examples of works that exemplify the quality of writing the award is designed to acknowledge include Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Dr. James Watson’s The Double Helix, Lewis Thomas’s The Lives of a Cell, Christian de Duve’s Guided Tour of the Living Cell and Douglas Hofstadter’s Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.  More recently, Rebecca D. Costa’s book, The Watchman’s Rattle: Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction, stands as an example of writing which contributes to the pubic’s understanding of scientific principles at work in the world today.

A private reception to celebrate the creation of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, and the work of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, will be held at a nearby location following the press conference.

About Dr. Edward O. Wilson

Dr. E. O. Wilson is widely recognized as the world’s greatest naturalist.  He has been a Harvard Professor of Biology for over 40 years, is a two-time Pulitzer Prize Award-winner for his works On Human Nature and The Ants, and is considered the founding father of sociobiology, biodiversity and consilience.  He was also named one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential people in America, and is the bestselling author of the novel Anthill. 

About Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is an actor and longtime conservation advocate. He is known for his leading role in films such as the Star Wars Trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Fugitive, and Patriot Games - films which are among the most recognized movies in cinematic history. In 2000, Ford was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, and he is an active Board member of the E.O Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and Conservation International.

About PEN American Center

PEN American Center is the U.S. branch of the world’s oldest international literary and human rights organization. International PEN (poets, playwrights, essayists, editors and novelists) was founded in 1921 in direct response to the ethnic and national divisions that contributed to the First World War. PEN American Center was founded in 1922 and is the largest of the 144 PEN centers in 101 countries that together compose International PEN.  Visit www.pen.org for more information.