Noted writer Jeanette Winterson, author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Sexing the Cherry, Written on the Body and other ground-breaking novels, will receive the 2014 St. Louis Literary Award Sept. 23 at Saint Louis University, presented by SLU Library Associates. She’s in good company: previous winners include Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Saul Bellow, Joyce Carol Oates and Edward Albee. The free event, preceded by a book signing, takes place in the Anheuser-Busch Auditorium at SLU’s John and Lucy Cook Hall. (Pictured above)
Philanthropists David and Thelma Steward recently donated $500,000 to Care and Counseling, a nonprofit mental health organization that offers services at affordable rates throughout the St. Louis area. The gift, which will fund the Thelma and David Steward Clergy and Congregational Care Program, is a tribute to Rev. Dale R. Kuhn, Care and Counseling’s recently retired director. Steward is board chair and co-founder of World Wide Technology Inc.
Missouri History Museum has received an overall rating of 95.33 (on a 100-point scale) from Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest independent evaluator of nonprofit organizations and charities. The museum ranked higher than similar nonprofits across the country, including the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the National World War II Museum and the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation. The rating system examines an organization’s financial health, accountability and transparency.
For the second year in a row, Ladue Horton Watkins has been named the top high school in Missouri by The Daily Beast, an online news outlet reaching more than 17 million readers per month. The school ranked seventh in the Midwest and 63rd in the country, rising from 166 last year. Schools were ranked on six components: graduation rate, college acceptance rate, AP course enrollments, test participation and results, and SAT/ACT scores. Approximately 1,200 schools nationwide participated.
Two glamorous native St. Louisans, supermodel Karlie Kloss and Harper’s Bazaar editor-at-large Derek Blassberg, will receive Saint Louis Fashion Fund awards Oct. 17 at the first SLFF gala dinner. Kloss and Blassberg are being honored for their contributions to the fashion world. Tickets for the event, held at Union Station, are $500 per person. SLFF is a nonprofit that supports local emerging designers and Saint Louis Fashion Week. For more information, visit stlfw.com.