September 6, 1999
Web posted at: 1:58 p.m. EDT (1758 GMT)

(CNN) -- The National Book Foundation will honor talk show host Oprah Winfrey with its 50th Anniversary Gold Medal in recognition of her efforts to promote reading.

"Oprah Winfrey and The National Book Foundation share an unwavering commitment to foster a love of books and reading among the widest possible audience -- particularly young people," said National Book Foundation Executive Director Neil Baldwin.

"Our creation of a 50th Anniversary Gold Medal to honor Ms. Winfrey is an expression of gratitude -- not only on the part of our Foundation -- but also on behalf of the publishing community and the millions of readers whose lives have been enriched by her enthusiasm for books."

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Winfrey says she has always considered books her "passports to new and exciting worlds... and I know that I would not be the person I am today had it not been for my love of reading."

At the November 17 ceremony in New York, awards will be given in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature. Finalists for these categories will be anounced on October 13. To be eligible a book has to be published in the U.S. between 1998 and November 30, 1999 and must be authored by a U.S. citizen.

Four independent judging panels will select the winners. Those panels are:

The fiction panel, chaired by Charles Johnson, includes Dorothy Allison, Allegra Goodman, Terry McMillan, and Scott Spencer;

The nonfiction panel, chaired by Neil Gabler, includes Buzz Bissinger, Sylvia Nasar, Nell Painter, and Cristina Rathbone;

The poetry panel, chaired by Lucille Clifton, includes Deborah Garrison, Jarold Ramsey, Arthur Sze, and James Tate; and

The young people's panel, chaired by Hazel Rochman, includes Veronica Chambers, Mary Ann McGuigan, Zena Sutherland, and Roger Sutton.

The foundation expects record attendance at this year's event. Several former award winners will be invited, including Laren Bacall, E.L. Doctorow, Charles Frazier, David McCullough, Alice McDermott, William Meredith, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Philip Roth, William Styron, John Updike, Gore Vidal, Alice Walker, Eudora Welty, and Tom Wolfe.

Ticket information can be found on the foundation's Web site at www.nationalbook.org.