Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

I have had a week to assemble the right words for this post but unfortunately I have come to realize that time is not my biggest obstacle. It’s not possible to adequately articulate my reaction to word that I have been named the recipient of the 2009 Seymour Medal. In fact, the only salient comment I can make is that now I know why people who win awards always strain to express their appreciation. You want people to know how grateful you are — and what it means to receive an award with the name Seymour attached to it — except you don’t know how to do that and so you say the word honor a lot, not because it’s what everyone says but because it’s true.

The Seymour Medal, named in honor of historians Dr. and Mrs. Harold Seymour and awarded by the Society for American Baseball Research, honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. I’ll receive the medal during the Seymour Medal Conference in Cleveland on April 24-26. I will also give a free public reading during the conference’s opening reception at 7 p.m., Friday, April 24, at The Lit. The medal will be awarded Saturday during the conference, which takes place at the Radisson Hotel at Gateway.

Hopefully, by then I’ll find better words — but I’m making no guarantees.

This post was added on Wednesday, April 08, 2009 by Tom Swift at 16:52 and is filed under Swift Boat.