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We’re completely honored to announce that Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of the bestselling “The Aviator and the Showman,” will present The Knickerbocker Award for Best Games Journalism at the 15th New York Game Awards on January 18 at SVA Theatre.

Laurie Gwen Shapiro’s landmark book has been the subject of many accolades, including:

A New Yorker Best Book of 2025 • An NPR Book We Love 2025 • A History Best Book of 2025 • A Smithsonian Magazine Best History Book of 2025 • A New Yorker Best Book of the Year So Far • A New York Times Editors’ Choice • CBS Sunday Morning Summer Book Report Pick • New York Times “Books to Read in July”

Shapiro portrays Amelia Earhart in a fascinating new light, and her hard work as a writer has paid off. Even months after the tome was published, Shapiro traveled the country far and wide to speak about her book and to read from it.

If you don’t know, “The Aviator and the Showman unveils the untold story of Amelia’s decade-long marriage to George Putnam, offering an intimate exploration of their relationship and the pivotal role it played in her enduring legacy. Despite her outwardly modest and humble image, Amelia was fiercely driven and impossibly brave, a lifelong feminist and trailblazer in her personal and professional life. Putnam, the so-called “PT Barnum of publishing” was a bookselling visionary—but often pushed his authors to extreme lengths in the name of publicity, and no one bore that weight more than Amelia. Their ahead-of-its time partnership supported her grand ambitions—but also pressed her into more and more treacherous stunts to promote her books, influencing a certain recklessness up to and including her final flight.

Earhart is a captivating figure to many, but the truth about her life is often overshadowed by myth and legend. In this cinematic new account, Laurie Gwen Shapiro emphasizes Earhart’s multifaceted human side, her struggles, and her authentic aspirations, the truths behind her brave pursuits and the compromises she made to fit into societal expectations. Drawing from a trove of new sources including undiscovered audio interviews, The Aviator and the Showman is a gripping and passionate tale of adventure, colorful characters, hubris, and a complex and a vivid portrait of a marriage that shaped the trajectory of an iconic life.”

We can’t wait to hear Laurie’s presentation before the winning journalist is revealed.