Out of the Box: Pete Hamill's Papers
The Center for Brooklyn History marks BPL’s 125th Anniversary with a special series showcasing our remarkable archives and collections. Join experts, eyewitnesses, and CBH staff as they uncover gems from the collection and reflect on the history they tell.
Click here to view the entire series.
Pete Hamill's Papers
For many Pete Hamill was the living embodiment of New York City. Born in Brooklyn in 1935, during his extraordinary career he served as editor and columnist at the New York Post and New York Daily News, and wrote dozens of works of nonfiction and fiction. The Pete Hamill papers at Center for Brooklyn History focus largely on his novels and post-newspaper career. They are a window into Hamill’s process, wit and heart. Join Hamill’s brother Denis Hamill and longtime editor William Phillips, who edited Snow in August and Forever, as they explore what the archive’s handwritten notes, correspondence and storyboards share about this consummate storyteller. CBH archivist Sarah Quick provides an overview of the collection.
Participants
Denis Hamill is a journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and TV writer. As a journalist, he served his apprenticeship at a Brooklyn weekly called Flatbush Life. Within a year, he was writing for the Village Voice and a year later, he won the prestigious Meyer Berger Award from Columbia University for the best New York City reporting. From there, he went on to write columns for New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the Boston Herald American, New York Newsday, and the New York Daily News. In addition, he is the author of ten novels, several screenplays for Hollywood movies, and is currently an Executive Story Editor and staff writer for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
William Phillips spent his 34 year career in publishing at Little, Brown and Company, starting out in marketing and publicity and then moving over to editorial. He served 11 years as Editor in Chief. After retiring from Little, Brown he continued to edit selected books on a freelance basis. In addition to Pete Hamill, some of the authors he has worked with are Herman Wouk, James Patterson, Emmett Grogan, Donald Spoto, Anne Jackson, George Stephanopoulos, Ralph Keyes, Deidre Bair, Robert Lacey, Maria Rosa Menocal, Nelson Mandela, Anne Bernays, Steve Martin, Malcolm Gladwell, James Carroll and Jimmy Breslin. He has been married to Gladys Hammel for over 50 years, and together they have two grown children, and one beautiful granddaughter.
The Center for Brooklyn History marks BPL’s 125th Anniversary with a special series showcasing our remarkable archives and collections. Join experts, eyewitnesses, and CBH staff as they uncover gems from the collection and reflect on the history they tell.
Click here to view the entire series.
Pete Hamill's Papers
For many Pete Hamill was the living embodiment of New York City. Born in Brooklyn in 1935, during his extraordinary career he served as editor and columnist at the New York Post and New York Daily News, and wrote dozens of works of nonfiction and fiction. The Pete Hamill papers at Center for Brooklyn History focus largely on his novels and post-newspaper career. They are a window into Hamill’s process, wit and heart. Join Hamill’s brother Denis Hamill and longtime editor William Phillips, who edited Snow in August and Forever, as they explore what the archive’s handwritten notes, correspondence and storyboards share about this consummate storyteller. CBH archivist Sarah Quick provides an overview of the collection.
Participants
Denis Hamill is a journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and TV writer. As a journalist, he served his apprenticeship at a Brooklyn weekly called Flatbush Life. Within a year, he was writing for the Village Voice and a year later, he won the prestigious Meyer Berger Award from Columbia University for the best New York City reporting. From there, he went on to write columns for New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the Boston Herald American, New York Newsday, and the New York Daily News. In addition, he is the author of ten novels, several screenplays for Hollywood movies, and is currently an Executive Story Editor and staff writer for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
William Phillips spent his 34 year career in publishing at Little, Brown and Company, starting out in marketing and publicity and then moving over to editorial. He served 11 years as Editor in Chief. After retiring from Little, Brown he continued to edit selected books on a freelance basis. In addition to Pete Hamill, some of the authors he has worked with are Herman Wouk, James Patterson, Emmett Grogan, Donald Spoto, Anne Jackson, George Stephanopoulos, Ralph Keyes, Deidre Bair, Robert Lacey, Maria Rosa Menocal, Nelson Mandela, Anne Bernays, Steve Martin, Malcolm Gladwell, James Carroll and Jimmy Breslin. He has been married to Gladys Hammel for over 50 years, and together they have two grown children, and one beautiful granddaughter.