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A leading advocate for literacy, First Book co-founder and CEO Kyle Zimmer, is receiving an honorary National Book Award.
The National Book Foundation, which presents the awards, announced Wednesday that Zimmer had won the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. Previous winners include Maya Angelou and Dave Eggers.
Through First Book, established in 1992, Zimmer has helped distribute millions of books to children in low-income families. A former corporate attorney, Zimmer was inspired to start First Book by her work as a volunteer in a Washington, D.C. soup kitchen, when she discovered that the children she met owned nothing to read. Zimmer and First Book now work with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of schools and other facilities.
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It's official: Piers Morgan has left CNN in search of "pastures new."
The British-born TV host tweeted Tuesday morning that he has officially left the cable network after turning down CNN boss Jeff Zucker’s offer to present 40 news specials over two years.
“After considerable thought, I decided not to accept it - and to try pastures new,” Morgan wrote.
A CNN spokeswoman did not respond to an email seeking comment.
“Piers Morgan Live” ended its run on CNN back in March and it was unclear what he might do next. The show - then named “Piers Morgan Tonight” - premiered in January 2011 with heavy promotion and a parade of A-list celebrity guests such as Oprah Winfrey.
But ratings subsequently eroded sharply and Morgan’s show became an emblem of the overall troubles afflicting CNN’s primetime lineup, which has struggled against Fox News and MSNBC. His departure comes as CNN is wrestling with budget cuts and staff downsizing.
