We are so excited to announce that Patti Smith’s New York Times bestselling and
National Book Award-winning book, Just Kids, has been declared the 2019
One Book, One New York winner!
In Just Kids, Patti Smith’s first book of prose, the legendary American artist offers a never-before-seen glimpse of her remarkable relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in the epochal days of New York City and the Chelsea Hotel in the late sixties and seventies. An honest and moving story of youth and friendship, Smith brings the same unique, lyrical quality to Just Kids as she has to the rest of her formidable body of work—from her influential 1975 album Horses to her visual art and poetry.
This is the third annual campaign in which New Yorkers vote on their favorite out of five books selected. This is the first year that all five selections were written by women!
See the official press release here. There will also an event with Patti Smith at Symphony Space as part of the PEN America World Voices Festival on May 10th.
In celebration of Just Kids being selected, Ecco is donating 1,000 copies of Just Kids to New York City's 219 public library branches in an effort to ensure free access to the winning book!
Be sure to check out Just Kids and the Just Kids Illustrated Edition, available now!
-Lainey