Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises turns 100 with Paris and New York celebrations
Paris will open the 100th birthday party for Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, with two days at the Ritz Paris on September 21 and 22 before the celebration moves to New York. The programme builds to October 22, the 100th anniversary of the novel's first publication by Scribner in 1926, as reported by Deadline. Events in both cities are planned to mark the centenary, a term that simply means 100 years.
The guest list spans film, fashion, books and music. Filmmaker Michael Winterbottom is set to attend the Ritz Paris events, alongside fashion photographer Ellen von Unwerth, novelist Jay McInerney and British singer-songwriter Westerman, according to Deadline. Winterbottom is also set to direct an upcoming film version of Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms with actor Tom Blyth. That link gives the Paris launch a clear connection to Hemingway on screen as well as on the page.
New York gets the anniversary date itself. Hemingway Ltd., the company that looks after the author's estate, and 92NY will present a centennial evening on October 22. The night will include panel discussions, appearances by literary figures and readings from Hemingway's work. Two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon and Emmy winner Richard Schiff are among those set to take part, as reported by Deadline. An Oscar nominee has been shortlisted for an Academy Award, while an Emmy winner has won American television's top prize.
Hemingway Ltd. will also host a centennial dinner at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York. That dinner forms the second part of the New York celebration alongside the October 22 public evening. Together the two New York dates pair a public programme of talks and readings with a private gathering for the anniversary.
The global programme is being led by Collective 222, Agency of Record for Hemingway Ltd., meaning the firm that handles brand work for the estate. Collective 222 has appointed Jane Owen PR to lead global public relations for the company and its representation of the Hemingway brand. Owen is the great-granddaughter of Maxwell Perkins, the Scribner editor who worked with Hemingway and his contemporaries. Scribner is the publishing house that first issued The Sun Also Rises in 1926.
What makes this stand out is the two-city shape. For readers, it means a Paris opening followed by a New York night built around discussion and live readings, with the same book at the centre of both.
