The National Book Awards Has Rescinded Drew Barrymore’s Invitation to Host

Yesterday, the National Book Foundation — the presenter of the National Book Awards — rescinded its invitation to Drew Barrymore to host its 74th awards ceremony. This comes after Barrymore announced that her show, The Drew Barrymore Show, would be filming and airing its next season despite the WGA and SAG strikes.

In an Instagram post, the National Book Foundation said, “The National Book Awards is an evening dedicated to celebrating the power of literature, and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture. In light of the announcement that ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms. Barrymore’s invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony. Our commitment is to ensure that the focus of the Awards remains on celebrating writers and books, and we are grateful to Ms. Barrymore and her team for their understanding in this situation.”

The National Book Award ceremony is scheduled to take place November 15th, and there is no word yet of a replacement host.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.