The Book Club of California Oscar Lewis Awards

Sponsored by The Book Club of California

The Oscar Lewis Awards were established by the Book Club of California in 1994 in honor of Oscar Lewis (1893-1992), San Francisco author, historian, and club secretary from 1921-1946. Awards for achievement in Western History and the Book Arts are awarded each year.

The Book Club of California is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Oscar Lewis Awards, Charles Wollenberg for his contribution to Western History, and Mary Risala Laird, for her contribution to the Book Arts.

Charles Wollenberg specializes in California social history of the 20th Century and has produced a steady stream of books and articles on Bay Area history going back to the 1970s. Among his many books are: All Deliberate Speed: Segregation And Exclusion In California Schools 1855-1975 (UC Press, 1978), Golden Gate Metropolis: Perspectives On Bay Area History (IGS, 1985), and Photographing The Second Gold Rush: Dorothea Lange And The Bay Area At War 1941-45 (Heyday Books, 1995). Rebel Lawyer: Wayne Collins and the Defense of Japanese American Rights (Heyday Press, 2017) was the winner of the 2017 California Historical Society Award.

Utilized by historians while also being accessible to the general public, his work has ranged from groundbreaking studies to popular histories. His research has been recognized as comprehensive and his scholarship thorough. His writing has been described as daring and his thinking both fresh and original.

He has served the people of California for more than five decades as an educator including teaching at Laney College and Berkeley City College, where he served as the Chair of Social Sciences. He also served on the board of the California Historical Society and was a founding member of the California Studies Association. Now retired, he continues to be a sought-after lecturer and presenter.

Mary Risala Laird, MFA printmaking, University of Wisconsin, Madison, has been doing letterpress books since 1969 as Quelquefois Press. She partnered in Perishable Press Limited editions from 1969-84. Ms. Laird has taught letterpress at San Francisco State University, Kala Institute in Berkeley, Naropa University, and at the San Francisco Center for the Book as well as workshops in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Washington state. For fifteen years she worked with the entire 7th grade class at a local school as a guest artist, making handmade journals.

Her focus in printing is poetry and she binds the editions she prints. Her work can be found in many collections across the country and around the world, including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Library of Congress, University of Wisconsin, Madison, the British Library, Yale University, University of Washington, and UC Santa Cruz.

She has three grown children, lives in Berkeley, California with her husband John Malork, and is a member of the Sufi community. She served as a board member at the San Francisco Center for the Book for six years and is an active Book Club of California member.
The Book Club of California will hold an in-person event to celebrate the recipients of the 2022 Oscar Lewis Awards. This event will also be live streamed. To request a link to the livestream, click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xH6WdLnWT9OyCtTKzzybAw?mc_cid=a6b3339082&mc_eid=55809a2ee8

2022 Oscar Lewis Awards Ceremony
Monday, May 23, 2022 | 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM Pacific Time