The New Press is thrilled to announce that its 2022 Social Justice Awards will be presented to Nikole Hannah- Jones, the Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, for her social and historical analysis and commitment to the public interest; and Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., one of the nation’s great civic-minded lawyers, for his leadership and unwavering commitment to democracy and government accountability.

The 2022 Social Justice Awards Gala will take place at the Rooftop at Edison Ballroom on November 16, 2022, in New York City, and ticket and sponsorship packages are now available online.

About the 2022 Honorees

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a reporter covering racial justice for the New York Times Magazine and the creator of the landmark initiative The 1619 Project, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize. First published in the New York Times on the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery and later expanded into a book, The 1619 Project reframes the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center of our national narrative. Hannah-Jones is also the co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting, a training and mentorship organization dedicated to increasing the ranks of investigative reporters of color. Her investigative reporting, on subjects like school resegregation and the federal government’s decades-long failure to enforce the 1968 Fair Housing Act, is an inspiration to those who serve the public interest. The New Press is proud to recognize her contributions with a 2022 New Press Social Justice Award.

Frederick A.O. (Fritz) Schwarz Jr. is one of our country’s great legal advocates. Schwarz’s legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore was punctuated by high-level turns in public service over many decades: as Chief Counsel to the Senate Church Committee, as Corporation Counsel of New York City, as Chair of the New York City Charter Revision Commission, as Chair of the Fund for the City of New York, as Chair of The Atlantic Philanthropies, as longstanding Chief Counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice, and as Chair of the Board of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is also a longtime board member of The New Press and the author of two widely acclaimed New Press books, Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (co-authored with Aziz Z. Huq), and Democracy in the Dark: The Seduction of Government Secrecy. Few have made more fundamental contributions in the service of democracy and government accountability, and The New Press salutes Fritz Schwarz’s peerless record.

About the Social Justice Awards Gala

The New Press Social Justice Awards Galas are compelling and entertaining affairs that began in 2010 as a way to honor individuals whose creative contributions have had a lasting impact on our society. Starting with our inaugural honoree Alice Walker, recipients have included Bryan Stevenson, Anna Deavere Smith, Jane Mayer, Toni Morrison, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Harry Belafonte, Sherrilyn Ifill, Pete Seeger, and Charles M. Blow.

Gala Tickets and Sponsorship Packages

Join us at this year’s gala as we honor Nikole Hannah-Jones and Fritz Schwarz and celebrate 30 years of publishing in the public interest:

• Gala Tickets, Packages, Sponsorships: purchase gala packages and attend the event!
• Share the Gala Invite: share the gala invite with others [PDF].
• Corporate Sponsorships: can your company support public-interest publishing?

Even in the digital age, books anchor our understanding of the world, fuel personal and political transformations, foster community and connection, and challenge long-held assumptions about what’s socially just, politically feasible, or historically acceptable.

We look forward to seeing you at this year’s Social Justice Awards Gala on November 16, 2022.

About The New Press

The New Press is the country’s leading nonprofit, public interest publisher, whose award-winning books and authors have guided the nation’s most important conversations on criminal justice reform, racial justice, education, history, and building social justice movements.

The New Press commissions new works, shapes ideas for mass audiences, and works to build national recognition for new perspectives, emerging voices, and thought leaders whose contributions are not yet widely recognized. Find out more at TheNewPress.com.