Friends of writers

Grub Street, founded in 1997, and Tracy Slater, founder of Four Stories, won Friend of Writers awards at PEN New England's annual book party tonight.

Grub Street founder Eve Bridburg, now a literary agent, said she started the writing center with the hope that it could be a business. That didn't happen, but Grub Street is well-respected among writers for its dynamic instruction and spirit of camaraderie. Bridburg recalled a round of fund-raising calls to alumni that netted donations from 80 percent of them.

Slater joked (maybe she was serious?) that she started Four Stories author reading series in 2005 so she could have an excuse to wear sparkles and get on stage. She credited PEN executive director Karen Wulf, quoted in a Globe article hailing the success of Four Stories and saying, ''Tracy is single-handedly reviving the notion of the salon" with further boosting attendance at the series.

Elizabeth Searle, a member of the PEN board, read the titles of 126 books -- apparently an all-time high -- published in the past year by New England authors. Favorite titles? "Write Naked," a debut novel by Peter Gould; " "Slippery Men," essays by Penelope Schwartz Robinson; and "Our Lady of the Artichokes and Other Portuguese-American Stories" by Katherine Vaz.