ANNOUNCING THE 2023 NERO WOLFE ASSEMBLY AND THE 46TH BLACK ORCHID BANQUET
Dear Wolfe Pack Members:
Since the 1970s, the highlight of each Wolfean year has been the annual Black Orchid Banquet, held the first Saturday of December each year, in honor of Rex Stout’s birthday.
This year’s Banquet will be held, in person, on Saturday evening, December 2, 2023, starting at 6:00 p.m. We will be dining and celebrating at a new location: Morton’s Steakhouse, 551 Fifth Avenue (entrance on East 45th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues), in Manhattan. For those with accessibility issues, we are pleased to advise that the event will be on the ground floor, with no need to climb or descend stairs (rest rooms are on the lower level but there is an elevator).
Come to see your Wolfean friends again and enjoy all your favorite Banquet activities including toasts, song parodies, and presentation of the year’s Nero and BONA Awards.
Our keynote speaker this year will be Professor Paul Freedman. He is the Chester D. Tripp Professor of History at Yale University and the author of books including Ten Restaurants That Changed America and American Cuisine and How It Got This Way. Professor Freedman’s keynote talk will discuss Nero Wolfe and American cuisine and will be of interest to all of us.
The cost for all this Wolfean entertainment and education will be $125 per person for Wolfe Pack members and guests, $135 for others. This includes a three-course dinner (choice of filet mignon, chicken, salmon, or vegetarian alternative) plus two glasses of wine, beer, or soft drinks (additional drinks may be ordered à la carte).
The annual Nero Wolfe Assembly will be held on Saturday afternoon, December 2, 2023, beginning at 2:00 p.m., also at Morton’s Steakhouse. You will hear from knowledgeable Wolfeans about different aspects of the worlds of Nero Wolfe and Rex Stout. The Assembly will also include an interactive book discussion of The Doorbell Rang (1965). For maximum participation and enjoyment, please reread that book before the discussion. There will be a swap ‘n’ shop table for Nero Wolfe books and memorabilia. Coffee and cookies will be served. The cost is $15 for members and guests, $20 for others.
Members and guests attending both the Assembly and the Banquet can do so for $135 (a $5 saving) if payment is received by November 10, 2023. A reservation and payment form is available here – you can also take this opportunity to renew your Wolfe Pack membership at the same time!
Questions? Ask the Werowance at werowance@nerowolfe.org
My very best regards and wishes,
Ira Brad Matetsky
Werowance, The Wolfe Pack
UPCOMING VIRTUAL BOOK DISCUSSIONS
The Wolfe Pack also continues to hold bimonthly online book discussions via Zoom. These online book discussions are open to Wolfe Pack members only. There is no fee, but advance registration is required, and the number of attendees is limited. If you are a Wolfe Pack member, you should have received a newsletter with details and registration information. If you didn’t receive it, please e-mail werowance -at- nerowolfe.org
RESEARCH VISIT TO BOSTON COLLEGE AND DINNER – POSTPONED, COMING IN 2024
The Burns Library at Boston College is the home of Rex Stout’s personal papers, including extensive correspondence and files as well as the typewritten manuscripts of many Nero Wolfe stories. Burns Library also holds the faculty papers of Professor John McAleer, Stout’s biographer, and the related collections of Wolfe Pack members Judson Sapp and Ed Price. Links to the collections can be found at https://www.nerowolfe.org/htm/stout/archives.htm
Members of the Wolfe Pack will visit Burns Library to conduct research in these collections. The date of our visit is being rescheduled and will be announced soon.
We will be welcomed by the Burns Library Director, Dr. Christian DuPont, and his staff, and provided with access to the collections. There is no fee to visit, but the library requests that we let them know how many people will be attending, and request the specific materials we would like to use through their online document retrieval system – details will be provided in advance.
We will also enjoy dinner on the same day at a Boston restaurant. All Wolfe Pack members are invited to join us, whether or not they participate in the research visit. If you are interested in coming either to the research visit and/or to dinner, please e-mail werowance -at- nerowolfe.org
IN-PERSON BOOK DISCUSSION IN NEW YORK ON MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2024
Our next in-person book discussion for New York Metro Area members will held on Monday evening, January 22, 2024, at Slattery’s Midtown Pub, 8 East 36th Street (between Fifth and Madison Avenues) in Manhattan. We'll gather beginning about 6:30 p.m. and start the discussion at 7:00 p.m.
We will be reading, Too Many Cooks, first published in 1938.
No advance payment for book discussion is necessary, but we would appreciate your letting us know if you expect to attend so we can know how many people to plan for. To RSVP, please e-mail werowance -at- nerowolfe.org
THE WOLFE PACK VISITS THE GREENBRIER – APRIL 10-14, 2024
The Wolfe Pack is planning a return visit to the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia (the inspiration for Kanawha Spa of Too Many Cooks) from April 10 to 14, 2024. Highlights of this visit will include Wolfean meals, fascinating talks, tours, and a variety of other Wolfean and non-Wolfean activities. The Wolfe Pack has visited the Greenbrier four times previously (see “Past Events” pages on this website for details), with great success, and this next visit will be the best of all! Please watch this space or your Wolfe Pack newsletter for further information.
PLEASE try to remember to buy on Amazon using the Wolfe Pack's Amazon link button at the top of each page.
We receive a small percentage of each Amazon purchase executed in that manner.
We use the moneys to offset the cost of producing The Gazette and to pay for website hosting and software.
NO WOLFE PACK FUNDS are used for events and no steering committee or other member receives any payment or financial benefit.
Rex Stout on Dick Cavett Show
(September 2, 1969
Michael Bourne's Interview with Rex Stout
(out of print, no longer available for purchase)
Click below to listen to the interview
Side 1
Side 2 (approx. 10 second start delay)
Rex Stout Interviews John le Carre: Read the Print Interview
Latest Nero Wolfe Pastiche
THE MISADVENTURES OF NERO WOLFE:
Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street
Edited by Josh Pachter
Order the book from Amazon.com
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FLYER
WOLFE PACK MEMBERSHIP
For more enjoyment of the works of
Rex Stout, join the Wolfe Pack or renew your membership by sending a check or using PayPal. (Paypal allows you to select which credit card to use with your Purchase.) Membership costs just $40.00 for two years and includes four issues of our journal, The Gazette and newsletters of upcoming events and Wolfean news.
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Soldiers of the Pen: The Writers' War Board in World War II by Thomas Howell
The little-known story of the WW II efforts of The Writers' War Board and its president, Rex Stout. Click the text link above to order.
