NHPBS Launches Multi-Platform Initiative for Ken Burns New Documentary: Hemingway

Durham, NH (February 23, 2021) - New Hampshire PBS announces a multi-platform initiative to engage audiences with the new three-part, six-hour documentary series HEMINGWAY. Directed by award-winning filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, the series paints an intimate picture of one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. It airs on NHPBS and PBS stations across the country on April 5-6-7, 2021.

Hemingway Writers Challenge
Ken Burns and the New Hampshire Writers’ Project (NHWP) are inviting writers to embrace their creativity by participating in the HEMINGWAY WRITERS CHALLENGE. Submissions will be accepted from February 19 until March 14, 2021 at 5pm.

The New Hampshire Writers’ Project will accept submissions at www.nhwritersproject.org and select the winning entry. The winner will receive $150 and a free membership to NHWP.

Ken Burns is inviting you to tak the HEMINGWAY WRITERS CHALLENGE!

Sneak Preview
In partnership with New Hampshire Humanities, and New Hampshire Writers’ Project, New Hampshire PBS will present an online screening and discussion of the new Ken Burns film, HEMINGWAY on Thursday, April 1st at 6pm.

After the 30-minute screener, New Hampshire Humanities Public Programs Director Tricia Peone will engage in a conversation with Board Chair of New Hampshire Writers' Project Masheri Chappelle and New Hampshire author Robert Wheeler. It is Wheeler’s book Hemingway’s Paris: A Writer’s City in Words and Pictures that has inspired the HEMINGWAY WRITERS CHALLENGE with the photo entitled “Place de la Concorde”. The winner of the challenge will be announced during the 90-minute event on April 1st.

For more information and to view the challenge image, visit www.nhpbs.org/hemingway

About the Documentary

“HEMINGWAY is both an intimate, turbulent family saga and an examination of some of the greatest works of American literature in the 20th century,” said director Ken Burns. “The documentary attempts to show how flawed our assumptions about Ernest Hemingway and his writing have been. At the same time, we are unsparing in our inquiry into less well-known aspects of his character and writing. Our intent is to offer viewers an honest portrayal of a complex and conflicted writer who left an indelible mark on literature.”

The filmmakers explore the painstaking process through which Hemingway created some of the most important works of fiction in American letters, including novels The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea; short stories “Hills Like White Elephants,” “The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” “Up in Michigan,” “Indian Camp” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro;” as well as the nonfiction works Death in the Afternoon and A Moveable Feast.

“In an era when Americans are re-evaluating so many icons, Hemingway is a particularly compelling figure to revisit," said director Lynn Novick. "He was hugely complicated, deeply flawed, and he truly revolutionized the art of writing. One of the great revelations of this project was asking renowned writers from around the world — Mario Vargas Llosa, Edna O’Brien, Abraham Verghese, Leonardo Padura, Mary Karr — to share their insights into Hemingway's work and why it’s still important today.”

“One of the great challenges of this project,” said producer Sarah Botstein, “was finding ways — visually, cinematically — to show how Hemingway honed his craft and how he used words to such extraordinary effect. In collaboration with our editors, we deployed all the tools in our filmmaking toolbox — graphic effects, archival footage and photographs, live cinematography, sound effects — to make Hemingway’s work come fully alive on screen.”

“While many of us studied Ernest Hemingway in school, the true significance of his work was perhaps never fully appreciated. Through this extraordinary film, Ken, Lynn and Sarah have shed new light on the contributions and complexity of one of America’s most influential writers,” said Paula Kerger, President and CEO of PBS. “Public television continues to be a destination for thoughtful and thought-provoking biographies, and we are uniquely positioned to bring these important stories into the classroom through PBS LearningMedia.”

PBS LearningMedia, a free service that includes thousands of contextualized learning materials aligned to state and national standards, will offer a host of educational offerings for middle and high school teachers related to HEMINGWAY. Resources will include video clips, activities, discussion questions and lesson plans focusing on a range of topics relevant to English language arts, social studies, media literacy, and health teachers, and include suggestions for incorporating these materials into remote learning environments. PBS and WETA will also offer virtual professional learning opportunities.

Corporate funding for HEMINGWAY was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by the Annenberg Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and by ‘The Better Angels Society,’ and its members John & Leslie McQuown, the Elizabeth Ruth Wallace Living Trust, John & Catherine Debs, the Fullerton Family Charitable Fund, the Kissick Family Foundation, Gail M. Elden, Gilchrist & Amy Berg, Robert & Beverly Grappone, Mauree Jane & Mark Perry; and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS.

About New Hampshire Humanities: For almost five decades, New Hampshire Humanities has connected Granite Staters with inspiring and challenging ideas of the human experience. We harness the power of the humanities by offering programs, grants, and opportunities to residents of New Hampshire and beyond, supporting lifelong learning, and fostering civic engagement and discourse. Last year New Hampshire Humanities sponsored 749 free public programs and broadcasts and 11 low-cost programs that reached 241,034 residents in 170 communities, in partnership with 338 organizations. Learn more at www.nhhumanities.org

About New Hampshire Writers’ Project: The New Hampshire Writers' Project (NHWP) supports the development of individual writers and encourages an audience for literature in our state. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary arts organization funded by its members as well as organizations and businesses who support our region's writers and literary heritage. www.nhwritersproject.org

Pressroom Contact

Carla Gordon Russell
Director of Communications
crussell@nhpbs.org
(603) 868-4339