(New York, NY – March 1, 2007) - Yaddo’s New York City Benefit at Gotham Hall on May 10 will celebrate the upcoming film Evening and two renowned Yaddo writers, Susan Minot, who wrote the novel on which the movie is based, and Michael Cunningham, who collaborated with Minot on the screenplay for the theatrical release.

Together the two are serving as honorary chairs for the night’s festivities, and Cunningham will emcee the event which will include cocktails, a buffet reception, a very special silent auction, and a preview of clips from the film that will hit theaters in June.

Evening’s extraordinary cast includes Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Glenn Close, Patrick Wilson, and Meryl Streep. The film is the story of a woman on her deathbed (Redgrave) who amidst the delirium and images of her past full life relives a love affair she had on a particularly intense weekend in her youth with a very handsome, very charming, and not particularly trustworthy young man. As her daughters (Richardson and Collette) wait and tend to her, she remembers minutely the details of those three days which emerge as being the high point of her life.

Michael Cunningham is the author of the novels Specimen Days, A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, and The Hours, for which he received the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award. A screen version of The Hours was one of the most acclaimed films of 2002, earning Nicole Kidman both a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar. It also featured Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep. The film based on A Home at the End of the World starred Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts and Sissy Spacek. Cunningham has written one non-fiction book, Land's End: A Walk Through Provincetown.

Besides Evening, Susan Minot is the author of the book Monkeys, a group of nine stories about the same family that together form a novel, the novels Folly and Rapture, a story collection, Lust & Other Stories, and a book of poetry, Poems 4 A.M. She also wrote the screenplay for Bernardo Bertolucci’s award-winning coming-of-age film Stealing Beauty.

Among the items up for bid in the silent auction are original works of art by James Siena, Susan Crile, Alexi Worth, Jonathan Santlofer, Melissa Meyer, Pat Adams, Gail Gregg, and Beverly McIver, a portrait sitting with photographer Susan Unterberg, a private dinner prepared by Molly O’Neill, signed copies of books by Michael Cunningham and Susan Minot, a chance to appear as a character in a Patricia Volk story, and much more.

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Meanwhile, the summer benefit at Yaddo on June 5 is shaping up to be another stellar event, with a concert by the Ying Quartet in the famous music room at the Yaddo Mansion, followed by a reception. Some 200 people each year enjoy the night of music, spirits, and culinary delights. The Ying Quartet's members are natives of Chicago, and the ensemble is now in its second decade, having established an international reputation for excellence in performance with appearances in virtually every major American city and at numerous festivals, both in the U.S. and abroad. They currently serve as Quartet in Residence at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. Tickets for the June 5 event at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs start at $150. For early bookings or additional information contact Lynn Farenell (lfarenell@yaddo.org or 518.584.0746). Tickets for this event will be available online soon.