Linda Fairstein to receive Elinor Guggenheimer Lifetime Achievement Award

Linda Fairstein, author of the Alex Cooper mystery series, is among nine individuals who will be honored by the New York Women’s Agenda (NYWA) at the organization’s STAR Breakfast, to be held at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in New York City on Dec. 7, 2010.  Fairstein will receive the Elinor Guggenheimer Lifetime Achievement Award.

Fairstein, who also won the International Thriller Writers’ Silver Bullet award for community service in July 2010, is a former prosecutor. She served as Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for over twenty years and is an acknowledged expert on the subject of violent crimes that target women and children.

Fairstein published her first novel in 1994. Final Jeopardy featured, as its protagonist. New York Assistant District Attorney Alex Cooper. Hell Gate, Fairstein’s 12th and most recent Alex Cooper novel, was released in March 2010.

In November 2010 Fairstein appeared on the Investigation Discovery channel’s Hardcover Mysteries with seven other noted crime fiction authors discussing real life crimes that impacted their careers. Fairstein reviewed the case of serial killers Sante and Kenneth Kimes.

The New York Women’s Agenda, with over 100,000 members supports the interests of New York women through programs involving collaboration, advocacy and education. In a press release from the organization, NYWA’s President Karen Karpowich said, “Linda Fairstein is a tireless advocate for the rights of so many survivors without voices. It’s particularly fitting that NYWA honors her with this award, as she was selected by our organization’s founder, Elinor Guggenheimer, to spearhead NYWA’s first Domestic Violence initiative and her accomplishments embody Ellie’s vision for NYWA.”

New York County District Attorney Cyrus Roberts Vance also commented on the NYWA’s choice of Fairstein as winner of the  Elinor Guggenheimer Lifetime Achievement Award.  “Her leadership and achievements as a world-renowned authority on prosecuting sex crimes, and her unparalleled contribution to criminal justice and victims’ rights, make her the perfect candidate for this honor,”  Vance said. “From an elite prosecutor to a best-selling crime novelist, Linda's career trajectory proves that the second chapter in one's life can be as rewarding and exciting as the first.”