Banquet Planned to Celebrate 125th Birth Anniversary of Author Rex Stout, Creator of Fictional Detective Nero Wolfe.

NEW YORK, Nov. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wolfe Pack, an organization devoted to mystery writer Rex Stout and his most famous creation Nero Wolfe, will hold its 34th annual "Black Orchid Banquet" on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 7:15 p.m. The Banquet will include the presentation of the Nero Award for the year's best mystery novel and the Black Orchid Novella Award, presented in conjunction with Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, for the year's best unpublished mystery novella.

December 1, 2011 marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Rex Stout, and several members of the writer's family will attend the banquet.

The Black Orchid Banquet will be held at the Vanderbilt Suites in New York City, and will feature television personality and mystery writer Al Roker as the keynote speaker. Roker will be introduced by mystery novelist and past Nero Award-winner Linda Fairstein. The Nero Wolfe character was famous for his love of food, and the meal for the Banquet will be drawn from dishes described in Stout's mysteries or included in The Nero Wolfe Cookbook.

The Nero Award is presented annually for literary excellence in the mystery genre. This year's finalists are: Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen; The Book of Spies by Gayle Lynds; Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny; The Midnight Show Murders by Al Roker & Dick Lochte; and Think of a Number by John Verdon. Previous Nero Award winners include Lee Child, Walter Mosley, Laura Lippman, and Julia Spencer-Fleming. The Black Orchid Novella Award is presented to an unpublished novella that best celebrates the mystery traditions of the Nero Wolfe stories. The winning story is published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

The Banquet will be preceded by the Wolfe Pack Assembly, which will be held on Saturday, December 3, at 2 p.m., also at the Vanderbilt Suites, and will feature a series of speakers on themes relating to Rex Stout and his Nero Wolfe mysteries. A social hour will be held at La Fonda del Sol, in the same building as the Vanderbilt Suites, between the Assembly and the Banquet.

More information about these events, including registration information, www.nerowolfe.org, e-mail [email protected] or call Jean Quinn at (732) 956-4564.

About the Wolfe Pack

The Wolfe Pack is a forum to discuss, explore, and enjoy the 72 Nero Wolfe books and short stories. The organization promotes fellowship and extends friendship to those who enjoy these great literary works of mystery through a series of events, book discussions, and a journal devoted to study of the genius detective, Nero Wolfe, and his intrepid assistant, Archie Goodwin. The Gazette: Journal of the Wolfe Pack is the longest continuously published mystery publication of its kind and is published semi-annually and distributed free to members of the Wolfe Pack. The organization has 500 members worldwide.

SOURCE Wolfe Pack