"The serious novel may be in serious decline," he said, asking rhetorically how many in the audience enjoy reading "an egregiously cruel review" of a serious novel more than trying to appreciate the art involved in creating such a work. The purpose of the serious novel, he said, is "to enter one's life, even alter it," but too often such works are in opposition to "the needs of the marketplace."

Garrison Keillor, the host of the ceremony at the New York Marriott Marquis, noted that it was taking place just before another "Harry Potter" film would open in theaters. "Most of us have stood in Barnes & Noble," he said, "and opened a Harry Potter book, read a few pages and said: 'I could have done that. I could have done that while doing all the other things that I do. Why didn't I?'"