Another luminary to be awarded the honour, Toni Morrison, is renowned for her portrayal of the African-American experience in novels such as Song Of Solomon, and Beloved, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988.

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"I remember reading 'Song of Solomon' when I was a kid and not just trying to figure out how to write but also how to be and how to think, " he said in reference to Morrison's 1977 novel.

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Morrison, an early endorser of Amazon.com's Kindle reading device and the author of prize winners including "Song of Solomon, " said she's not a Luddite and does keep up with the Internet, enough so that she much prefers the nonfiction she reads on blogs to fiction.

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