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June 2004

Coming soon . . . Rich Prize: The Arlene Award

By Lisa Collier Cool

As a judge for this year's awards, I was impressed by the incredible diversity of subjects, and wide array of writing styles, of our many talented members. So many outstanding articles and books were submitted that we ended up giving 15 awards, including several honorable mentions. You'll find a list of the winners elsewhere in the newsletter.

Thanks to the generosity of ASJA member Howard Eisenberg, we'll be introducing a new, endowed award called the Arlene, for books or articles that make a documented difference to the community, society or the world. Starting in 2005, winners will receive $1,000 for an article, while a book prize of $2,500 will be given every three years at the start, but may become more frequent later.

Howard created this award in memory of his late wife, Arlene Eisenberg, the author of What to Expect When You're Expecting and three related books. The Eisenbergs' two daughters, Heidi E. Murkoff and Sandee E. Hathaway, are co-authors of the best-selling series, and Heidi currently has contracts to write two new What to Expect titles. Arlene and Howard's son, Evan, is also a published author.

Howard and Arlene met in 1950, when she was 16, and married two years later. At that time, Howard was a press agent for Eddie Fisher and Arlene ran the singer's fan clubs. After taking a journalism class taught by former ASJA president Murray Bloom, Howard became a freelance writer. One day, with a looming deadline—and mortgage payment—he found himself rewriting the lead over and over.

"After I struggled with it for a week, Arlene, who had never written professionally, said, ‘Move over and let me try,' " he recalls. "She did a great first draft, and it was ‘by Arlene and Howard Eisenberg' from then on."

The couple became a writing team and joined ASJA, then called Society of Magazine Writers, in 1961. They wrote hundreds of articles for such magazines as Reader's Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, McCalls', and Parade. One Parade story, "How to Be Your Own Doctor (Sometimes)," prompted three publishers to call, clamoring for the Eisenbergs to write a book on the topic.

After they'd written five books together, Arlene had an inspired idea. "When our daughter, Heidi, was pregnant, she bought all the pregnancy books, but found they were either scary or medically inaccurate," says Howard. "One day, she fell down in the street and worried that she might have injured the baby. The books had nothing about this, so Arlene realized that mothers needed a book that answered their day-to-day questions."

The couple's agent, however, was skeptical. "He said there were so many other pregnancy books, it wouldn't do very well," says Howard, who reports that What to Expect When You're Expecting has sold over 11 million copies since its 1985 publication. It has also spent more than 170 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into some 40 languages.

Howard attributes this spectacular success in part to Arlene's prodigious research: "She attended every medical conference, brought home cartons of medical papers, and patiently went through them. Then, she organized the information month by month, which no one had ever attempted before. She updated the book before every printing, which is why it's become the bible of millions of mothers around the world." And she had an impact in many other ways, including being the president of their synagogue and helping found its homeless shelter 20 years ago. After her death in February, 2001, she was posthumously awarded ASJA's career achievement award.

Her remarkable life is the inspiration for the new award, says Howard, who hopes to work with a designer to create a special trophy to be presented to winners of the Arlene. "The whole point is to encourage writers to reach beyond their normal grasp—and take on a project that makes a difference to the world, as Arlene did."

During his 43 years in ASJA, says Howard, "I've seen how we all benefit from the cumulative creativity and sharing. The kindness and helpful hands are what make ASJA great. This spirit was there when Arlene and I joined, and at the conference this year, I saw that it still is." Through his generosity, he is giving members something wonderful to expect when their writing makes a difference: the Arlene. Thank you, Howard!