Lia Chang Photos: David Henry Hwang, Eiko Ishioka, Kathryn Layng and BD Wong at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop Literary Awards

Playwright David Henry Hwang, his wife actress Kathryn Layng and actor BD Wong celebrate the 20th anniversary of M. Butterfly at the 11th annual Asian American Literary Awards Ceremony, produced by the Asian American Writers Workshop held at New York University's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Film Center in New York on December 8, 2008.

Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop at the Eleventh Annual Asian American Literary Awards Ceremony from M. Butterfly costume and stage designer Eiko Ishioka, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking play M. Butterfly at New York University’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Film Center in New York, on Monday, December 8, 2008.

BD Wong and David Henry Hwang Photo by Lia Chang

Mr. Hwang and Law & Order SVU actor BD Wong, who dazzled audiences in his Broadway debut in M. Butterfly and garnered the Outer Critic’s Circle Award, Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award, Clarence Derwent Award, and the Tony Award for his star turn, read passages from the play, followed by a chat moderated by Oskar Eustis, the Artistic Director of The Public Theater.

BD Wong, David Henry Hwang and Oskar Eustis Photo by Lia Chang

Eiko Ishioka presented David Henry Hwang with Asian American Writers’ Workshop Lifetime achievement award at the AAWW Literary Awards on December 8, 2008 in New York, Photo by Lia Chang

This year’s Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s Asian American Literary Award honorees include Fiction award-winner Mohsin Hamid for The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Nonfiction award-winner Vijay Prashad for The Darker Nations, and Poetry award-winner Sun Yung Shin for Skirt Full of Black. The Member’s Choice award was presented to Ed Lin for This is a Bust.

Eiko Ishioka presented David Henry Hwang with Asian American Writers’ Workshop Lifetime achievement award at the AAWW Literary Awards on December 8, 2008 in New York, Photo by Lia Chang

After the ceremony, David Henry Hwang and BD Wong signed complimentary copies of M. Butterfly, published by Plume, that all attendees of the ceremony were lucky enough to receive.

Eiko Ishioka presented David Henry Hwang with Asian American Writers’ Workshop Lifetime achievement award at the AAWW Literary Awards on December 8, 2008 in New York, Photo by Lia Chang

Eiko Ishioka Photo by Lia Chang

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Lia Chang is an actor, performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multimedia journalist.

As a photographer and videographer, Lia collaborates with artists, organizations and companies in establishing their documentary photo archive and social media presence. She has been documenting her colleagues and contemporaries in the arts, fashion and journalism since making her stage debut as Liat in the National Tour of South Pacific, with Robert Goulet and Barbara Eden.

Selections of Lia’s archive of Asian Pacific Americans in the arts, fashion, journalism, politics and space are in the newly created LIA CHANG THEATER PORTFOLIO in the ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN PERFORMING ARTS COLLECTION housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian American Pacific Islander Collection.

Lia’s portraits and performance photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Gourmet, German Elle, Women’s Wear Daily, The Paris Review, VIBE, TV Guide, Daily Variety, Interior Design, American Theatre, Broadwayworld.com, Life & Style, OUT, New York Magazine, InStyle, Timeout.com, Villagevoice.com, Playbill.com, Theatermania.com, thelmagazine.com, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe, New York Times and Washington Post. A former syndicated arts and entertainment columnist for KYODO News, Lia is the New York Bureau Chief for AsianConnections.com. She writes about culture, style and Asian American issues for a variety of publications and this Backstage Pass with Lia Chang blog.

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