Montclair Author to be Honored at Mayors Legacy for Literacy

Best-selling author and Montclair resident Dorothea Benton Frank will be honored for her dedication to literacy at this year’s Mayors Legacy for Literacy on Nov. 21, a benefit for the Caldwell Public Library Foundation.  

Library benefactors Grace and Pat Collura of Caldwell will also be honored.

The Mayors Legacy for Literacy is co-hosted by current Caldwell Mayor Ann Dassing and immediate past Mayor Susan Gartland, current president of the Caldwell Library Foundation.

The Caldwell Public Library opened its doors in 1907 thanks to a $10,000 donation from philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie.

“In support of Andrew Carnegie’s vision to do real and permanent good in this world, I am thrilled to announce the second Mayor's Legacy for Literacy Gala, honoring such a prestigious author, for the benefit of our Library!,” said Mayor Dassing. “This promises to be a memorable evening for our community and we hope that many residents will want to attend in support of Dorothea Frank’s dedication to literacy and the wonderful work of the Colluras.”

Benton-Frank’s first Novel Sullivan’s Island (Berkley Publishing 2000) debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list at No. 9 and went back to press over 25 times, has well over one million copies in print and has been translated in 10 foreign languages.  

Her subsequent novels, from Plantation (Berkley 2002) and Isle of Palms (Berkley 2003), to Folly Beach (Wm. Morrow 2011), and Porch Lights (Wm. Morrow 2012) were all New York Times bestsellers.

The author is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from The College of Charleston and a Doctorate of Fine Arts from Bloomfield College. 

Benton-Frank and her four siblings grew up on Sullivan’s Island in South Carolina.  She attended Bishop England High School in Charleston and graduated from General William Moultrie High School in 1969. Her interest in retail apparel took her to Atlanta, where she graduated from The Fashion Institute of America in 1972. She was employed in the apparel industry in Atlanta, Charleston, California and New York before starting a family with her husband, Peter Richard Frank. 

The couple moved to Montclair in 1983, and had a daughter and son. Benton-Frank has been actively involved in the community over the last 30 years, and is currently a trustee of Bloomfield College, the Montclair Film Festival and The SC Historical Society. She previously served on the boards of The Montclair Art Museum, Whole Theater Company, The Drumthwacket Foundation, The NJ State Council on the Arts and The NJ Cultural Trust. 

When she is not writing, she enjoys cooking, fly fishing, reading and traveling and is a frequent speaker on the creative process. She divides her time between the Lowcountry of South Carolina and New Jersey.  

The gala dinner is planned for Thursday, Nov. 21, from 6 to 10 p.m., at The Green Brook Country Club in North Caldwell. Tickets are $90. 

To purchase tickets to the Legacy for Literacy, contact Mayor Dassing at 973-403-4636 or email anndassing@gmail.com .