Walter Anderson: Excellent In The Arts

Walter Anderson, the former chairman and CEO of Parade Publications—and Parade’s editor for two decades—will receive VVA’s Excellence in the Arts Award at the Saturday night Awards Banquet at VVA’s National Convention in Springfield, Illinois.

Anderson quit high school in 1961 and joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in Vietnam in 1965. A journalist, editor, playwright, and author, he has been a longtime literacy advocate. He served on the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Services, as well as on the boards of the National Center for Family Literacy, Very Special Arts, and PBS. Anderson’s books include his 2003 memoir Meant To Be and a popular 1998 self-help volume, The Confidence Course: Seven Steps to Self-Fulfillment.

Walter Anderson’s latest artistic endeavor is a Vietnam War-themed play, Almost Home. The play, which is set in 1965, had its 2014 world premiere off Broadway in New York. The play deals with the emotionally turbulent homecoming of a U.S. Marine Vietnam veteran.

“Walter Anderson rose from a rough childhood and a tour of duty in Vietnam to become one of the most accomplished magazine editors and executives in the nation,” said VVA President John Rowan. “But he didn’t stop there. We are honoring Walter Anderson for his career-long successes in the arts, as well as his selfless work on behalf of literacy in the United States, which fits squarely with VVA’s motto, ‘In Service to America.’ ”