Los Angeles Times journalist and columnist Steve Lopez became the first Hispanic American to win the Damon Runyon Award from the Denver Press Club earlier this month.
The award was presented at the Damon Runyon Award banquet — Colorado’s premier journalist event that celebrates modern-day story telling. The banquet is named after Damon Runyon, who started his career in journalism in Pueblo and later went on to author the stories in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Guys and Dolls.”
The Runyon award is the Denver Press Club’s highest honor, according to a release. Other journalists who have been awarded the honor include Jimmy Breslin, Mike Royko, Molly Ivins, Herb Caen, Pete Hamill, Ted Turner, Maureen Dowd, and countless others.
“From transformative work in Philadelphia, Oakland, and in his 22 years at The Los Angeles Times, Steve Lopez demonstrates an unparalleled prescience in tackling the issues that every community in America now talks about every day,” said Marianne Goodland, president of the Denver Press Club in the release. “It’s a joy to welcome him to Denver to celebrate his significant contributions to our craft – and our communities.”
Lopez is a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and has been a columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 2021. His columns about his relationship with Nathaniel Ayers — a homeless Julliard-trained musician with schizophrenia — eventually became the subject of Lopez’s New York Times bestseller “The Soloist.” The book inspired the film “The Soloist” in which Robert Downey Jr. plays Lopez.
Throughout his career, Lopez has chronicled hidden, deep-seated challenges like homelessness, housing, income inequality, and elder care. His work has also been featured in the San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, Sports Illustrated, Time, Life, Entertainment Weekly, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Lopez also wrote the novels “Third and Indiana,” “The Sunday Macaroni Club,” and “In the Clear.”
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock proclaimed April 14 as “Steve Lopez Day” in the City and County of Denver to celebrate Lopez’s award from the Denver Press Club.
Each year, the Damon Runyon Award Banquet funds scholarships for Colorado journalism students — including the John C. Ensslin Award of $3,000. This year’s event took place at the Hilton Garden Inn.
The Denver Press Club was established in 1867 and is the oldest continuously operated press club in the United States, the release reads. The nonprofit’s mission is to foster and further the work of the free press, where the honest and open discussion of the issues of the day are encouraged in an environment of respect and dignity, where all members and guests feel welcome, the organiza- tion’s website reads.
The club is located at 1330 Glenarm Place, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. To read Lopez’s work, visit www.latimes.com/people/steve-lopez.
