NEW YORK (AP) — The National Book Awards dropped Drew Barrymore as the host for this year's ceremony on Tuesday, a day after her talk show taped its first episode since the Hollywood writers strike began. “The National Book Awards is an evening dedicated to celebrating the power of literature, and the incomparable contributions of writers to our culture," the organization said in a statement. “I think first and foremost, this is obviously way bigger than just ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’ and writers. Barrymore drew criticism from members of both guilds for crossing the picket line. When Barrymore was announced as host of this year's National Book Awards, scheduled for Nov. 15, the chair of the National Book Foundation's board of directors lauded her work championing books.

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Persons: Drew Barrymore, “, ” Chelsea White, ’, Barrymore, ”, Ted Sarandos, Oprah Winfrey, ” David Steinberger, Winfrey, Ms, John Carucci, Ryan Pearson Organizations: Hollywood, Foundation, CBS, American Federation of Radio, Television Artists, WGA, MTV, Netflix, May's PEN, PEN, Associated Press Locations: hollywood