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Angell, Alexie and Eggers among new arts academy members

FILE - In this April 4, 2006, file photo, author Roger Angell smiles during an interview at his office at The New Yorker magazine, in New York. Over the past year, longtime New Yorker contributor and editor Angell has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his writing about the game and received a National Magazine Award for his highly praised personal essay "This Old Man." The latest tribute comes from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, welcomed him as one of five new members for 2015. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
FILE - In this April 4, 2006, file photo, author Roger Angell smiles during an interview at his office at The New Yorker magazine, in New York. Over the past year, longtime New Yorker contributor and editor Angell has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his writing about the game and received a National Magazine Award for his highly praised personal essay "This Old Man." The latest tribute comes from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015, welcomed him as one of five new members for 2015. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

By Associated Press 3 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – At age 94, Roger Angell keeps collecting honors.

Over the past year, the longtime New Yorker contributor and editor has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for his writing about the game and received a National Magazine Award for his highly praised personal essay “This Old Man.” The latest tribute comes from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which Tuesday welcomed him as one of five new members for 2015.

“My theory is that if you stick around long enough this stuff happens,” Angell told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview.

Angell, whose byline first appeared in The New Yorker during World War II, is not the oldest new academy member. Caricaturist Al Hirschfeld was 99 when elected in 2003.

The latest inductees have a wide range of achievements. Sherman Alexie is a poet, short story writer, screenplay writer and novelist whose “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” is a National Book Award winner and a favorite among young readers. Dave Eggers is an author, screenplay writer and literacy advocate who has been a finalist for the Pulitzer and National Book Award, helped found the publishing house and literary journal McSweeney’s and has assisted numerous writers and young people through his 826 Valencia and ScholarMatch projects.