The launch party for the new book, which was authored by Stephen M. Silverman with a foreword penned by Bette Midler, will be held at 7 PM in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Among those expected to attend the event are Stephen Sondheim, Glenn Close, Swoozie Kurtz, James Lipton, Geoffrey Holder, Carmen De Lavallade, Priscilla Lopez, Hal Prince, Katherine Helmond, Sylvia Miles, Marian Seldes and Monique Van Vooren.

A major retrospective exhibition, entitled "Focus on the 70s: The Fabulous Photography of Kenn Duncan," will be on view at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts through the fall.

Duncan was one of the most prolific photographers of the seventies and eighties. The "Divas!" book, according to press notes, is a "stunning visual tribute to the love triangle that existed between the lens, the women, and the artist."

The 228-page "Divas!" includes 250 illustrations. Among the line-up of divas featured in the hardcover book are Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Lily Tomlin, Diane Keaton and Eartha Kitt, among many others.

In the foreword to the book, Bette Midler, one of Duncan's favorite muses, recalls, "The fantasy was the thing, and we worked very hard. The lighting was flawless, and neither of us would stop until we both felt he had got what he needed."

"Divas! The Fabulous Photography of Kenn Duncan" has a retail price of $55 (U.S.), $63 (Canada) and £30.