The National Book Awards are getting a rewrite.New rules announced Tuesday include a "long list" of 10 nominees to be offered for each of the four competitive categories before being narrowed to the traditional five finalists. And the pool of judges will be expanded beyond writers to include critics, booksellers and librarians.The changes are the most extensive since the mid-1990s for the awards, presented each fall by the National Book Foundation, as the major New York publishers attempt to broaden their appeal. The publishers have been unhappy with the selection of fiction finalists in recent years and the omission of such high-profile works as Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and Marilynne Robinson's Gilead.The expansion to 10 mirrors a recent change in the Oscars, but foundation board members said they had been looking to Britain's popular Man Booker Prize as a model."We just basically borrowed some of their ideas," said foundation board vice president and Grove/Atlantic CEO Morgan Entrekin, citing the Bookers' use of long lists and non-writers as judges. "The Bookers do a fantastic job at getting a conversation going about good books. With the long list, for instance, you get this conversation bubbling up about what made it and then about what doesn't get on the short list."Mr. Entrekin said that some of the recent National Book Award fiction lists, which usually get the most attention, had been "very eccentric" and that allowing critics and booksellers as judges could... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'
[ Crains New York | 2013-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 10/08/2011 - 10:39 Marcella Berger is retiring from Simon & Schuster US from her position as vice president, director of subsidiary rights, after 35 years with the publisher. Among the titles and authors Berger sold rights to are journalist... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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