Ink-stained awards

First off, many thanks to Harry and Barry for spearheading the joint this week — and stay tuned next week for two more guests…

While I was away, the Quills — which seems to be publishing’s attempt to latch onto the so-called glitz and glamour that’s slowly eroding from the big entertainment awards — announced their nominees in a gaggle of categories. On the Mystery/Suspense Front, they are:

The Closers, Michael Connelly (Little Brown and Co.)

Eleven on Top, Janet Evanovich (St. Martin’s Press)

The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova (Little Brown and Co.)

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon)

With No One as Witness, Elizabeth George (HarperCollins)

The shortlist seems to be — how shall I put this — rather mainstream. But then again, that’s probably the point, considering the criteria:

a starred review in Publishers Weekly, a Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers Program selection, one of the American Bookseller Association’s Book Sense Picks, a Borders Books & Music Original Voices title, or an appearance on the bestsellers lists of Publishers Weekly, Book Sense, Barnes & Noble, or Borders.

If you’re a "consumer" of some sort, you can vote for your favorite in any of the categories up till September 15. The awards ceremony, hosted by Brian Williams, (no, not this one) will take place on October 11 but won’t be broadcast till October 22, when it will be compressed into a one-hour special.

Of course, several things come to mind:

  • Do they want to be like the Oscars, and run at least an hour too long, or the Golden Globes, where booze is provided at every commercial break and the acceptance speeches get to be a little more raucous than usual?
  • Or perhaps be like the Romance Writers of America and forget that in the end, it’s all about books?
  • Who will win the best dressed competition?
  • Who will have the best after-party?
  • If John Twelve Hawks wins for best "debut" author, will his acceptance speech be delivered over the air using some sort of scrambler to hide the fact that you know, he probably lives the next town over or something? (Never mind that I think I’ve come up with a suitable candidate…)

Any other things to watch out for, well, backblog away….