J.K. Rowling, Bob Dylan and Stephen King are among the nominees for the first annual Quills Awards, a glitzy literary affair for which the general public will cast the ballots.
(...) the Quills Awards consist of 19 categories, from sports to debut fiction, with five finalists for each.
Winners will be announced at an Oct. 11 ceremony hosted by NBC anchor Brian Williams, to be aired Oct. 22.
"This is the first consumer-driven awards program that acknowledges the power and importance of the written word and celebrates literacy," Jay Ireland, president of NBC Universal Television Stations, said Thursday in a statement.
From Aug. 15 to Sept. 15, the public can vote online at www.quillsvote.com. The prize will be promoted at bookstores and on NBC Universal stations. [article]
There are some great nominations (Harry Potter! Knuffle Bunny!) I'll have to track down some of the titles I'm not familiar with in the next couple of weeks to see what they're like. The categories/nominations for children's books:
Children's Illustrated Book
- America the Beautiful: A Pop-Up Book, Robert Sabuda
- Egyptology: Search for the Tomb of Osiris, Nick Harris, Ian Andrew (Illustrator), Helen Ward (Illustrator)
- Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Mo Willems
- Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook, Shel Silverstein
- Zen Shorts, Jon J. Muth
Children's Chapter Book/Middle Grade
- Dragon Rider, Cornelia Funke, Anthea Bell (translator)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling, Mary GrandPré (Illustrator)
- Ida B...and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Katherine Hannigan
- Peter and the Starcatchers, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
- A Series of Unfortunate Events Book the Eleventh: The Grim Grotto, Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
Young Adult/Teen
- 47, Walter Mosley
- Abarat: Days of Magic Nights of War, Clive Barker
- Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
- How I Live Now, Meg Rosoff
- Wormwood, G. P. Taylor
