Post Number Thirteen*

*First Annual Quills Award to Air on NBC

Everyone gets their wish, a televised book award in America, well at least in some parts anyway. NBC has picked up the already announced Quills Award
to air October 22.

Gypsman over at Blogcritics.org had this to say :

With NBC signed on as their media sponsor and broadcast partner they seem all set to deliver an awards program that will bring sparkle and glitz to the previously staid world of publishing. With the integration of popular opinion into the process, they hope to generate renewed enthusiasm for the written word.
While it cannot be denied that there is the appearance of self-serving behind these awards, to be fair there are very few awards which are not industry generated. Why shouldn’t the book industry celebrate itself in the same manner as other mainstays of entertainment?
While some may decry this as simply a popularity contest without any basis on literary merit that argument weakens in the face of the selection process before voting begins. Besides, what’s wrong with having an award for books based on popular opinion? There are sufficient book awards already that are supposedly based on merit, for those authors whose work is gifted but not bestseller material, to be appreciated.

I think I’m quite prone to agree with him since the announced winner for Book of the Year: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and while I would hate to speak bad of Ms. Rowlings, giving her the Book of the Year Award is like giving the Oscar for Movie of the Year to Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith.

John Stewart also took an award for best Audio (as well as best comedy book) and Kim Cattrall, Candace Bushnell and Martha Stewart were all there to present.