USA: Librarians and readers vote for their favourite authors in the first Quills book awards ceremony in New York

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling led the list of writers winning prizes at the first Quill Book Awards on Tuesday (October 11, 2005), and singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the biography/memoir prize. The Quills, which organizers have sought to make flashier than other literary awards, added "Oscar" touches like a red carpet for authors arriving at the event, comedy stars to entertain guests and some well-known hosts from the television world. The winners were determined by readers voting online from a list of nominees put forward by a national panel of 6,000 librarians and booksellers. The event will be broadcast on NBC television on Oct. 22. Rowling won the prize for book of the year and best children's book for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," while Dylan won best biography/memoir for "Chronicles: Volume One," his personal history as a musician and tortured pop icon. Neither author was on hand to accept the award. But Rowling, who said her travel was limited. "Sex and the City" star, Kim Cattrall mingled on the red carpet with the author whose book inspired the TV series, Candace Bushnell. Cattrall who is also a writer, was a presenter in the "Debut Author of the Year" category, won by Elizabeth Kostova. The authors at the first Quill presentations were thrilled about being judged by their readers instead of by literary critics. "It is a good idea though to have an award that is driven by the consumers and not by critics, because that tells you what people are really interested in, what they're reading," said Deepak Chopra, who won the award in the "Religion/Spirituality" category. Sue Monk Kidd beat established writers like Nick Hornby and Isabel Allende in the "General Fiction" category for her novel "The Mermaid Chair". She agrees that readers should choose the Quill winners. "The nominating board were librarians and booksellers who really have a sense of books and then they offer readers a good choice I hope and so then readers can weigh in," she said. Among other prize winners, David McCullough's "1776," about George Washington's struggles in the year U.S. independence was declared, was the top history/current events/politics book. The awards, which were given for books published and marketed in the United States for the year ended July 31, were given for 19 categories including audio books, children's books and graphic novels. The Quills mark a challenge to the more staid National Book Awards and the Pulitzer prize, which have tended toward works with strong literary merit but little public recognition. The award's promoters aim to gain the kind of recognition that the Booker Prize bestows on British authors.

ITN Source | October 20, 2005

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