BTW News Briefs

Tim Russert BEA 2006 Keynote Podcast Available

BookExpo America has made available the May 2006 podcast of Tim Russert's opening night keynote speech from BookExpo America in Washington, D.C. Russert died on June 13, 2008.

At the time of the keynote, Russert had just released his book, Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters From Daughters and Sons (Random House), and during his speech he welcomed BEA to Washington, D.C. and shared his insights on family life as well as Washington politics.

2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children's Literature

The winners of the 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards were announced on June 18. Presented annually since 1967, the awards are customarily given in three categories: Fiction and Poetry, Picture Book, and Nonfiction. This year, as happens occasionally, the judges also awarded a Special Citation.

The 2008 winners are:

• Nonfiction: The Wall by Peter Ss (Foster/FSG)
• Fiction and Poetry: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney (Little, Brown)
• Picture Book: At Night by Jonathan Bean (FSG)
• Special Citation: The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Levine/Scholastic)

The judges selected two honor books in each category:

• Nonfiction: Frogs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic); and What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic)
• Fiction and Poetry: Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell (Atheneum); and Savvy by Ingrid Law (Walden/Dial)
• Picture Book: Fred Stays with Me! by Nancy Coffelt, illustrated by Tricia Tusa (Little, Brown); and A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee (Harcourt)

All children's and young adult books published in the United States between June 2007 and May 2008 were eligible for the award. The winning authors and illustrators may be citizens of any country. Winners in each category receive a cash prize and an engraved silver bowl. Honor book recipients receive an engraved silver plate. The acceptance speeches of the award winners will be published in the January/February 2009 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.

New York Times on Small Publishers and Amazon's 'Buy' Button

In a June 16 article by Doreen Carvajal, the New York Times reported that Amazon.com "has adopted the literary equivalent of a nuclear option for rebellious publishers who balk at its demands."

According to the Times, Amazon has disabled the "buy now with 1 click" icon on its British Web site for hundreds of books published by the British unit of Hachette Livre in a dispute over the division of revenue from online sales.

The Times noted that "customers can still buy the affected books, but they have to navigate to an open marketplace that links them to third-party sellers of new or used books. And they have to pay for shipping."

Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild in the U.S., told the Times: "This is such a clear indication that once they have the clout they are willing to use it to the full extent that they can. It's ugly with Amazon and will probably get uglier."

The Times said that Amazon was saying little about its actions.