BTW News Briefs

Lambda Literary Awards Announces Finalists

The Lambda Literary Foundation has announced the finalists for the 19th annual Lambda Literary Awards. Awards are presented in 25 categories, and winners will be announced on Thursday, May 31, at the Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony in New York City. Finalists were chosen by a jury of judges who come from all walks of literary life: journalists, authors, booksellers, librarians, playwrights, and illustrators. In all, 87 judges participated in the selection of finalists from the pool of 381 books that were nominated. For a full list of the finalists, go to www.lambdaliterary.org/.

Mystery Writers of America Name New Officers

On March 7, the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the election of its national officers for the 2007 - 2008 term, including President Nelson DeMille. DeMille is the bestselling author of: By the Rivers of Babylon, The General's Daughter, and Night Fall. Serving alongside DeMille will be Secretary Frankie Y. Bailey, Treasurer Bob Williamson, and Executive Vice President Daniel J. Hale.

 Mystery Writers of America's membership includes publishers, editors, literary agents, and screen and television writers, as well as authors of fiction and non-fiction books. The organization will celebrate the 61st anniversary of the Edgar Awards on April 26th in New York City. The awards will be hosted by Al Roker of NBC's Today Show and will honor Stephen King as the 2007 Grand Master. For more information about the Edgars, visit www.theedgars.com.

Lightning Source Announces Photo Book Manufacturing

This week, Lightning Source Inc., a provider of demand-based book manufacturing and distribution, announced the launch of a new photo book manufacturing solution. Lightning's new service, the company noted, "will provide software and retail leaders in the photo book industry with a scalable, cost-effective resource for high volume, one-off photo book manufacturing."

Lightning source is looking to capture a share of the photo book market, which is expected to grow to over $1 billion by 2010. The company plans to manufacture photo books in a variety of book formats and sizes, including perfect bound paperback and sewn case bound books.