National Book Award Tickets to Be Raffled at BEA

At this year's BookExpo America (BEA), the National Book Foundation will be raffling a pair of tickets to its 2005 National Book Awards Ceremony to be held on November 16 at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. All BEA attendees are eligible to enter the drawing to win the pair of tickets valued at $1,000 each. The contest was created to draw more attention to the National Book Awards and programs offered by the National Book Foundation, said Sherrie Young, senior program officer of the National Book Foundation.

"We want more people to know more about the foundation," said Young. "We want to encourage people to come to [our] booth so we can educate them about what we do around the nation." In addition to the awards, the foundation sponsors many other literary programs, including "The Pleasures of Reading," a project that brings National Book Award authors together with readers in small rural towns and inner city areas that are not often served by the established literary community.

Young told BTW that the foundation was also interested in informing booksellers and the public at large that the National Book Awards ceremony is open to everyone, although publishers and their guests usually dominate the audience at the $1,000-a-plate fundraising event.

To participate in the raffle to win a pair of tickets (travel is not included), BEA attendees should visit the National Book Foundation booth (#1425) on the trade show floor and leave their business cards. The winner will be announced on the National Book Foundation website, www.nationalbook.org, one week after the trade show. During BEA, the foundation will also give away National Book Award finalists' and winners' books to those that give the correct answers to book-related trivia. --Karen Schechner