Reminder! Two Important Book Sense Award Deadlines Approach

There are two important deadlines for booksellers to be aware of: Nominations for the Best of Book Sense 76 titles from the past five years are due in less than two weeks, on February 16. Additionally, nominations for the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year (BSBY) Awards are due on March 8.

Booksellers should especially note the fast-approaching February 16 deadline for the Best of Book Sense project, in which booksellers select their favorite Book Sense 76 titles from the past five years. To access this nomination ballot, click here.

Furthermore, in the February White Box, booksellers will find the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year (BSBY) Nomination Ballot, which is also available online (to access the 2004 BSBY form, click here). Not to be confused with the Best of Book Sense project, the BSBY is the annual award for the books that booksellers most enjoyed handselling during the previous year.

The Best of Book Sense

For the Best of Book Sense project, part of ABA's celebrations of the fifth birthday of the Book Sense marketing program, all employees of ABA member bookstores, from the backroom to the cashwrap, are encouraged to vote for the Best of Book Sense 76 titles of the past five years in adult and children's categories. Multiple ballots per store are encouraged.

In addition, by casting their ballots, booksellers will automatically be entered in a contest to win the grand prize of five nights' accommodations and admission to BEA for the next five years or one of four other prizes, to be announced.

Ballots to choose the top 15 adult titles and the top 10 children's titles from all Top Ten titles on the Book Sense 76 lists published since the program began in September 1999 are available online at www.bookweb.org/read/6665.

Ballots may be mailed, faxed, or submitted electronically. Ballots sent by mail must be postmarked by Monday, February 9, and addressed to ABA, 828 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591, Attn: Best of Book Sense. Ballots sent by fax to (914) 591-2720 or through the online form must be received by Monday, February 16. Only one adult and one children's ballot are allowed per bookseller.

The titles selected by booksellers as the Best of Book Sense, as well as the winners of the Bookseller Contest, who will be selected in a random drawing, will be announced at this year's BookExpo America in Chicago from June 2 - 6.

The 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards

The 2004 BSBY Nomination Ballot will be available to all ABA member bookstores. (Stores do not have to be Book Sense participating stores to nominate titles.) Booksellers can nominate five titles in the categories of Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Illustrated Children's, and Paperback Book of the Year. Only one entry per store is allowed; the first form received will be the official entry.

The nomination ballot includes titles that have been drawn from the Top Ten Book Sense 76 picks of 2003. In addition, stores can nominate write-in titles in each category. Only books published in the preceding year are eligible. Due to the fact that booksellers will have the opportunity to list their favorite titles of the previous five years in the Best of Book Sense project, there will be no Rediscovery category in this year's BSBY.

The top five vote-getters in each category will be announced in mid-March. All current ABA member bookstores will then have the opportunity to vote on these shortlists for the winning titles when the ballots are mailed in early April. Winning titles will be announced at ABA's Celebration of Bookselling at BookExpo America (BEA).

The deadline for nominations for BSBY is March 8, 2004. Ballots that are mailed must be postmarked by March 1, 2004. Please mail to: BSBY at Book Sense, 828 South Broadway, Tarrytown, New York, 10591. Fax: (914) 591-2720.