New National Book Award Launched

The Quill Awards invite readers to choose their favorites

By Eric Oatman -- School Library Journal, 9/1/2005

Right now, you and everyone you know have an opportunity to help select the winners of the Quill Awards, a new “readers' choice” competition that honors excellence in book publishing. NBC Universal Television Stations and Reed Business Information, parent company of School Library Journal, have teamed up to provide seed money for the awards program and to underwrite its launch.

The books were chosen by a nominating board of librarians and booksellers, who whittled down a list proposed by some 6,000 of their colleagues. The end result: 95 nominations in 19 categories, ranging from picture books, chapter books, and YA books to adult books on history, sports, and cooking.

The involvement of readers in the selection process isn't the only extraordinary feature of the program. Each year, the Quills executive council will present a Lifetime Achievement Quill to an individual who has made a significant contribution to literacy in the United States. Winners will be announced on October 11 at a formal event hosted by NBC anchor Brian Williams. A follow-up Quill Awards TV special, hosted by Al Roker and Jane Hanson, will be broadcast Saturday, October 22, on NBC Universal's 14 owned and operated TV stations. Proceeds from these events will benefit the nonprofit Quills Literacy Foundation, which was created to fund promising literacy programs throughout the country.

Vote online, at www.quillsvote.com, or at a kiosk at any Borders Books and Music store. Open to children as well as adults, the contest has no age restrictions. But act fast—voting ends September 15!

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