The Best of the National Book Awards Announcement

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77 Works of Fiction…
A short list of Six…
Only one will be Selected as…
the Best of the National Book Awards

The National Book Awards:
60 Years of Honoring Great American Books

In 2009, for the first time, the public will choose:
The Best of the National Book Awards Fiction

Why Fiction?

Continuity. In the 59 years of the National Book Awards, fiction is the one category in which an award has been presented every year.

Access. 74 of the 77 Fiction winners are in-print and available, the highest percentage of any category.

Public Awareness. The Fiction category has always included the most-well known authors, many of whom are still read today.

Celebrating the Awards

On July 7th, to celebrate the 60th National Book Awards the Foundation and its partners announced a campaign to select the Best of the National Book Awards Fiction. Writers connected to the Foundation were sent ballots with all 77 books listed. They selected three. The top six vote getters made up a short list, which was announced publicly on September 21st. Between September 21th and October 21st the public voted on the Foundation’s web site (one vote per email address). Each unique email address was entered into a sweepstakes for two free tickets to the National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner and two nights in the Marriott Hotel near Wall Street.

Significant Dates

July 7

• Campaign Announced to the Press and Public
• Public Relations and Marketing Begins
• Thumbnails of all 77 covers titles on the National Book Foundation’s web site
• Begin Book a Day Blog (until September 21) with book cover, personal notes by writers, and “This Year in Literature” information
• Ballots sent to 600 writers asking them to make three choices for The Best of the National Book Awards Fiction from the 77 listed
• Viral Page on Foundation’s web site with tile ads and other materials suitable for non-Foundation web sites (e.g., tile and banner ads)

August 15

• Top six vote getters tallied (short list)

September 21

• Press and Public Announcement of 6 Finalists to NBF email list
• Full information on the Foundation’s web site, including voting page
• Twitter tweets
• Eblasts from bn.com, borders.com, indienext.com, Baker & Taylor, HarperCollins and Ingram
• Ongoing eBlasts from the Foundation and other sites
• Key blogs to focus on Best of National Book Awards Fiction
• Additional downloadable material, including political-campaign-like flyers (e.g., Vote for Faulkner, www.nationalbookawards.org)
• On-line Voting on Behind the Wheel of the Bookmobile

October 21

• Voting complete
• Sweepstakes—drawing for two nights in a hotel in New York and two seats at the National Book Awards for all those who voted on-line
• Notification of winning book to publisher

November 18

• Announcement of Winner at the National Book Awards Dinner

Campaign Highlights

• Email support from on-line retailers and wholesalers Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor, and Ingram Book—up to 10 million emails
• Dedicated Public Relations Campaign
• Cover Story and Interview with the Foundation’s Executive Director Harold Augenbraum in Ingram’s “Advance” Magazine
• Video Interview with Harold Augenbraum on Barnes & Noble TV
• 60 Years of the National Book Awards Fiction Campaign from the Foundation
• Public Poll On-Line for Best of the National Book Awards Fiction
• Twitter, e-blasts, Facebook Fanpage, RSS Feeds
• Daily individual web pages for all 77 books featuring original content by writers and “The Year in Literature” feature
• Downloadable widgets
• Special Libraries Campaign through Baker & Taylor

The Best of the National Book Awards Fiction Blog: www.NBAFictionBlog.org

The Best of the National Book Awards Fiction Covers Page: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba77fictionwinners.html