Is There a Whitney Bump Yet?

I like the idea of recognizing and rewarding excellence in LDS fiction with the Whitney awards. It's been just over two months since the first awards were given, and I was wondering if you had heard, either through anecdotes or statistics, if the nominees and winners have seen an increase in interest and sales. Just curious.

I hadn't heard, so I contacted Chris Bigelow at Zarahemla Books and asked him your question. Here is his reply.


While Zarahemla Books published the first-ever Whitney Novel of the Year winner, Coke Newell's autobiographical memoir ON THE ROAD TO HEAVEN, you probably shouldn't judge the Whitneys based on our results. As a new, small publisher trying to carve out a more risky
market niche, we don't have much bookstore distribution yet, and many Mormon readers seem to be hesitant about buying books published by an edgy upstart. So far, our total sales on Newell's book are in the mid-hundreds and the measurable Whitney impact has been in the dozens. Even in the bookstore at the Whitney gala dinner, only five out of ten copies of Coke's book sold.

However, Newell and Zarahemla did get some good attention and recognition due to the award, more from bloggers than from the mainstream media. I think giving Newell this award was a good start for the Whitneys to demonstrate that all LDS fiction titles have an equal chance to win. I'm sure the Whitneys will continue to grow in stature and influence, but I don't know if either Zarahemla or the Whitneys did enough post-award promotion, including to the LDS
bookstores. I would love to hear what other Whitney-winning publishers and authors have experienced and how they have followed up on winning the award.

Chris Bigelow
Publisher, Zarahemla Books


I'd also love to hear if other publishers/authors who won a Whitney noticed an increase in sales or recognition after the award. Please post your experiences in the comments section.

Changes for the Whitney Awards

I received an e-mail this morning about changes to the Whitney Awards, judging committees, etc. I think this is a great step and the changes will make some needed improvements to the process.

Which is not to say that I think the Whitneys were defective before. No! They were/are wonderful and I whole-heartedly support the Whitney committees and their efforts to acknowledge and reward top notch LDS fiction.

Go, Whitneys!

Oh, sorry. Got carried away there. Go HERE to read the changes.

Whitney Award Winners!

The Whitney Awards Gala was held this past Saturday night. They announced the winners, which I've posted below. If you're interested in reading more about the gala, they did live blogging here.

Best Novel of the Year:
On the Road to Heaven by Coke Newell
(Which, if you'll notice, is one of our blog sponsors this month.)



Best Novel by a New Author:
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George



Best Romance/Women's Fiction:
Counting Stars by Michele Paige Holmes



Best Mystery/Suspense:
Sheep's_Clothing by Josi Kilpack



Best Young Adult/Children:
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull



Best Speculative Fiction:
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale



Best Historical:
Out of Jerusalem #4: Land of Inheritance by H.B. Moore

Lifetime Achievement Awards:
Jennie Hansen, Anita Stansfield, Dean Hughes

I was pleased with the outcome of the voting, although I voted differently on a couple of them. However, I do think that the winning books are representative of the best of LDS fiction. Congratulations to all the winners!

If you haven't already read these winning books, I suggest you do. They're great. In fact, almost all of the finalist books are very well done. I encourage you to try them.


On a couple of unrelated topics:

**If any of you readers attended the LDStorymakers Conference this past weekend and would like to do a little write-up of the classes you attended—highlight some of the main points, what you thought was best about them, etc.—I'd be happy to post them here and give you a byline. E-mail them to me, putting LDStorymakers in the subject line. Be sure to include the title of the class and the name(s) of the instructor. Please do not plagiarize, but rather summarize the best ideas from the class. If you do quote the instructors directly, give them credit and use quotation marks.



**Also, this e-mail came in after I began my wonderful flu-inspired hiatus. (I'm feeling better now, btw.)

Hi there! I just thought I’d let you know that tomorrow I’m doing a post on Segullah about the “Awards Season” in LDS lit right now: The AML awards and the Whitneys. I’ve invited any nominated or award winning author this year to pop over and promote his or her book in the comments section. I’ve emailed the Whitney people and Zarahemla and some other folks to let them know, but I know that a lot of authors visit your blog, too. So if you’re interested in linking to it, you can find it tomorrow at www.segullah.org/blog. —Angela Hallstrom

Whitney Finalists Announced

The finalists for the Whitney Awards have been posted. Go take a look.

And speaking of the Whitney Awards, I've updated the sidebar to start the list for 2008. There is also a link to the list from 2007.

2007 Books Eligible for Whitney Awards

• A Quiet Promise - Anita Stansfield
• A Return to Christmas - Chris Heimerdinger
• A Various Language - Bob Lonsberry
• A View from the Attic Window - Arlene Roberts
• A War of Gifts - Orson Scott Card
• Against an Amber Sky - H.R. Holm
• Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians - Brandon Sanderson
• Ambushed in Africa - Sian Ann Bessey
• As Time Goes - Jerry Borrowman
• At Some Disputed Barricade - Anne Perry
• Austenland - Shannon Hale
• Backtrack - Betsy Brannon Green
• Before the Dawn - Dean Hughes
• Beyond the Horizon - Judy C. Olsen
• Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale
• Brother Brigham - D. Michael Martindale
• Bullies in the Headlights - Matthew Buckley
• Chaos - Jeff Downs
• Chosen - Steven A. Cramer
• Cleansing Hunt - Greg Park
• Cliff Hanger - Pamela Carrington Reid
• Counting Stars - Michele Paige Holmes
• Dark Sky at Dawn - L.C. Lewis
• Dead Sexy - Amanda Ashley
• Delicious Conversation - Jennifer Stewart Griffith
• Desire of Our Hearts - Sariah S. Wilson
• Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys - Janet Jensen
• Dragon Slippers - Jessica Day George
• Dragons of the Highlord Skies - Maragaret Weis, Tracy Hickman
• Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
• Evidence - Clair M. Poulson
• Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star - Brandon Mull
• First Day - Allyson Braithwaite Condie
• Flying Home - Rachel Ann Nunes
• Forgotten Love - Kara Hunt
• Fury and Light - Chris Stewart
• Ghost of a Chance - Kerry Blair
• Grave Secrets - Marlene Austin
• Hazardous Duty–Betsy Brannon Green
• Hopiland Christmas - Bob Lonsberry
• Horse Stone House - Harold Kay Moon
• How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend - Janette Rallison
• Hunting Gideon - Jessica Draper
• I Am Not Wolf - Roger Terry
• Icing on the Cake - Elodia Strain
• In Search of Heaven - Anita Stansfield
• Invasive Procedures - Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston
• Jack Knife - Virginia Baker
• Jesse's Highway - Barbara Miller
• Kindred Spirits - Christopher Kimball Bigelow
• Land of Inheritance: Out of Jerusalem - H.B. Moore
• Leven Thumps and the Eyes of Want
• Loyalty's Web - Joyce DiPastena
• Midnight Whispers - Carol Warburton
• Mistborn: The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson
• Moon Without Magic - Michael O. Tunnell
• Night's Touch - Amanda Ashley
• Notes on a Near-Life Experience - Olivia Birdsall
• On the Road to Heaven - Coke Newell
• Please, No Zits! - Anne Bradshaw
• Professor Winsnicker's...Proper Etiquette - Obert Skye
• Reasonable Doubt - Marcia Mickelson
• Rescue the Prophet - Rob Ficiur
• Revenge and Redemption - Brad E. Hainsworth
• Scottish Legend - Sherry Ann Miller
• Secrets in Zarahemla by Sariah S. Wilson
• Sheep's Clothing - Josi Kilpack
• Space Boy - Orson Scott Card
• Spires of Stone - Annette Lyon
• Summer of Truth - Carol Lynn Pearson
• Swans Over the Moon - Forrest Aquirre
• Tangled Roots - G.G. Vandagriff
• The Bishop's Bride - Elizabeth W. Watkins
• The Boxmaker's Son - Donald S. Smurthwaite
• The Candy Shop War - Brandon Mull
• The Deep End - Traci Hunter Abramson
• The Great Gathering - Chad Daybell
• The House Beyond the Hill - Michael R. Collings
• The Icing on the Cake - Elodia Strain
• The Independence Club - Rachel Ann Nunes
• The Last Cold Warrior - Howard Robinson
• The Lights of Mahonri Moriancumer - Phyllis Gunderson
• The Lost Sheep - Jeff Call
• The Makeover of James Orville Wickenbee - Anya Bateman
• The Operative - Willard Boyd Gardner
• The Princess and the Hound - Mette Ivie Harrison
• The Silent Patriots - Joann Arnold
• The Survivors - Gregg Luke
• The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright
• The Wizard of Ooze - David Farland
• This Is What I Did - Ann Dee Ellis
• Three Tickets to Peoria - Nancy Anderson, Lael Littke, Carroll Hofeling Morris
• Topaz - Jennie Hansen
• Upon the Mountains - Gale Sears
• Wet Desert - Gary Hansen
• When I Fall in Love - Lynn Kurland
• When the Bough Breaks - Kay Lynn Mangum
• Widow's Revenge - K.L. Fogg
• Winning - Bryce Christensen
• Worldbinder - David Farland

Whitney Awards Press Release

PROVO, UT—OCTOBER 23, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHITNEY AWARDS COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES LARGE CASH AWARDS

The Whitney Awards Committee announced today that they will be offering seven large cash awards to be presented at the upcoming Whitney Awards banquet in March 2008. These cash prizes are due to the generosity of the Whitney Awards’ marquis sponsor, ExclusivelyLDS.com.

Founded earlier this year, the Whitney Awards program is a non-profit organization dedicated to rewarding excellence among LDS authors. With the new sponsorship of ExclusivelyLDS.com, winning authors will receive up to $1000 along with their trophy.

The Whitneys offer a total of seven awards. The five genre awards (Best Romance/Women’s Fiction, Best Mystery/Suspense, Best YA/Children’s, Best Speculative Fiction, Best Historical) will each be accompanied by a $500 cash prize. The two overall winners, Best Novel by a New Author and Best Novel of the Year, will each receive $1000.

“We’re very excited about the sponsorship with ExclusivelyLDS.com,” Robison Wells, president of the Whitney Awards Committee, explains. “There is enormous talent among LDS authors, and every year seems to produce better and better novels. This is an exciting time to be part of the LDS fiction industry. Our hope is that these awards will raise awareness about the high quality fiction available from LDS authors, and to draw in new readers.”

Over a hundred years ago, Latter-Day Saint Apostle Orson F. Whitney declared “We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. . . . In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth.”

Anyone can nominate a novel published during the previous calendar year in any of seven categories, and a final academy of industry professionals will vote on the final ballot. Nominations are being taken for books published in 2007 by LDS authors at the Whitney Awards website: www.whitneyawards.com

###

CONTACT:
Robison Wells
Whitney Awards President
www.whitneyawards.com

Whitney Awards List

I received lots of titles and have updated the list in the sidebar. If you sent me a title and it's not on the list, it's because:

1. I couldn't find a working link to it


2. The link you sent had info that indicated it was not published in 2007


3. It was an e-book (which I don't think are eligible) My mistake. E-books are eligible, as are self-published books.
   

Please make my life easier:
When you send a link, please be sure that it is correct. Do not add spaces in the URL, even if it's really long.

Disclaimer:
By providing this list, I am in no way endorsing the quality or content of the titles on the list. This is for your information only. Read the books at your own risk.

I do know how to alphabetize:
For the one person who thinks I don't know how to alphabetize book titles correctly, I know that the "A" and the "The" at the front of the titles don't count. But you know, I have a real job and a real life which do not include alphabetizing the Whitney Award book list. Nor does it include categorizing them by genre or publisher--although you are welcome to do that yourself and put a link to your list in the comments of any of these posts. But back to alpahbetizing, I use Blogger's Links List widget; I click "Alphabetize List" and it does the rest. (This is also why I must have a working link for each title. The Links List widget doesn't let me list a title unless it has a link.)

Isn't this amazing:
I knew LDS fiction was growing in leaps and bounds, but I had no idea. This list is certainly impressive, isn't it? And we still have several months left in the year. Please, keep the new titles coming.

Books Eligible for the Whitney Awards

As I've said before, I think the Whitney Awards idea is wonderful.

I've been meaning to make a list of eligible books but haven't found the time. Stephanie, over on Write Bravely, has started a list and generously agreed to let me post her list here. I've posted it in the sidebar using the links she set up on her blog. If your book is on this list and you'd rather have it linked somewhere else, send me an e-mail with your preferred link.

If you have a book (or know of a book) that is eligible for these awards but is not on the list, send me an e-mail with the title, author's name and preferred link.

Everyone else, check the list for books that you have read and like, then nominate them for an award.

UPDATED (9/10/07):

1. This needs to be a self-policing list. I don' t have time to make sure everyone who requests to be added to this list is actually eligible. It's up to you to check the eligibility requirements to make sure you meet them. If a book appears on this list that is not eligible, someone please let me know.


2. I don't care where the link to the books go--publisher website, author website, deseretbook.com, amazon.com. It is up to the person submitting the title to provide the link. I will change the link upon request by the a) author, or b) publisher.
   

LDSBA Photos Compliments of Annette Lyon

Whitney Awards booth

The actual Whitney Award. Classy.

Annette Lyon at her book signing in the Covenant booth.

The Covenant banner for Annette's book.

The Whitney Awards

I've already seen info about the Whitney Awards on several blogs.

I cannot express what a fantabulous idea I think this is. Spread the word. Tell every LDS author you know about it.

Here is a link to the press release.


Odds & Ends:
LDSBA: On another note, we're moving into the home stretch for the LDS Booksellers convention this year. It's August 15-17. I mention this because for the next 8 weeks, my life will be crazy and it will be my excuse if I miss a day or two here. (If you click on the LDSBA label you can read all about last year's convention.)

CONTEST: Absolutely no one has submitted any marketing ideas to the contest. No interest? Or are your insulted by the cheesy prizes?