PNBA Book Awards Announced

Awards Celebrate Five Titles by Northwest Authors

On February 15, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) announced the winners of its Pacific Northwest Book Awards 2002, which gives special recognition to five titles written by regional authors that were published in 2001.

According to Thom Chambliss, PNBA executive director, this year's list had one surprise. There are three children's or young adult books in the top five, he said, referring to winners Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (Greenwillow/HarperCollins); True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff (Atheneum/S&S), a Book Sense Teen 76 Top Ten pick; and Where Do I Sleep? by Jennifer Blomgren and Andrea Gabriel (Sasquatch Books). That's very exciting because we don't ask the stores to choose any particular category, Chambliss noted.

The other PNBA Award winners were Himalayan Dhaba by Craig Joseph Danner (Crispin/Hammer Publishing), a January/February 2002 Book Sense 76 pick, and Standing Up to the Rock by Louise Freeman-Toole (University of Nebraska Press).

The five novels were chosen by the PNBA Awards committee, which is composed of representatives from nine stores from the Northwest region, including Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Montana. PNBA hopes that the yearly awards will bring national attention to regional authors and books. Each author receives $1,000, as well as individualized, framed copies of the poster, bookmark, and shelf-talker.

Of course, its not just the winning authors who gain from the awards, it's also PNBA bookstores -- the Awards announcement offers each store a great marketing opportunity, said Chambliss, and a chance to win its own contest. The association will be providing each member store with a full-color poster and bookmarks highlighting the five books, as well as shelf-talkers for each individual book. Furthermore, PNBA is holding a display contest. Each store is encouraged to create a Pacific Northwest Book Awards display and to send a photo of it to PNBA. First prize is $300; second prize, $200; and third prize, $100. Each entrant will receive $50 (to cover the cost of the display).

For more information on the Pacific Northwest Book Awards 2002, or the PNBA, go to www.pnba.org. -- David Grogan