Comments on: A Modest Proposal for the National Book Awards http://blog.vromans.com/a-modest-proposal-for-the-national-book-awards Independent Bookstore Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:23:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: Luke Johnson http://blog.vromans.com/a-modest-proposal-for-the-national-book-awards/comment-page-1#comment-1078 Luke Johnson Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:26:12 +0000 http://blog.vromans.com/?p=893#comment-1078 The Academy is just trying to increase stalling ad revenue. But of course advertising $ is down, welcome to the real world and everyone elses' lives. Lowering the quality of the product is no way to increase revenues. The decision is just going to devalue the Academy's award currency. This video explains the situation better http://www.newsy.com/videos/658 . If this is how the entertainment industry is going to cope with low ad revenue, it's the beginning of the end. The Academy is just trying to increase stalling ad revenue. But of course advertising $ is down, welcome to the real world and everyone elses’ lives. Lowering the quality of the product is no way to increase revenues. The decision is just going to devalue the Academy’s award currency. This video explains the situation better

http://www.newsy.com/videos/658 .

If this is how the entertainment industry is going to cope with low ad revenue, it’s the beginning of the end.

]]> By: Paria http://blog.vromans.com/a-modest-proposal-for-the-national-book-awards/comment-page-1#comment-1070 Paria Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:52:55 +0000 http://blog.vromans.com/?p=893#comment-1070 I do like that tiny gold statue idea. I do like that tiny gold statue idea.

]]> By: Emma http://blog.vromans.com/a-modest-proposal-for-the-national-book-awards/comment-page-1#comment-1069 Emma Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:12:07 +0000 http://blog.vromans.com/?p=893#comment-1069 Hear hear. I'd love to see a wider scope of writers being recognized. Also, I think the National Book Award should change the actual award itself to a tiny little golden statue of a person walking down the street, reading a book. Hear hear. I’d love to see a wider scope of writers being recognized. Also, I think the National Book Award should change the actual award itself to a tiny little golden statue of a person walking down the street, reading a book.

]]> By: Paria http://blog.vromans.com/a-modest-proposal-for-the-national-book-awards/comment-page-1#comment-1068 Paria Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:55:09 +0000 http://blog.vromans.com/?p=893#comment-1068 Hm. Like you, I'm not sure whether enlarging the field of nominees would result in the selection of "better" books, because, like you said, that's so darn subjective anyway. I'm pretty anti-snobbery when it comes to book -- in fact, I just wrote a comment on the Book Maven blog railing against Sonya Chung for being elitist. And I think it would be good to broaden the field of nominees, because I think more choices means the process will be more fair and more interesting. I also believe that genre or even crossover novels are often discriminated against (probably because the people who pick the awardees don't often read genre fiction). But. I don't think that gaining a wider audience, by itself, should be a criterion for the big book awards. From what I understand, there's more pressure than ever in the publishing industry (heck, in every kind of media) for books to be commercially viable. The big book awards seem to be among the last strongholds against that pressure. I'm pretty sure people have gotten hysterical about the death of "high culture" dozens of times in the past, and they've always turned out to be wrong. Good art still gets made, and good books are still written, despite commercial pressures. Nor are quality and commercial viability necessarily mutually exclusive. But I don't think it's overreacting to say that the book awards are one of the few arenas in which books that are brilliant, but perhaps more challenging than what the wider public likes to read, are paid attention to and rewarded. If even the Pulitzer Committee gives in to the pressure to be more "accessible," then I worry that a domino effect will begin and we'll end up in a world where no one's motivated to write anything unique or difficult, because not only will it not make them rich, it won't even be recognized as good art, since all the arbiters of "good art" will long have sold out. It's one in the morning, and I'm not making much sense. But I really want to see what other readers have to say about this!! Hm. Like you, I’m not sure whether enlarging the field of nominees would result in the selection of “better” books, because, like you said, that’s so darn subjective anyway. I’m pretty anti-snobbery when it comes to book — in fact, I just wrote a comment on the Book Maven blog railing against Sonya Chung for being elitist. And I think it would be good to broaden the field of nominees, because I think more choices means the process will be more fair and more interesting. I also believe that genre or even crossover novels are often discriminated against (probably because the people who pick the awardees don’t often read genre fiction).

But. I don’t think that gaining a wider audience, by itself, should be a criterion for the big book awards. From what I understand, there’s more pressure than ever in the publishing industry (heck, in every kind of media) for books to be commercially viable. The big book awards seem to be among the last strongholds against that pressure.

I’m pretty sure people have gotten hysterical about the death of “high culture” dozens of times in the past, and they’ve always turned out to be wrong. Good art still gets made, and good books are still written, despite commercial pressures. Nor are quality and commercial viability necessarily mutually exclusive.

But I don’t think it’s overreacting to say that the book awards are one of the few arenas in which books that are brilliant, but perhaps more challenging than what the wider public likes to read, are paid attention to and rewarded. If even the Pulitzer Committee gives in to the pressure to be more “accessible,” then I worry that a domino effect will begin and we’ll end up in a world where no one’s motivated to write anything unique or difficult, because not only will it not make them rich, it won’t even be recognized as good art, since all the arbiters of “good art” will long have sold out.

It’s one in the morning, and I’m not making much sense. But I really want to see what other readers have to say about this!!

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