Behind the scenes of judging a national book award – what really happens!
Earlier this year, I applied and was successful in obtaining a place on the librarian reviewing panel for a UK based national book award. The Wilbur Smith Adventure Novel Writing Prize is run yearly and includes publishers submitting works written between publishing windows to the award. The award celebrates the beauty of adventure and therefore, all entries should transport the reader on a journey of some kind. As my reading tastes are personally when I hear the word adventure, I lean towards fast-pacing, surprises and a strong main character.
All the librarians were invited to a Zoom meeting where we were briefed about the history of the award and how to review submissions. I was told under strict instructions not to discuss what I was reading to other people both in person and online. When the system was completed, I was allocated a batch of entries to read. There were moments when I was reading behind the scenes at work and having my fellow colleagues walk past me and I had to keep shielding my phone or kindle away from them! It truly felt like I was a secret spy.
Following their instructions, I was able to send the files directly to my kindle and had to review them using an online form before the main deadline. We were allowed to put an entry down if we couldn’t get into it or if we wanted to question whether the entry had followed the rules of the award.
In April, I joined most of the librarian panel at Wilbur Smith HQ in London for the day to discuss my reading experiences and hear other panel members pitch their thoughts to try and convince the others to vote it as a potential longlist and shortlist entry. Myself and another librarian who was not able to attend loved A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J Cooke and we fought hard for it!
All of us enjoyed some Greek takeaway food before making the big decision of the entries moving forward to the longlist and shortlist. I had to rush for my tube and train back to Bath Spa but was pleased to be there for the final collective moment. The final decision wall was filled with post-it notes in ranking order of the overall favourite reads by all the panel.
You genuinely get the opportunity to broaden your reading tastes, work and time to professional deadlines and it is always a great thing to add to a professional CV. As a result, some of the entries I read were ordered for the BANES library stock, which are all available to borrow. There were also new industry connections I made that I stay in touch with. I look forward to participating in future awards!
– Alice