Publishers hate awards ceremonies almost as much as the public ignores who wins book awards.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Well – the awards ceremony circuit is pretty boring to begin with. Sure, it’s a chance to “network,” as if chatting awkwardly at a cocktail party while looking over someone’s shoulder to see if someone less boring or desperate is nearby. And it’s a chance for publishers and editors to lament recent changes in the industry, the decline of civilization as we know, the unfortunate rise of e-everything.

Oh, and there are the authors. Hopeful. Cynical. Maybe really grateful to be among the chosen few whom the elite of the publishing world decide to honor with an award that’s remembered only by agents trying to sell the winning or nominated author’s next book.

Awards are for a person’s CV, and for the chance to get an obit in a big newspaper – because you’ve demonstrated that something about what you’ve done, or about the friends you’ve made or the way you’ve carried yourself, was enough to get people to vote in your general direction. But as we all know, awards are not about the quality.

Can you name who won the last Academy Awards for best actor or actress or film? Can you remember the last winner of the Pulitzer Prize for…anything? How about the National Book Awards? Do you recognize the nominees? And what about the biggie? Who won the Nobel Prize for literature a few weeks ago? If you said Mario Vargas Llosa, congratulations – you can enter trivia contests.

Now, of course, people who win awards are often very talented.

But awards are for the insiders. Not for the readers or the world in general. Of course, it might make a person feel good to see and dismiss (or even like) an award-winning movie (“It must not be as boring as we think, it won an award!”), or to disagree with the received opinion after reading an award-winning book (“I can’t believe they gave this turkey a prize!“).

And, of course, awards are about marketing. Something other than the blurb from a friend of the author to put on the cover.

What about the thousands, the hundreds of thousands, of other authors whose work might be good, but who connect not with critics, or with awards committees, but with the public?

That’s where readers come in, and that’s where communicating with readers comes in. Sure it’s great to get a prize. But it’s better to have an audience, and a platform for your ideas. And to engage that audience with something more than a certificate for having attracted the notice of a coterie of special-interest groups who want to pat themselves on the back for having recognized your worth, even if only a few dozen people actually read what you wrote.

The 20 semi-finalists (in alphabetical order by first name, and split into two age groups) are:

Age Group 13-17 Age Group 18 and Older
Semi-finalists Semi-finalists
—————————– ——————————–
1. Alfie M., 13, Cambridgeshire, 1. Deb P., Cairns, Australia
England
2. Carolyn A., 15, Berkshire, 2. Debra M., Riverside, Ill.,
England United States
3. Hayley M., 16, London, 3. Graeme N., Saanich, B.C., Canada
England
4. Julia C., 15, Bedford, 4. Jennifer S., Mainz, Germany
England
5. Lucie C., 14, Devon, England 5. John O., Norfolk, England
6. Megan S., 14, Singleton, 6. Kay D., Bellevue, Wash., United
England States
7. Nicole M., 15, Eagle, Ida., 7. Laura C., Essex, England
United States
8. Rachael C., 16, Milton 8. Laura H., Fresno, Calif., United
Keynes, England States
9. Rhiannon D., 16, Jones Hill, 9. Nicole D., Somerset, N.J.,
Australia United States
10. Richard D., 13, Devon, 10. Rebecca W., Gloucestershire,
England England
Customers now have one week to vote for their favorite semi-finalist submission in each age group by logging on to www.amazon.com/beedleballads or www.amazon.co.uk/beedleballads. The first round of customer voting begins today and closes on Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. The entry in each age group with the most votes will move on to become one of two finalists who will compete for the grand prize.

In the final phase, Amazon customers will have one more opportunity to vote for their favorite submission to determine the grand prize winner of the trip to London and weekend with “The Tales of Beedle the Bard.” The two finalists will be announced in mid-May. In addition to being eligible for the grand prize, each of the finalists will receive a $1,000 gift certificate redeemable at www.amazon.com. The grand prize winner is slated to be announced on May 22.

To read the semi-finalist entries and vote for your favorite Amazon Beedle the Bard Ballad Writing Contest submissions visit www.amazon.com/beedleballads or www.amazon.co.uk/beedleballads.

The Amazon Beedle the Bard Ballad Writing Contest is sponsored by Amazon Services, LLC. For full contest rules and frequently asked questions about the Amazon Beedle the Bard Ballad Writing Contest, visit www.amazon.com/beedleballads or www.amazon.co.uk/beedleballads.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc., (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as books, movies, music & games, digital downloads, electronics & computers, home & garden, toys, kids & baby, grocery, apparel, shoes & jewelry, health & beauty, sports & outdoors, tools, auto & industrial.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), and Amazon Mechanical Turk.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and the Joyo Amazon websites at www.joyo.cn and www.amazon.cn.

As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, significant amount of indebtedness, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and subsequent filings.

CONTACT:
Amazon.com
Media Hotline, 206-266-7180

SOURCE: Amazon.com, Inc.

Last year, over 20,000 attendees enjoyed the beauty and serenity of Manhattan’s Central Park as they browsed books, listened to music and author readings and enjoyed our food vendors. This year, the June 28 day festival will offer expanded stages and new opportunities for authors, publishers, musicians and vendors. The New York Book Festival awards ceremony will be held on Friday evening, June 27.

The 2008 New York Book Festival will consider published, self-published and independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, children’s books, teenage, how-to, audio/spoken word, comics/’zines, e-books, poetry, wild card (anything goes!), unpublished stories, science fiction, horror, photography/art, romance and biography/autobiography works.

A panel of judges will determine the winners based on the following criteria:

1) The story-telling ability of the author.

2) The potential of the work to win wider recognition.

Entries can be in German, Portuguese, English, Spanish, French or Italian and must be published on or after January 1, 2000. Our grand prize for the 2008 New York Book Festival Author of the Year is $1500 and a flight to New York for the awards and our day festival in Central Park.

ENTRIES: Please classify your book and enter it in the following categories. Multiple entries must be accompanied by a separate fee for each book.

1) General Non-fiction

2) General Fiction

3) Children’s books

4) E-books

5) Comics/’zines

6) Wild Card (anything goes)

7) Unpublished Stories

8 ) Teenage

9) Science Fiction

10) Romance

11) Biography/Autobiography

12) Audio/Spoken Word

13) Poetry

14) Photography/Art

FESTIVAL RULES: New York Book Festival submissions cannot be returned. Each entry must contain the official entry form, including your e-mail address and contact telephone number. All shipping and handling costs must be borne by entrants.

NOTIFICATION AND DEADLINES: We will notify each entry of the receipt of their package via e-mail and will announce the winning entries on this web site shortly after the entry deadline.

Regular registration deadline submissions in each category must be postmarked by the close of business on May 25 , 2008. Winners in each category will be notified by e-mail. Please note that judges read and consider submissions on an ongoing basis, comparing early entries with later submissions.

TO ENTER: Click on the “ENTER THE COMPETITION” link at newyorkbookfestival.com and follow the directions to get an entry form. Forms may also be faxed/e-mailed to you by calling our office at 323-665-8080 or e-mailing us at NewYorkBookFest@aol.com. You may also register over the phone with a credit card. Applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable entry fee via check, money order, credit card payment or PayPal online payment of $50 in U.S. dollars for each submission. Multiple submissions are permitted but each entry must be accompanied by a separate form and entry fee.

Entry fee checks/money orders should be made payable to JM Northern Media LLC. We’re sorry, but entries must be mailed and cannot be delivered in person or by messenger services to the JM Northern Media offices.

Entry packages should include one copy of the book; any relevant marketing material; a copy of your official entry form; and the entry fee or receipt from online payment.

Entries should be mailed to:

JM Northern Media LLC

7095 Hollywood Blvd.

Suite 864

Hollywood, CA 90028

AWARDS: Winners of the 2008 New York Book Festival will be honored at a gala ceremony held the night before our annual day festival in Central Park. You do not need to be present to accept your award or accompanying prizes.

New York Book Festival winners in each category will be admitted free to the awards ceremony. The New York Book Festival selection committee reserves the right to determine the category eligibility of any project.

VENDORS AND MUSICIANS: If you would like to be a part of our day festival in Central Park, please e-mail us at NewYorkBookFest@aol.com for an application.

The New York Book Festival is produced by JM Northern Media LLC, producers of the Hollywood Book Festival, DIY Convention, London Book Festival and DIY Book Festival, and is sponsored by The Hollywood Creative Directory, eDivvy, Westside Websites and Shopanista.