Quill Book Awards

Ya know, we don't hear much about the Quill Awards for literature. Admittedly, they're only a few years old, but it seems like authors, literary bloggers, and others in the field should be touting them.

The Quill Book Awards seem to be trying to bring attention to books the same way the Academy Awards glamorize movies and movie stars. This year's awards, which will take place on October 27th in New York will feature high profile presenters like Tiki Barber, Brooke Shields, Marlo Thomas, Ann Curry, Stephen Colbert, Mary Higgins Clark, Jonathan Groff and others.

They'll be held at the Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. And this year, for the first time, there will be a limited number of tickets available for the public to purchase.

But best of all, you and I can vote on the Book of the Year. Just go online if you want to see the list and place your vote. You have until October 10.

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone got excited about books? As excited about them as they do about TV reality shows?

If I remember right, the Quill Book Awards were broadcast the first year, but hardly anyone watched. Last year, it was apparently broadcast by NBC Universal stations. I never saw it, but you can watch a clip on the Quill Book Awards site. Now, I know when they broadcast the Oscar awards, part of the draw is seeing the movie clips. And when they show the Emmy awards, you get to watch TV stars cry in their dramatic moments from the soaps. But what everyone is really looking for is to see what the starlets are wearing.

You can get that at the Quill Awards. They dress up. They walk on stage. They give acceptance speeches.

Come on people, let's celebrate authors for a change!