Oscarette

Publishers plan awards

The Oscar. The Emmy. The Tony. The Grammy. Next, the Bookie? Now that the Association of American Publishers has replaced the 30-year-old National Book Awards with something called the American Book Awards, that is a distinct possibility. The association grandly suggests that "a plaque or statuette designed by a major American artist" be awarded to winners. Unfortunately, there is no promise as yet of a checkette drawn on a major American bank.

Although nearly all of the men and women on the American Book Awards committee are New York-based executives, their program sounds like something concocted at the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel. In a nine-page memo informing its members of the new awards, the A.A.P. proposal committee said that once winners have been chosen, "they will be announced at an awards ceremony that is envisioned as a gala evening of entertainment, a celebration for the industry, and a news event for the media." Following their flashier big brothers and sisters in the movie business, the A.A.P. has established an "academy." Organizations suggested for membership include not only hardback and paperback publishers but associations representing bookstore owners, jobbers, publicists, advertisers, librarians and, finally, authors and critics.

Nominating and balloting procedures appear to have more in common with political conventions than with literary panels. Independent committees from various parts of the business will select book candidates. The academy will distribute about 2,000 voting rights throughout the A.A.P. membership. In general, the bigger the company, the more votes it will be able to cast. Categories are no longer confined to such elite fare as poetry and belles lettres. New subjects include such mass-market items as religion and inspiration, selfhelp, cooking, crafts, gothic romances, historical novels, fantasy, science fiction, mysteries and westerns.

Publishers, many of whom have been taken over by entertainment conglomerates, should be pleased by these new arrangements. For years, officials in the book business complained that the National Book Awards refused to acknowledge the growth of popular reading habits. In 1971, for example, N.B.A. judges angered sponsoring publishers by rejecting Erich Segal's Love Story as too lightweight for consideration.

The American Book Awards cannot ignore serious writing. But as in a children's summer camp, there will be a prize for nearly everyone. In addition to the standard awards for the best novel and verse, there will be recognition for jacket designs and paperback covers. To reduce further the chance of disappointment, the academy assures its sponsors that a book that does not win in hardback will be eligible to compete in paperback categories the following year.

Estimated budget for this extravaganza of self-hype is $460,000, which includes start-up costs, staff, publicity, hall rent and partying. There is no specific allocation for authors who would rather take the money and write. The first Bookies are scheduled to be presented in the spring of 1980, when an appropriately distinguished M.C. suspensefully requests, "The dust jacket, please."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.