Whitney Awards Recap

Posted by Angela | March 27, 2008 | 9 Comments

So by the end of last week I was too pooped to pop, as they say. The week had been crazy–Easter preparations, a one year old with a mysterious rash, baseball practices galore, throwing a birthday party for my daughter involving 12 giggling girls, body glitter, and silly string–when what to my wondering eyes did appear, but an email from Robison Wells, head of the Whitney Awards committee, asking me if I wanted a free ticket to the awards if I agreed to blog about it here at Segullah. Which meant I would get to put on my pretty earrings. And eat a meal I didn’t have to cook, or clean up, or pay for. And, of course, hob nob. Rub shoulders. Revel in the glow of other authors’ famousness. All that.

Of course I said yes. And here is my promised recap.

Just a little background on the awards themselves. This is the first year for the Whitneys, and what a great first year it was. Sponsored by LDStorymakers, the awards started out as the brainchild of a few writer friends and then snowballed into this snazzy event with Wells heading things up. Due to significant contributions by sponsors– yourldsneighborhood.com in particular–the Whitneys were able to offer prizes ranging from $500 to $1000 for each award.

And far from being an awards program where friends get together and congratulate themselves (and I’d heard fears from some that this would be the case, since many of the authors involved in LDStorymakers are pretty tight), the Whitney committee instituted a rigorous selection process that worked to guarantee the best of the best was represented without the taint of favoritism. To be eligible for consideration, a book must have received at least five nominations from readers at the Whitney website, after which a panel of judges narrowed the nominations down to five per category. Finally, the finalists were voted upon by an academy of 285 industry professionals, including publishers, retailers, authors, bloggers, and critics. Then everybody got together to celebrate the winners at a fancy shinding which served as the capstone to the weekend-long LDStorymakers conference.

And here’s my take on the shindig itself:

Fanciness Level: Semi-formal. As far as wardrobe went, in my case, I decided to wear a simple black dress and the aforementioned sparkly earrings. Not too fancy, not too casual. But other people’s clothing ran the gamut from full-length sequined glamor gowns and tuxedos to nicely pressed black Levis.

And if I’m going to go all Joan Rivers on you, I’d say that Rachel Ann Nunes won the award for prettiest lady (she’s even prettier in person than her book jackets suggest, and she had on a really nice red dress), and Robison Wells in his tux won the award for snappiest guy (and I’m not just saying it because he gave me the free ticket.) And that’s as far as I’m going with the Joan Rivers thing–no worst dressed list, so sorry–because these are writers, folks, not movie stars. “Who are you wearing?” isn’t a question most writers ask when they get together. Although if they would have asked me, I could have said my shoes were Isaac Mizrahi. Okay, so Isaac Mizrahi for Target. On clearance. For $14.99. But he’s a designer so it counts!! My dress had been purchased at the high fashion boutique JC Penney, or “Penney’s,” for those of us on the inside.

Also, the tables at the Cottontree Inn in Sandy were decked out and the food was quite tasty. I did feel for the three young kids on the wait staff who had to dash from table to table, madly trying to take care of us all. But the chicken was moist and the cheesecake was creamy. And did I mention I didn’t have to make it? Or clean it up? Or pay for it?

Seeing and Being Seen: Although I was very firmly on the “seeing” side of things (probably no one even noticed my earrings, but that’s okay) there were lots of people being seen. The most well-known was probably Shannon Hale, who is not only talented and certifiably famous–she has the Newbery honor emblazoned on Princess Academy to prove it–but she is pretty and thin, which I must admit cemented my suspicion that life is not fair. Also, two famous Brandons were there, Brandon Mull, author of the hit Fablehaven, as well as Brandon Sanderson, an acclaimed science fiction/fantasy writer nominated for two books that night. It was great to see Dean Hughes, too, whose acceptance speech for his Lifetime Achievement Award was stirring and heartfelt and all-around inspiring.

The Awards Themselves: And after all the exhaustive reading and voting and tallying by lots and lots of peole, here are the winners. And I’ve included links to Amazon so you can buy them. BUY THEM! BUY THEM! Ultimately, the only way to support the best LDS writers is to buy their work. So here goes:

ROMANCE/WOMEN’S FICTION: Counting Stars, by Michele Holmes

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE: Sheep’s Clothing, by Josi S. Kilpack

YOUNG ADULT: Fablehaven 2: Rise of the Evening Star, by Brandon Mull

SPECULATIVE FICTION: Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale

HISTORICAL FICTION: Out of Jerusalem: Land of Inheritance, by Heather Moore

BEST BOOK BY A NEW AUTHOR: Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George

NOVEL OF THE YEAR: On the Road to Heaven, by Coke Newell

During the ceremony I was surprised to find that so many of these writers were funny. I mean, DANG funny. Most of the acceptance speeches were lots more entertaining and smart than what you’d hear on any given evening at the Golden Globes. (And no “You like me! You really like me!” moments.) My two personal favorites were Brandon Mull, who was so cute and self-effacing considering his substantial success (“I get so nervous during things like this and I think, ‘What am I doing? Why did I come here?’ But then I’m so glad that you guys don’t think I’m wasting my time. Writing about fairies and stuff. Shaming my father.’”) Trust me, it was funny.

Jessica Day George, the youngish first-time author of Dragon Slippers, was very winning as well. She’s a spunky and hilarious redhead who admitted she was thrilled to be nominated so she could get the chance to wear a prom dress she borrowed from her sister. In telling how the idea for her novel “downloaded into her head” one night when she was up with her non-sleeping baby, she said, “The first line just came to me and I knew I just had to write it, and I started to cry . . . because I was just SO TIRED!” (You’d think she’d be crying for joy, right? But any mom of little kids who’s trying to write will know where she’s coming from.)

And I’ve got to admit how wonderful it was to hear Coke Newell’s name read for novel of the year. Not only did it make absolutely clear that the Whitney process rewards all sorts of authors (we had winners who write for the national market, winners who write very faithful Deseret Book offerings, and winners like Coke who write earthier fare), but it gave me hope that books from Zarahemla and Parables and other smaller publishers might someday get shelf space in Deseret Book and Seagull stores. For a very interesting discussion on what Coke Newell’s win means for LDS lit, see A Motley Vision’s take on the evening.

So I could say more, but I’ll end with this. There are lots of talented, passionate, interesting Mormon writers out there, writing both within the LDS market and outside it. And I’m so grateful that a handful of hardworking people decided to dedicate probably thousands of hours–and lots of their own dollars, I’d wager–to provide this forum to celebrate these writers, as well as to introduce them to the rest of us. I know that many readers here at Segullah say they don’t read literature written by Mormon authors. One of the reasons they don’t is because they don’t trust it and they don’t know where to begin. Our book buying dollars are precious, and we don’t want to spend them on just anything, especially if we’re afraid that “anything” might leave us disappointed. But, hopefully, the Whitneys will allow some of us a starting place to find the best of the best that our culture has to offer.

I ordered Dragon Slippers yesterday. I’m looking forward to diving in.

Category: Exploring LDS Lit

Comments

9 Responses to “Whitney Awards Recap”

delise
March 27th, 2008 @ 8:42 am

You made me feel like I was right there admiring dresses, laughing and savoring cheesecake with you. I know that I will feel more confidant in choosing LDS lit from these award winners because you are exactly right, book dollars are precious and must be spent on satisfying reads!
Stephanie
March 27th, 2008 @ 9:31 am

I was there and you described the evening perfectly. I agree, the acceptance speeches were much funnier than the oscars and really a joy to listen to. I can’t wait for next year. And yes, use your book dollars to buy the award winners or any of th finalists for that matter. Don’t forget to start reading new books and making nominations on the Whitney site so next years awards can be bigger and better.
Annette
March 27th, 2008 @ 11:29 am

This is a fantastic recap of the night! I got lucky enough to sit at the same table as three of the winners, and what a night it was.

I’m so glad the Whitneys exist, for several reasons. One is that it gives people who haven’t read LDS literature a good place to start. And another is that as the program continues to grow, I believe the quality of literature by Latter-day Saints will continue to increase as authors push themselves in hopes of getting a nomination.

I know I’m working my tail off. I’d love to get nominated a second time.
Heather Moore
March 27th, 2008 @ 11:52 am

Thanks for blogging about this. I had the same impression about the funny authors–Brandon Mull, Jessica Day George and Shannon Hale–they were all a riot. And Jeff Savage and James Dashner who were presenting. Maybe they all go to funny school before being allowed to write fantasies.
Emily M.
March 27th, 2008 @ 1:26 pm

Great recap. You really make me want to read the winners–when my book budget gets refilled, I am going to!!
Angela
March 27th, 2008 @ 2:02 pm

Maybe at the next LDStorymakers conference, James, Jeff, Jessica, Brandon and Shannon can do a “funny school” workshop. It would be a good time, at any rate.

I would love to hear what any of your thoughts are about the winners, if you’ve read them. I haven’t read ANY of them yet, which is completely embarrassing, but Dragon Slippers and On the Road to Heaven are next in line on my nightstand. My oldest son loves the Fablehaven books–so I have bought em, just haven’t read em, but I take his word for it that they’re good because he’s a discriminating reader–and my daughter is just old enough now to read Hale. The Easter Bunny gave her The Princess Diaries on in her basket. So lots of good reading to do!
Andrew of "Normal Mormon Husbands"
March 31st, 2008 @ 11:53 pm

Very good post. Brandon Mull and I served in the same mission from the MTC until we returned home two years later. He is one of the five funniest people I have ever met. It is great to hear that he is having some success and I’ll have to buy some of his books. Next time your are hobnobbing with the celebs, tell Mull I said, “Hola”.
Candace E. Salima
April 13th, 2008 @ 8:50 am

Hey there – I sat next to you at the table at the Whitney Awards. Love the recap. It was really a very exciting night as these awards were launched for the first time. The committee set rules in place to make sure favorites couldn’t be played. The judging committee, as you mentioned, is far and wide, of which I am one. Thanks for the great recap.

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