National Book Awards
On Saleability or Quality?
By W. G. ROGERS
EVERY YEAR criticism of some continues to be in theory that the ies, they voted, with no one dis-
sort from some quarter fol- judges should have the book- senting, that the direction and or-
lows the announcement of the seller in mind when they pick a ganization of the jury part of the
winners of the National Book book. He's got to make a living, awards should be entrusted en-
Awards. hasn't he? Therefore help him. tirely, not to publicity agents, but
The awards were announced the to editors.
first week in March. By the sec- 'HIS IS NOT the way judges This year and two years ago in
ond week, practically all the hard- work - if I may speak from particular, the complaints were
working critical press was in there my own experience on two NBA that a specific best seller did not
hammering at somebody - the fiction juries and from my knowl- get the award - "The Last Hur-
judges for picking the book, the edge of all the judges who have rah" by Edwin O'Connor was fav-
sponsoring committees for picking served thus far. ored instead of Wright Morris'
the judges. They are instructed to pick the winner, "The Field of Vision," and
At the same time that they were "most distinguished" work in their "Lolita" by Nicholas Nabokov in- -
finding fault, they were commis- field, and distinction and sale- stead of "The Magic Barrel."
erating also with someone, for ex- ability may have something in Each of the non-winners was, in
ample with the authors who did common and may not have a sin- this reviewers opinion, a good
not win, but mostly for the poor gle thing in common, book; neither was so deserving
booksellers because the fiction Staunch support of the so- of the prize as the book that got
award went to a book that seemed called impractical, idealistic jury it. Over the years the judges have
not to be easily saleable. has come from a great many dif- picked only two books, in fiction
ferent sources: of course, that headed best seller
THE AWARDS have been sup- Harold Strauss, Knopf's editor- lists.
ported, these first 10 years, by in-chief, recently claimed that the
three organizations: American prizes are not intended to help sell I CAN WISH the bookseller pros-
Book Publishers, American Book- a particular book and absolutely perity as heartily as anyone,
sellers, and Book Manufacturers, should not be so intended. and I do. But we do not go to a
The ground work is done by de- Conrad Aiken, himself an NBA bookseller to "buy" something, we
voted and diligent committees of winner and judge, in response to go there because he has values on
the publishers' publicity agents. an iquiry from NBA went into his shelves that are really not
The awards this year went to the matter at some length: measurable by dollars andcents.
Bernard Malamud for "The Magic "One feels that the whole thing To award a prize to a "Lolita"
Barrel," short stories; Theodore is really aimed at the selling of so that it sells maybe 2,000 more
Roethke, for "Words for the books, rather than at the selec- copies in maybe 800 bookstores
Wind," poems; and J. Christopher tion of the best .. . Is tis be- will not add enough to the book-
Herold for "Mistress to an Age," cause its control is in the hands seller's income to make any dif-
a biography of Mme. de Stael. of publishers and manufacturers ference at all.
The commonest complaint, to and booksellers, and the 'selecting' But it will confirm his already
the effect that booksellers can process left too much in the hands enviable prestige if it is known
not sell short story collections, of the 'commercial' end of pub- that his list of commodities is
was not, as it happened, borne lishing, rather than in those of a headed by "the most distin-
out by the fact; at least, if stores panel of editors? guished" fiction of the year chosen
don't move "Magic Barrel" fast, regardless of its connection with
it nevertheless has some 25,000 FOR A THIRD witness, there is his cash register.
copies in print thanks to its choice a group of critics from all
as an alternate by the Book-of- across the country. At a dinner W. G. Rogers is art editor
the-Month Club. they have here annually in con- of The Associated Press.
But the underlying criticism nection with the NBA ceremon-
om, ou re Queen for a 2)aJ!
Mother's Day
May 10th 0_
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312 South State STATE STREET - ANN ARBOR
SUNDAY, MAY 3, 1959
a
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