The Whitney Awards - A Sleeping Marketing Giant

The 2010 Whitney Awards were awarded earlier this month.  What do you know about the Whitney Awards?  

- Do you know what they are? 

- Are you involved in the process? 

- Do you know how to be involved in the process?  

- Do you use the Whitney Awards in marketing some great LDS Novels you sell in your store and website every day? 

I knew there was a novel award called the Whitney Awards, but I couldn't tell you much more about it and didn't really use it for marketing when I worked in the day-to-day running of a bookstore.  I think I was missing a tremendous marketing opportunity. But it's not too late!

I went to the Whitney Awards Website and talked to Josi Kilpack, Whitney Award President, to find out more about the Whitney Awards for myself.  Following is what I learned.

What are the Whitney Awards? 

The Whitneys are an awards program for novels by LDS authors. 

Elder Orson F. Whitney, an early apostle in the LDS church, prophesied “We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own.” 

Since we have that as our goal, we feel that we should also honor those authors who excel and continually raise the bar.

What categories of novels are awards given?

-  General Fiction

-  Romance

-  Suspense/Mystery

-  Speculative Fiction

-  Speculative Youth Fiction

-  Youth Fiction

-  Historical

-  Best Novel of the Year

-  Best Novel by a New Author

What are the eligibility requirement for a book to me nominated?

Following are a few of the eligibility requirements - click here to see the full list of eligibility requirements:

-  Copyright date must be between January 1st and December 31st of the award year. -  Novels must be written by a member or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

-  Novels are eligible whether or not the author is a member of LDStorymakers, Inc.

-  Novels are eligible whether or not they have been published by traditionally LDS publishers.

How are Novels nominated?

Novels can be nominated by any reader (via the Whitney Award website or by mail). The nominator must provide:

i. The Title, Name of Author, and Name of Publisher of the nominated work

ii. The Nominator’s name, email address, and contact information

iii. The Nominator’s age; the nominator must be older than twelve years.

Have you already read any good LDS Novels this year?   

Want to nominate it?

Click here to nominate a novel you've read this year.

 (p.s. - I'm nominating 3 today when I get done with this post)

Who can vote for the Whitney Award Winners from the Whitney Award Finalists?  

Nominees are voted on by an academy of industry professionals, including authors, publishers, bookstore owners, distributors, critics, and others.

Final Ballots will be sent (either in print or electronic form) to all members of the Awards Academy no later than January 31st of the year following the award year.  The Awards Academy will consist of:

-   All eligible LDS authors

-  Eligible LDS publishing companies

-  Other professionals in the industry (such as bookstores, distributors, critics and media, etc) as determined by the Whitney Awards Committee -  Final Ballots must be returned to the Whitney Awards Committee no later than 15 days before the Whitney Awards presentation.

If I am a member of the Whitney Award Academy, do I have to read all the Finalist books to vote?

To vote in any given category, you must read all the Finalist Novels in that category to vote.

To vote for the Best Novel of the Year or Best Novel by a New Author, you must read ALL the Whitney Award Finalist novels.

How long have The Whitney Awards been around?

The awards were founded in 2007 and operate as an semi-autonomous subsidiary of LDStorymakers.

Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions

Let me ask you a few more questions - 

Do you know which books were nominated for the 2010 Whitney Awards?  Would you like to know?  Click here to download the Finalist PDF

Do you know which books won the 2010 Whitney Awards?  Would you like to know?  Click here to read a Mormon Times Article - Whitney Awards Honor Best in Mormon Fiction

Do you carry any of these titles in your store or on your website?

Are you still carrying any of the novels (either in your store or on your website) that were Finalists and Winners of a Whitney Award in any year? 

Do you draw attention to the fact that a book was a Whitney Award Finalist or Whitney Award Winner?  

Both deserve attention when you consider the number of novels that are published every year, and could be used to help market those novels.

Do you know the . . .

Whitney Award Finalist in 2007?  Click here to see . . .  

What about the Whitney Award 2007 winners?  Click here to see . . .

How about the 2008 Whitney Award Finalists?  Click here to see . . .

How about novels that won a Whitney Award in 2008?  Click here to see  . . .

How about the 2009 Whitney Award Finalists?  Click here to see . . .

How about novels that won a Whitney Award in 2009?  Click here to see . . .

Have you done anything to educate your customers, who are readers and could nominate a novel, what the Whitney Awards are and how they can participate?

Have you or any of your customers nominated a novel for a Whitney Award?  If not, what can you do to change that and get involved?

If you've already used the Whitney Awards to help market novels in your store and on your website, share with us what you have done.

If, like me, you didn't really understand what the Whitney Awards were or how you could participate -- and haven't used them to help you market novels in your store -- Tell me

What ideas have been popping into your head 

as you have read this article?  

NOW

What are you going to do about it?