The day the Newbery & Caldecott award winners were announced, two things happened: kidlit lovers grew outraged at the authors, Clare Vanderpool (Moon Over Manifest) and Erin E. Stead (A Sick Day for Amos McGee) getting bumped from The Today Show, and booksellers scrambled to get copies of Moon Over Manifest.
So far, the buzz about Moon Over Manifest is excellent–I’ve heard only good things, and I have a copy waiting on my Kindle. Why do I have a copy on my Kindle, rather than a hardcover I could take to a signing? Because all the bookstores in my area were either sold out, or hadn’t had their copies delivered in the first place. (I’m not sure what the delivery issue was, but one chain bookstore said their pre-Newbery order still hadn’t shown up.)
Moon Over Manifest, it seems, was a sleeper. Although it was released by Delacorte in October of 2010 to great reviews, it didn’t make many (if any) Newbery pick lists. Which means booksellers, both chain and indie, didn’t order extra copies, so getting a hold of the book the day of the announcement was quite hard. I hit three local bookstores that afternoon. Curious George, in Harvard Square, specializes in kids’ books; the Harvard Coop has three dedicated kids’ booksellers, including a children’s librarian on staff–and they came up empty.
Porter Square Books, also in Cambridge, had only two copies of Moon Over Manifest in stock. Here’s what Carol Stoltz, their children’s book buyer and manager had to say about shortlists:
We had a couple of copies [of Moon Over Manifest mainly due to our Fresh Ink program (where kids can read galleys of forthcoming books and write reviews). One of the kids read it and loved it and so we had copies in the store!!…
It would be easier if there were shortlists. That way bookstores would be able to feature all of the books on the shortlist – at least for awhile and probably be able to get the winner more quickly since the publishers would have more time to reprint. As it is now, however, we’re all in the same boat. As soon as the winners are announced, publishers are out of stock. You have to be very quick to order after the announcements.
For me, as a reader, not getting a print copy of Moon Over Manifest isn’t a big deal, because:
- I have a Kindle, and can download a copy. E-books never run out!
- I’m especially interested in kidlit & YA, so, failing to get an e-copy, I’d put an order on the book and pick it up later.
Shortlists might seem like a cheat to some folks–at SLJ’s A Chair, A Fireplace, And A Tea Cozy Liz wonders if shortlists cut into the buzz and excitement of guessing who’s up for a win. And they might. But shortlists also give bookstores time to get books on shelves and even handsell in the lead up to the awards. Without a list, stores lose sales–which means the author loses sales, too.
Reasons Shortlists Rock
- Bookstores can order in copies ahead of time
- Several great authors get a boost in sales in the lead up, not just the winner
- Booksellers can read and handsell ahead of time. Hand-sold books often translate to more sales, too, since they essentially get a word-of-mouth chain going. And that, as Pulitzer winner Paul Harding knows, can be A Very Good Thing
- Libraries, like bookstores, can get books on shelves and encourage kids to get reading by asking about their picks for the winner
- Reading books ahead of time, and forming opinions, means greater buzz overall–which translates to more book sales
And other organizations use shortlists. YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association (and a division of the ALA) uses a shortlist for the Morris Award and the YALSA Award for Excellence in NonFiction for Young Adults. Here’s their reasoning on the Morris (via Liz @ SLJ):
The shortlist will help raise awareness of the award and allow for new promotion and marketing to raise awareness about debut books for teens, ALA and YALSA.
And here’s the thing about a shortlist–it can’t take away the fun of guessing who’ll win what, not really. Because book folk like lists, and they like to talk books. So what if there’s a shortlist? Bloggers and readers all over will be guessing what’s going to be on it, anyway. And after the list comes out, they’ll be reading and rec’ing and discussing like mad, because it’s fun and interesting and they (we?) love it.
Did Clare Vanderpool lose out on sales because there is no Newbery shortlist? Honestly, I don’t know, but I suspect so. People who aren’t actually involved in the kidlit and YA world may have missed out on a book, meant to go back, and then forgotten all about it. What’s almost certain is that indie bookstores lost sales, which most can’t afford to do.
Did you get a copy of Moon Over Manifest the day the day the Newbery was announced? Did bookstores near you have it in stock?
