TWBG Announces James Patterson Page Turner Awards

-- Library Journal, 8/31/2005

Are you a librarian who loves getting patrons jazzed about books? Then you might have $25K coming your way: the Time Warner Book Group (TWBG) and best-selling author James Patterson have created a new annual award “intended to single out and support people, companies, schools, and other institutions [i.e., libraries] [that] find original and effective ways to promote the excitement of books.” Dubbed the James Patterson Page Turner Awards, the annual prizes offer serious cash in three categories:

• $25,000 to a person, company, or institution that presents books to the public in an exciting and original way.
• $25,000 to an elementary school, middle school, or high school that inculcates the joy of reading for pleasure in its students. The winning school will also win a visit from Patterson for a day of reading, signing, and talking about books.
• $25,000 in the form of 25 $1000 merit awards to individuals and institutions making notable contributions to promoting the excitement of books.

Full details about the award and nomination process are available at www.PattersonPageTurner.org. Additionally, First Book, the nonprofit group that provides books to children from low-income families, is donating 1000 books to disadvantaged children in the cities of choice of the two $25,000 winners. “This country is full of heroes who spread the fire about reading,” Patterson said. “I hope we can find them, thank them, and help them communicate their ideas far and wide.” Deadline for nominations is October 15, 2005, with winners announced in November. Librarians: win this money!