June 05, 2003 And the Winners Are… 2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Winners Announced FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kristen Gilligan 914-591-2665, x 1286 Email: [email protected] June 5, 2003 (Tarrytown, NY) -- The winners of the 2003 Book Sense Book of the Year awards were announced on Friday, May 30, 2003 by the American Booksellers Association during the Celebration of Bookselling at BookExpo America 2003 held in Los Angeles. Based on the nominations of ABA member booksellers, the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards fall into six categories: Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature and Children's Illustrated Book, Rediscovery, and, new this year, Paperback. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Little, Brown) won the Book Sense Book of the Year Award as best adult fiction title. The winner for adult nonfiction was Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (Random House). The winner of the paperback award -- presented for the first time this year -- was given to Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Perennial). In the children's category, the award for illustrated book went to Dear Mrs. LaRue by Mark Teague (Scholastic). Cornelia Funke, author of The Thief Lord (Chicken House/Scholastic) took home the Children's Literature category award. In the Rediscovery category, the winner was The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston (Odyssey/Harcourt). The list of 30 finalists can be seen at http://news.bookweb.org/read/1199. Nominations were drawn from the top Book Sense 76 picks of 2002. The Book Sense 76 is a unique bimonthly list of independent booksellers' recommendations. The tabulation of votes were handled by KPMG, and the results were kept secret until the winners were announced at the Celebration of Bookselling. The Book Sense Book of the Year was first awarded in 2000, as a successor to the ABBY, the American Booksellers Book of the Year, which was established in 1991, to honor the books that independent booksellers most enjoyed selling. The Book Sense Book of the Year award was inaugurated at BookExpo America 2000. ABA renamed the award in recognition of the growing strength of the Book Sense program, as well as the important role that the Book Sense 76 has played for independent booksellers in discovering and spreading the word to all stores about books of quality. In 2000, the Book Sense Book of the Year was awarded in both the Adult and Children's categories. In 2001, two more categories were added, Children's Illustrated and Adult Nonfiction. In 2002, Rediscovery, and, in 2003, Paperback were added to the growing list of categories. About the American Booksellers Association Founded in 1900, the American Booksellers Association is a not-for-profit organization devoted to meeting the needs of its core members of independently owned bookstores with retail storefront locations through advocacy, education, research, and information dissemination. The ABA actively supports free speech, literacy, and programs that encourage reading. The ABA is headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, and is located on the web at www.BookWeb.org. The association also hosts the annual ABA Convention in conjunction with BookExpo America each spring. The ABA is the sponsor of Book Sense-the national integrated marketing campaign for independent bookstores. Book Sense includes the Book Sense 76, the Book Sense bestseller lists, a national gift certificate program, and www.BookSense.com. For more information on the American Booksellers Association, e-mail: [email protected], visit www.BookWeb.org, call 1-800-637-0037, fax 1-914-591-2720, or write to ABA, 828 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591.