Wednesday 11 March 2009

Diagram prize for Oddest Book Title

Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social MindA global perspective on soft cheese packaging, the summation of a lifetime's work on monkey-related philosophy, and the long-awaited book-length consideration of Large Sieves are among the books in contention for the Bookseller magazine's annual Diagram prize for oddest title, in a year that judges have declared outstandingly strange. This year's winner will be decided by a public vote at www.thebookseller.com, and will be announced on 27 March.
The shortlisted titles are:
Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind by Dorothy Dorothy L Cheney and Robert M Seyfarth (University of Chicago Press);
Curbside Consultation of the Colon: 49 Clinical Questions by Brooks D Cash (SLACK Incorporated);
The Large Sieve and its Applications by Emmanuel Kowalski (Cambridge University Press);
Strip and Knit with Style by Mark Hordyszynski (C&T);
Techniques for Corrosion Monitoring by Lietai Yang (Woodhead);
The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais by Professor Philip M Parker (Icon Group International).

The Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year is presented annually by The Bookseller magazine. The award was first presented in 1978, when the prize went to the superbly named Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice written by various authors. Librarians, teachers and bookstore workers can all submit suggestions for the award. A list of finalists is compiled by Bookseller magazine, and released for public voting. The Diagram is unique in that spotters and judges alike do not actually have to read the books in question. Indeed, they are actively discouraged from doing so, in case a close knowledge of the subject makes them realise the book is less odd than it first appears. The imagination should be allowed to run wild. Winning the Diagram brings no immediate monetary reward for the author; instead it is the spotter of the title who receives a bottle of champagne. But most winning authors have been delighted at winning the award and at the ensuing publicity their book receives.

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