Announcing "The Blooker Prize," the World's First Literary Prize for "Blooks," alias Books Based On Blogs or Web Sites

October 10, 2005 (London, UK and Raleigh, NC) – The world's first literary prize for books based on blogs or web sites - known for short as "blooks" - is announced Monday by its sponsor, Lulu (www.lulu.com), a website that enables anyone to publish and sell their own books.

The Lulu Blooker Prize (www.LuluBlookerPrize.com) will be a global competition honoring the hybrid literary form of blooks, a new form of an old media and one of the hottest new publishing and online trends.

The prize will honor blooks in three categories: fiction, non-fiction, and web-comics. The overall winner will receive $2,000, and winners in the other two categories $1,000 each, in addition to a small piece of literary immortality and something approaching glory in the expanding realm known as the blogosphere.

The contest, which is open to books published by conventional publishing houses as well as independent (self) publishers, will be judged by a panel of figures prominent in both the online and offline publishing worlds, chaired by Cory Doctorow (www.craphound.com), the noted, London-based science-fiction author, blogger co-editor of BoingBoing (www.boingboing.net) the world’s most linked-to blog.

Doctorow, who develops his own books from notes and ideas posted on his weblog, believes that blooks are distinct from traditional books:
"Blogs encourage their authors to publish in small, partially formed chunks," says Doctorow. "Previously, they might have been kept in the author's notebook, but something amazing happens when you post them online: readers help you connect them, flesh them out and grow them into fully-fledged books or blooks."

Other judges include Robin "Roblimo" Miller (www.roblimo.com) of Slashdot (www.slashdot.org) and Paul Jones (www.ibiblio.org/pjones/wordpress/), founder of iBiblio.org. All judging will be independent of the contest sponsor and no favor will be shown to blooks published on Lulu.

The Lulu Blooker Prize, whose title is an affectionate nod to another important literary prize, will take place annually. Winners will be announced April 3, 2006. Details for submitting blooks for consideration appear at www.LuluBlookerPrize.com.

About Lulu (www.lulu.com): Lulu is the world's fastest growing source of print-on-demand book publishing. Founded by Bob Young, who previously co-founded Red Hat, the open source software company, Lulu provides independent publishers with free access to on-demand publishing tools for books, e-books, music, DVDs, images and calendars.

MORE INFORMATION: Stephen Fraser, pr@lulu.com

Comments

[David St Lawrence]

Great idea!

I forsee a lot of interest in this literary contest for blooks. Lulu is to be commended for good timing and good judges.

I am entering my book, Danger Quicksand - Have A Nice Day, in the contest. Three copies will be in the mail this morning.

Thanks for the opportunity!

[Owen Linderholm]

I should have know that you would be here before me David!

Very interesting idea. I would have thought categories based around single or multiple blogs and content developed substantially for a blog or intended for another medium would have been more insteresting.

I, too, shall be entering Digital Dish.

I'm most excited to see what else is out there...