BBI Nonfiction Judges

2010 Best Books of Indiana Nonfiction Entries

Thank all of you for serving as a nonfiction judge in the sixth-annual Best Books of Indiana competition. You will find an entry form which provides background and basic guidelines for the competition at http://www.in.gov/library/judges.htm

Here are brief introductions and contact information for your fellow judges:

Mr. Michael Watson is owner of 20 Ants - a bookstore that collects and sells rare books with a focus on compilations of letters & correspondence, diaries & journals, first-person accounts & memoirs, fine press, literature, history, as well as interesting & unusual non-fiction. Mr. Watson is the past President the Independent Online Booksellers Association, past IOBA Standard Editor, and the author, co-author, contributing author, and development or technical editor of over 120 books. He can be reached at archetype@20ants.com.

Ms. Roberta L. Brooker is the Indiana State Librarian and responsible for overseeing the daily affairs of the Indiana State Library, which include developing and providing library services to Indiana citizens and the state government, for encouraging and supporting the development of the library profession, for strengthening the services of publicly and privately supported libraries in the state and for maintaining a complete collection of Indiana documents. She can be reached at rbrooker@library.IN.gov

Ms. Carolyn Statler is part owner of Three Sisters Books & Gifts in Shelbyville, Ind. Ms. Statler also serves on the Shelby County Arts Fest committee, and serves on the book selection committee for Shelby County Reads. She can be reached at 3sisters@threesistersbooks.com.

The decision process itself is up to the panel of judges for each category. Your panel can make individual decisions and then get together in person/email/phone to reach a group consensus, or you can make decisions as a group. You may want to use the “Evaluation Guide” to use in rating the books. Each panel picks up to three (3) finalists and from these chooses one (1) Best Book.

Important Dates:

September 20: The judging panel should provide the following: list of three (3) finalists and identification of the Best Book (email is fine).

September 21: Finalists will receive notification by this date.  Note: They will not know which book is the Best Book until the awards ceremony.

September 27: Identify the winner among the three finalists and collectively submit a 3-6 sentence comment for each finalist (see attached sample from previous year).

Please contact Drew Griffis at agriffis@library.in.gov if you have questions, comments, or suggestions during the judging process.