2009 Whitney Awards Changes

by Robison Wells

I'm happy to announce that there have been a couple of changes to the Whitney Awards. The Whitneys have been a success in the past two years, but we're always trying to improve them, so we tweak and adjust as necessary. While I freely admit that these alterations are not perfect, I do believe that they are a step above last year's methods. (And, as always feel free to contact the Whitney Committee if you have any suggestions or comments.)

So, without further ado:

Rules Changes

• We will no longer be announcing finalists for the two overall awards (Best Novel of the Year and Best Novel by a New Author). Here's the reasoning behind this change: there are six genre categories each with five finalists. If Best Novel of the Year only has, for example, one romance as a finalist, then a voter might thing "The judges have already told me which romance is the best." In other words, the presence of the overall finalists is kind of suggesting to voters how they should vote in the other categories. So, we won't be announcing finalists.
  
  Now, it's important to note that this is mostly a perception issue. In the past two years, the voting academy has voted with the Best Novel "suggestions" less than half the time. However, it is a legitimate complaint, and we decided to address it.



• The overall awards will now be decided solely by the voting academy. When an academy member votes for Best Novel, instead of selecting from just the five Best Novel finalists, he/she can choose from any of the thirty genre finalists. Likewise, for Best Novel by a New Author, the voter can choose from any of the eligible genre finalists.



• Voters will have to certify that they've read every book they're voting for or against. This rule might cause the most private consternation among voters, but I don't apologize for it at all. Voters will now have to check a box for each genre category that says "I certify that I have read all the finalists in this category." Of course, this also means that in order to vote for Best Novel, the voter will have to certify that they've read all thirty finalists.
  
  Yes, this might be viewed as kind of a big burden, but: (1) more than half the voting academy is comprised of bookstore managers who easily can make that certification, and (2) voting without having read all the books will yield inaccurate results--how can a voter really say "Book X is the best Mystery" if they've only read two of the five?
  
  Now, a voter doesn't have to vote in all categories. If they only have read two of the categories, they can vote in those. Our intent isn't to restrict voters; our intent is to get better results.
  
  (For what it's worth, we've always had this rule written in the ballots. But this is the first time that voters will have to check a box indicating that they indeed have read all the finalists. Yes, it's still the honor system, but we feel it's a good fix.)

Organization Changes

• The new Whitney Committee is:


• Robison Wells, President


• Julie Coulter Bellon


• Danyelle Ferguson


• John Ferguson


• Crystal Leichty


• Jaime Theler


• Sheila Staley



• A note about the president: many of you were probably aware that Kerry Blair had taken over the Whitneys as president for 2009. However, due to health problems, Kerry was unable to continue in that role, and I (Rob Wells) have resumed duties as president for one more year. The Whitney Committee wishes Kerry the very best.

As a sidenote, we have currently received several hundred nominations, and forty three books have enough nominations to move on to the judging panels. However, many great books do not have enough reader nominations yet. Go to the Whitney Awards website and nominate your favorites--don't assume someone else has already done it! You can continue to nominate until December 31st, 2009. Finalists will be announced on February 5th, 2010. Winners will be announced at the Whitney Gala on April 24th, 2010.