The Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title 2019...

I was beginning to think that this may not be happening this year as the shortlist announcement is later than in 2018.

The mystery is solved and you can read the wry introduction to the 41st year of the prize over on the Bookseller website and the mention of last year's winner- kettles and water were involved...

This year's shortlist:

• How to Drink Without Drinking by Fiona Beckett.

 (As it's not due out until January 2020 I'm ruling it out of my possibles.)

• The Dirt Hole and its Variations by Charles L Dobbins.

 (Hunting related.)

• Viking Encounters: Proceedings of the 18th Viking Congress by Anne Pedersen and Søren M Sindbæk.

• Ending the War on Artisan Cheese by Catherine W Donnelly.

(Sadly not released until 28th November.)

• Noah Gets Naked: Bible Stories They Didn't Teach You at Sunday School by Xanna Eve Chown.

• Hitler's Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich by Eric Kurlander.

 (Published May 2018.)

You can vote via the link at the bottom of the page on the Bookseller website (link above) and there's time to consider the options before the 22nd November deadline.

This is going to be a tough choice. But I think many of them aren't so odd when you read the other text on the cover- you can find most of them on Amazon.

I suspect the Noah one will get lots of votes, it's definitely odd... so odd I voted for it.

It's a fun annual prize and the winner gets a bottle of Claret...

It's red wine from
Bordeaux...

Image by gerttaeymans from https://pixabay.com

Oddest Book Title Time Again...

Like me, you may have thought the annual Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year wasn't taking place this year.

Usually it's in the spring, and the chosen titles get coverage in the national press as well as on The Bookseller website.

As it's been run later this year it could have easily been missed.

So here's the contenders- and the result below that.

• The Commuter Pig Keeper: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Pigs when Time is your Most Precious Commodity by Michaela Giles.

•  Renniks Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Coin Errors.

• Nipples on my Knee by Graham and Debra Robertson.

• An Ape’s View of Human Evolution by Peter Andrews.

• Love Your Lady Landscape: Trust Your Gut, Care for “Down There” and Reclaim Your Fierce and Feminine SHE by Lisa Lister.

Now none of those titles really grabs me, but as I missed the shortlist announcement I haven't really considered how odd they are!

The Pig one, and the Lady Landscape seem the most bizarre...

Anyway with many of the previous winners having something to do with animals - "The Joy of Chickens (1980), The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories (2003) and Goblinproofing One’s Chicken Coop (2012)"; it really does suggest any vaguely odd title with an animal in will score highly.

So this year's winner was of course The Commuter Pig Keeper... with 40% of the votes. 

Runners-up were Renniks Australian Coins title with 32.7%, and Nipples on... with 13.9%.

Disappointingly the Lady Landscape title only received 2.8% of the vote. It was certainly odd, but perhaps the title could have done with a bit more work to improve its lucidity.

You may or may not want to read more, but if you do then follow this link over to the Bookseller website, or even better read the amusing views of diarist and administrator of the Diagram Prize, Horace Bent.

Odd titles just aren't as odd as they once were...

the winner...

image from Pixabay.

It's the Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title - The Shortlist...

Yes, it's time for the Diagram Prize again- the 38th.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that there was still time to nominate odd book titles from 2015, well the deliberations are over and the shortlist of titles has been announced.

The Bookseller administers the Diagram Prize - you can see the interesting range of book covers for the shortlisted titles here, as well as find out what each book is about (briefly).

Now it's up to the public to vote for their preferred oddest title. You can follow the Bookseller's link to the voting page, select your title and press submit, you don't even have to leave an email address...

I don't feel that this year's selection is as varied as in past years, but at least there are titles to choose from.

There have only been two years when the prize was not awarded, 1987 and 1991. Fortunately there's been a winner every year since 1992, and with the interest and publicity the prize brings each year I don't think a lack of strange book titles will be a problem.

So here's the 2015 shortlist:

• Reading the Liver: The Papyrological Text on Ancient Greek Extispicy.

• Too Naked for Nazis. (The author submitted it himself...)

• Soviet Bus Stops.

• Paper Folding with Children.

• Behind the Binoculars.

• Reading from Behind: A Cultural History of the Anus.

• Transvestite Vampire Biker Nuns from Outer Space: A Consideration of Cult Film.

I have to admit that those last two appealed to me, but having given the titles a couple of days I can see the appeal of 'Paper Folding with Children'. :D

Do look out for any odd book titles that are published in 2016- including self-published- so you can nominate them early next year.

The voting closes 15th March at 23.59, and the winner will be announced later in the month.

Any opinions on this year's selection? 

A Few Prize Opportunities...

It was a busy week so I missed writing my Thursday post, so you'll be getting 2 for 1 today. :-)


If you are a young woman writer who writes articles, then you may be interested in the Cassandra Jardine Memorial Prize that was launched in 2013 in memory of the Telegraph journalist, who sadly died from cancer in 2012.

When it was launched in 2013 it opened to women aged between 18 and 25. The prize is seeking "creativity and potential in an original feature article."

If you're interested pop along to the Telegraph's Lifestyle section here, and check the criteria for entry, and what you're aiming for.

You can follow their link to read last year's winning entry.

Closing date: 31st March 2016.

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If you read my blog regularly you'll know one of my annual features is the Diagram Prize shortlisted titles.

Odd book titles are suggested by readers, and could make the shortlist...

Well here is your opportunity to suggest an odd book title for consideration. You can either send your recommendations by email or on Twitter using the #DiagramPrize hashtag. Find out who to email or tweet to in this Bookseller article.

The shortlist will be unveiled 26th February, so there isn't long to make your odd title suggestions.

Self-published titles are eligible too.

But remember, the titles "must be unwittingly odd, not deliberately so."

*   *   *

Now, I need to get back to that short story-it's almost finished, a few final tweaks and it will be ready to go out into the world. I'll update you on my progress later in the week... :)