Do Literary Awards Make a Difference? Do Nominations? By James L. Rubart

I lost.

As you might know, my third novel, The Chair was a Christy finalist. (For those of you unaware of the award, it could be described as the Oscars of Christian Fiction.) Last night was the award ceremony where they announced the winners—among which I was not.

Yeah, I’ll admit it, it would have been nice to have won, but still much fun was had among my friends in publishing, and great to see close friend and fellow Novel Rocketeer Ronie Kendig take home the gold.

The industry certainly puts a great deal of credence in being a Christy nominee and/or winner, but I’m wondering, do you think it makes a difference to readers?

You’re a writer, but you’re also a reader. Do you pay attention to literary awards? If you do, does a book winning an award motivate you read it? Does the book have to win or does a nomination do it for you?

Do either of those push you over the edge to read a book you’ve been considering? Or does it not make that big a difference to you one way or the other? Do you think I’ve asked enough questions?

James L. Rubart is the best-selling author of ROOMS, BOOK OF DAYS, and THE CHAIR. During the day he runs Barefoot Marketing which helps businesses and authors make more coin of the realm. In his free time he dirt bikes, hikes, golfs, takes photos, and occasionally does sleight of hand. No, he doesn’t sleep much. He lives with his amazing wife and teenage sons in the Pacific Northwest and still thinks he’s young enough to water ski like a madman. More at www.jameslrubart.com 

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