Class: Lightweight
Everyone knows why editors publish books that are not for the likes of you and me: so they’ll have something to enter for literary prizes. But last year saw such an explosion of commercial fiction that publishers are now finding it hard to find anything to enter for the bumper DSC book prize ($50,000). Fearing a flood of entries, the DSC prize committee has limited entries: each publishing house can enter only two books per imprint. Even so, several publishers are dropping out. Random House won’t enter any book as they haven’t published a single piece of literary fiction in the eligible period (April ’09-March ’10). Others, like Tranquebar, are taking a gamble and entering a commercial title.
A Text Message
Just how literary prize books can get was evident at the Commonwealth Prize reception. A random survey of the audience revealed that except the six judges, nobody had read both the winning books—Rana Dasgupta’s Solo (Best Book) and Glenda Guest’s Siddon Rock (Best First Book). Both books were praised for taking risks, and for “extraordinary literary talent”. It certainly did not leave the audience with a panting desire to start reading them.
Doing A Duchess
As guest of honour at the Commonwealth Prize ceremony, Shashi Tharoor may have lacked in courtesy, keeping his audience waiting. But he made up for it with his wit. He gave an example of how a formula for a bestselling novel—sex, aristocracy and suspense—was converted by an ingenious writer into a single sentence: “I am pregnant!” exclaimed the Duchess of Argylle. “I wonder who could be the father?”
