The NOPRIZE award will be given out twice a year for excellence in the western genre. There's no pretty little statue to display, no certificate to hang on the wall - in fact the NOPRIZE is basically a kudos thing - a way for western fans to thank the winners for all they've done for the genre. Details of the categories and of how to vote will be given here soon and I do hope western fans everywhere will cast a vote. Basically the NOPRIZE is intended to be a bit of fun and although there is no physical prize it'll be great for any writer to know that people like their work so much as to vote for it.
And so to start the ball rolling I would like to give a honoury NOPRIZE to publisher, John Hale for his sterling work with the Black Horse Range. If it wasn't for Hale there would be no British westerns at all and the publishing house has supported the genre for many many years. Of course this last year has seen the books starting to get more and more attention and many BHW writers, myself included, have seen their work reviewed on blogs, websites and in newspapers and magazines. Once the BHW range were only available in the UK but they are starting to gain in popularity across the seas, especially in the spiritual home of the genre, the USA. If one man deserves congratulations for this then it is Mr Hale himself who has bucked the trend of the market place by sticking with the genre through thick and thin.
And so on behalf of western writers and fans everywhere The Archive says a big, "Thank you" to Mr Hale who undoubtedly deserves his NOPRIZE award.
9 comments:
Yet another excellent and imaginative initiative from Gary, and an excellent choice for the first recipient!
Well Ben don't forget to cast your vote when the categories go up on the Archive in a week or so.
Can I nominate myself? Not sure I'd want to win. Kind of hard bragging about getting the "noprize."
Bravo!! What a great idea! You win the NOPRIZE AWARD FOR CREATIVE THINKING!!
Jeff the Noprize will be highly coveted.
Looking forward to taking part in this.
Steve :)
Ideal choice for the first recipient! As you say, without Hale, western fans would be bereft.
Nice idea ... and a worthy first-recipient!
Cheers,
Matt
A nice gesture and an entertaining piece of frivolity, Gary. I hope Mr Hale enjoys it, too.
More seriously, I also hope Mr Hale's proud record is not too threatened by the new attitude of a minority of UK librarians. More than 80% of BHW books are sold to library supply companies rather than through other book trade channels.
Could I also nominate the late Frederick Thorpe for a posthumous award? In 1964, he founded large-print book publishing in English. Later he travelled the world, promoting his concept. Westerns were always an important part of his fiction list. Today, the organization he founded, Ulverscroft, continues to issue westerns under the Linford and Dales imprints -- a large percentage being reprints of the best BHWs. For the rights to reproduce these, Thorpe's companies pay Hale more than six times the advance the author gets for the first edition. Half of this large-print payment is passed on to the author and forms a vital part of income from a book. Those writers who receive PLR money from library borrowings will know, too, that the greater part of these returns is generated by the large-print editions. In most New Zealand libraries, the large-print editions are significantly more prominent than the regular editions. I believe the Ulverscroft books are also better distributed in the US.
Finally, we should again acknowledge the help of romance writer Jan Jones who took Mr Hale's photograph when he was presented with an RNA Lifetime Achievement award in February. The picture as used here is taken, edited and enhanced, from the latest edition of the online Black Horse Extra.
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