Past Winners:
Best Blurb Awards

Awards are judged on a combination of innovation and creativity, persuasive copy reflecting the essence of the book, and effective communication with the target audience.

2011 Winners 
For books published in 2010

(To view blurb, right-click jacket and click "Open image in new tab")

  

     

Fifth place:
Boxer Beetle by Ned Beauman, Sceptre
Copywriters: Jocasta Hamilton of Sceptre and Ned Beauman

Fourth place:
Whoops! by John Lanchester, Penguin
Copywriter: Louise Willder of Penguin

Third place:
Matched by Ally Condie, Razor Bill
Copywriter: Sarah Kettle of Penguin

Second place:
The Long Song by Andrea Levy, Headline
Copywriter: Andrea Levy

And the winner:
The Other Hand by Justin Cronin, Orion
Copywriter: Bill Massey of Orion

To help inform the judging process, the BookZone book lovers panel were asked:

• How effective (from very -> not very) they thought each blurb was in making that book sound appealing to potential readers, regardless of whether they themselves would be interested in reading the book.
• Which blurb overall they thought was most effective in making the book sound appealing to potential readers, regardless of whether they themselves were interested in reading that book (the overall results were based on this metric).
• Based on the blurb, how interested they themselves would be in reading each of these books. In the case of some of the blurbs, both a long and a short version were tested, as we particularly wanted to explore whether consumers prefer blurbs with or without quotes, and also the optimum amount of information that should be provided.

From this BMS members were provided with profiles of the potential readers for each of the five short-listed titles as well as information on the importance of factors influencing purchase and the importance of recommendations/reviews on consumers.

2010 Winners 
For books published in 2009

In fifth place:
Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll by John Harris, published by Sphere Particularly keen: men and those aged 55+; readers of poetry/plays, art/photography, entertainment / music, humour, sports / games
Reader's views:

• 'Asks questions, describes very well the eclectic nature of the book; appropriate artwork; best of all, no 'review clips' from newspapers.'
• 'There's enough teasers to make you want to find the answers even if it wasn't anything you'd thought about before.'
• 'Made the book sound interesting and stimulated desire to actually read it.'

In fourth place:
The Canterbury Tales by Peter Ackroyd, published by Penguin
Particularly keen: those aged 55+; readers of classics, poetry/plays, business, languages
Reader's views:

• 'Attention grabbing key words on the back cover, the blurb on the inside flap is tantalising and inviting. I like the cover design...and the illustrations are humorous.'
• 'Bold visual - not too much information - makes an immediate effect.'
• 'Concise, attractive, leaves a lot to the reader's imagination, interesting, does not have comments from newspapers or other authors that you know are there as a marketing technique.'>

In joint second place:
The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom, published by Little Brown
Particularly keen: women, under 24s, readers of crime/thriller, horror/ghost, romance, sagas, children's fiction, MBS
Reader's views:

• 'A clear, detailed description. You need to know what the story is about.'
• 'Although it's not what I would like to read, it sound really scary and believable.'
• 'Intriguing and makes me want to go and buy right away to find out what happens!'
• 'It gives you just enough information to make you want to find out the rest of the book.'

In joint second place:
Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson, published by Random House Children's Books
Particularly keen: under 24s and readers of poetry/plays, children's fiction, children's NF
Reader's views:

• 'Made the book sound interesting and stimulated desire to actually read it.'
• 'It has a full synopsis (which I think is important - I want to know what a book is about!) but also it has another sleeve that makes it look fun and grabs your attention.'
• 'It is the exciting bold text on the back that makes you want to open the book and discover what is going to happen to the characters.'

And the winner:
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave, published by Scepter
Particularly keen: women, and readers of literary fiction, popular fiction, sagas, biography, MBS
Reader's views:

• 'Because it leaves you wondering.'
• 'Because it spiked your interest without giving away too much information.'
• 'Made me want to read the book to find out what had happened.'
• 'Wow! I was truly 'gob-smacked' at the approach.'
• 'Wonderful, innovative and totally intriguing. I want to go and buy it. Who could want more from a sale?'

For more details on membership or meetings, please email jo@bookmarketing.co.uk or alastair@agile-ideas.com.