Previous Finalists

Newsletter

Hi everybody,

Just a short update on how everything's going at The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. As you might know, ALL the feedback from the 2019 Award has now been sent out. So, if you entered your book in 2019 and picked Opt 2, you should be ALL SORTED!

I have good news for all the authors/publishers who entered in 2020 (or still plan to enter in 2020) and picked Opt. 2. We are planning/organising to have all your feedback sent out to you between March 2021 (when we announce the finalists ) and June! Considering it took from March to September this year and from March through to November the year before, this is a vast improvement. 
By the way, if you didn't know, when we send you your feedback, we can then (if you wish us to) post your feedback on Amazon, Bookbub and Goodreads.

Here's the plan for authors entering the 2020 awards:

1. We announce the FINALIST on March 1st 2021. We will then list all the FINALIST on the website, including the book cover and a link to the book's Amazon page. We will also then begin sending out feedbacks to non-finalists and sending out the finalist certificate. They'll also be a chance for FINALISTS to purchase the AMAZING FINALIST medal! Finally, the FINALIST logo will be posted on the website which authors can download and add to front covers of FINALIST books.

2. We announce the WINNERS (taken from the FINALISTS) on 1st April 2021. There will be 1 gold medal winner for every category, 2 silver and 3 bronze. However,in Category 5 (which is always the biggest category), we double it up; so in Cat 5 they'll be 2 gold medal winners, 4 silver and 6 bronze. We then list all the winning books on the website including the book cover and a link to the book's Amazon page.

3. Then things start getting crazy. We will be sending out the WINNER certificate. Also, we will be sending out the WINNER MEDALS! We will be organising a Twitter event to promote the WINNERS and we will be sending out a press release to over 100 reader-related bloggers promoting the FINALISTS and the WINNERS. And, of course, we will be sending out the rest of the feedbacks and running promos on Goodreads and with The Fussy Librarian.

That's it!

This year, we have over 100 adult readers judging the books and over 150 children readers. We guarantee every book will be read by a minimum of 15 readers. And, if you picked Opt. 2, you'll be getting the feedback from them. Personally, I think that's the best part of this award, and why it's so much better than any of the others.

I hope that helps to clarify things for you all. REMEMBER, if you still want to enter the awards (or enter another book), you still can! If you want more info on ANYTHING to do with the Awards, you will find it on the www.thewsa.co.uk.

Chat soon, stay safe,

Edward (B B Buttons)

Fun to Run or a Total and Utter Nightmare

Seven years ago, I set up the Wishing Shelf Book Awards. Why? Well, I was upset with book awards open to self-published and independently published authors. I felt they were a total rip-off. I remember, I was a finalist in one America-based award - I was so excited – and they didn’t even bother to tell me. Then, in another award, also America-based, I did very, VERY well but all they were interested in was selling me dodgy winner stickers at a crazy, inflated price. Then there was the feedback I got from another award. It was a joke! It was 19 (yes, 19!) words long and congratulated me on writing a wonderful adult book set in war-time France. IT WAS A CHILDREN’S BOOK SET IN A MAGIC BOOKSHOP!

So I went for a walk…

I went for a walk and decided in amongst the tall chestnut trees to set up my own book award. And that is what I did.

But it had to be different. Much, much different to what was on offer at present. So I thought to myself, what do I want from a book award? Well, I want the organisers to see me, actually see me – and my book. I don’t just want to be a ‘$’ sign or a ‘£’ sign to them. Also, I want to get ‘value for money’ so, even if I don’t win, I want to get feedback from the judging. And, finally, I don’t want to pay lots of money to enter.

So, from this, I set up The Wishing Shelf Book Awards (www.thewsa.co.uk).

Over the last seven years, it has grown. Wow! How it’s grown. In the first year we had 42 authors and publishers enter. This year it will be closer to 300! Now we have a very interactive Facebook page where the authors and publishers can discuss the award and how best to run it. Now we provide the authors who enter a catchy quote to help them to market their books. Now we post reviews – based on the feedback – on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookbub. Now we actively support Blind Children UK, helping them to produce books for children with sight problems. Now we have over twenty schools and two adult reading groups (1 in London, 1 in Stockholm, a total of 67 adult readers) helping us to judge the books. Now we are recommended by ALLi; not many are! Now we send authors who enter feedback based on the readers’ comments. They look at the cover, the content, the editing and the style. We even provide the authors with statistics e.g. How many of the readers would read another book by this author. How many of the readers felt the cover was strong etc. etc. And the prize list for the finalists and winners is pretty impressive too.

So now, my tiny award is a bit of a monster and is taking more and more of my time. Is it fun? Yes, most of the time it is. And that’s important as the Award is not run for profit and every penny/cent of the entry fee is spent on running the award and helping to support Blind Children UK. In fact, most of the time it is very rewarding and our reputation on and off the web is ‘glowing’. Don’t get me wrong. We do mess up. Three years ago, for example, it took too long to get all the feedback to the authors. So, this year, I’m employing help. The Wishing Shelf Awards actually has a member of staff! An ex-primary school head teacher who will help me to correlate all the feedbacks. It’s all very exciting.

But do you know what the best bit is? The very, VERY best bit. Twice now, one of the US-based awards I hate has attempted to buy my small awards. And I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed telling them to go to…well, you know where. Now THAT was fun!

Edward Trayer, under the pen name Billy Bob Buttons, is the author of sixteen children’s books including the UK People’s Book Prize Winner, I Think I Murdered Miss. He is also the organizer of The Wishing Shelf Book Awards.

www.thewsa.co.uk

THE WISHING SHELF BOOK AWARDS 2019

WINNERS

Below is a list of the 2019 WINNERS in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. The adult books were read and judged by 2 Reading Groups, 1 in London and 1 in Stockholm; the children’s books by 8 UK primary and secondary schools. The books were marked according to EDITING, THEME, STYLE, COVER and, in the case of many of the children’s books, ILLUSTRATIONS.

If you happen to be looking for a good read, the readers at The Wishing Shelf Awards thoroughly recommend the following:

www.thewsa.co.uk/winners2019

Category 1 Pre-School Picture Books

GOLD

Don’t Drink the Pink, B.C.R. Fegan, ill. by Lenny Wen

SILVER

A Spooky Tale, Sue Wickstead

Molly’s Magic Brolly, Sarah Morrell

BRONZE

Oscar the Ferry Cat, Molly Arbuthnott, ill. by Agnes Treherne

Bears Can't Play Soccer, Beth Thompson, ill by Roksana Oslizlo

Baby Trolls Get a Bad Rap, Justine Avery, ill by Daria Yudina

Category 2 Books for 6 – 8 Year Olds

GOLD

Imagine That: The Magic of the Mysterious Lights, George Yuhasz

SILVER

The Book of Silly Rhymes, Cheryl Lee-White, ill by Louise Rarity

A Tiger’s Tale, Wayne Gerard Trotman

BRONZE

It is All Right Now, Riki Ella

Persephone: Book 7- Early Myths: Kids Books on Greek Myth, Dr Simon Spence, Foreword by Stephen Fry

Dash and Victoria Find True Love: Pet and Historical Figures Book 2, Vicki Tashman, ill. by Wendy All

Category 3 Books for 9 – 12 Year Olds

GOLD

The Adventurers and The Cursed Castle, Jemma Hatt

SILVER

The Haunting, Kristin A. Fulton

The Boy Who Dreamt the World, Jethro Punter

BRONZE

Hidden Scales, A. M. Robin

Britfield and the Lost Crown, C R Stewart

Monty and the Monster, Rhonda Smiley

Category 4 Books for Teenagers

GOLD

Dear Jane, Marina DelVecchio

SILVER

Ben Archer and the Cosmic Fall, Rae Knightly

iGiST, L. S. Larson

BRONZE

Battle Ground, Rachel Churcher

Taelstone, Robyn Prokop

The Wolf and the Rain, Tanya Lee

Category 5 Books for Adults (fiction)

GOLD

The Lost Valor of Love, E A Carter

What You Don't See, Livi Hallahan

SILVER

Honor Kills - Angelina Bonaparte, Nanci Rathbun

Cooperative Lives, Patrick Finegan

How Dare The Birds Sing, Marina Osipova

Llywelyn, Michael Hill

BRONZE

VanOps: The Lost Power, Avanti Centrae

Love in an Undead Age, A. M. Geever

Harps Upon the Willows, M B Gibson

Wake of the Sadico, Jo Sparkes

Glamorous: A Grace Bishop Novel, Denise Bossarte

David - Savakerrva, Volume 1, Lawrence Brown

Category 6 Books for Adults (non-fiction)

GOLD

Inconvenient Memories: A Personal Account of the Tiananmen Square Incident and the China Before and After, Anna Wang

SILVER

Your Body's Environmental Chemical Burden, Cindy Klement

Excess Baggage: One Family's Around-the-World Search for Balance, Tracey Carisch

BRONZE

90 Days to Live, Rodney Stamps, Paige Stamps

A Mother's Heart: Memoir of a Special Needs Parent, Eichin Chang-Lim

There is Nothing to Fix, Suzanne Jones