The 2006 Needle Award Nominees

Welcome to the second annual Needle Awards!

I wish I could nominate all fifteen books for a Needle this year . . . but that wouldn't be much of a contest, now would it.

So what do we have here? The creamiest of cream. The tastiest of treats. Congratulations to all 2006 Needle Nominees.

And they are:

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RANSOM SEABORN by Bill Deasy (Velluminous Press)

FUTUREPROOF by N. Frank Daniels (Lulu)

MY OTHER BODY: A MEMOIR OF LOVE, FAT, LIFE, AND DEATH by Ann Pai (Sunspot Press)

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH by Daniel Scott Buck (iUniverse)

A MULTITUDE OF MERCIES by Fay Freimuth (iUniverse)

In a few days, the books will be in the hands of the judges. From that point forward, I have no say in who wins or loses. The judges are an esteemed group (seriously) of publishing professionals: three editors (from Harper, S&S, and Random) and four agents (all from top-tier agencies). These books were culled from more than 1,600 full-length submissions. And now these pros will decide which is the absolute best self-published book of my [hand-selected, incredibly subjective] group.

The winner will be announced 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 7th, 2007.