Cormac McCarthy’s The Road was selected by Quills voters as the best general fiction title of the year. The Road, published by Knopf , was one of 19 winners announced by the Quills Foundation this morning. Winners in some other major categories included Einstein, by Walter Isaacson in the biography/memoir category and The Assault on Reason by Al Gore was the winner in the history/current events/politics segment.
The major houses were home to nearly all the winning titles with HarperCollins grabbing the most with five. In the debut author category, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield was the winner, while one of the favorite books of all-time, To Kill a Mockingbird, was voted the winner in the audio segment as Harper’s Caedmon Audio division released the classic title in audio format for the first time this year. Winners will receive their prizes October 22 in a ceremony to be hosted by NBC’s Ann Curry and Al Roker and set for the Frederick P. Rose Hall at Lincoln Center. Among the presenters will be Stephen Colbert, Tiki Barber, Tom Brokaw, Tina Brown and Marlo Thomas. The awards presentation, which is sponsored by Reed Business Information (PW parent company) and NBC Universal Television Stations, will be carried by NBC stations on October 27.
Other prize winners were: Business: The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't by Robert I. Sutton; Children’s Chapter/ Middle Grade: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick; Children’s Picture Books: Flotsam by David Wiesner; Cooking: Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker.
The winner in the Graphic Novel category was Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels by Scott McCloud; in the Health/ Self-Improvement category the winner was How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, M.D; and the winner in Humor was I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris.
Rounding out the list of prizer winners were: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller: What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman; Poetry: For the Confederate Dead by Kevin Young; Religion/ Spirituality: Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- And Doesn't by Stephen Prothero; Romance: Angels Fall by Nora Roberts;
Science Fiction/ Fantasy/ Horror: The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One) by Patrick Rothfuss; Sports: The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team by Michael Weinreb; and Young Adult/ Teen: Sold by Patricia McCormick.
Between now and October 10 the public can vote for the Book of the Year at www.quillsvote.com from the list of winners. A limited number of tickets to the awards ceremony will also be made available to the public.