ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Borders, a worldwide retailer of books, music, movies, gifts and stationery items, today announced the winners of the 2007 Original Voices Awards. Borders' 12th annual Original Voices Awards recognizes fresh, compelling and ambitious works from new and emerging talents of 2007 in fiction, non-fiction, young adult/independent reader and children's picture books. Each winner will receive $5,000 from Borders in recognition of their outstanding achievement in producing creative and original works.
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The winner for the fiction category is Steven Hall's debut book, "The Raw Shark Texts: A Novel," published by Canongate. "The Raw Shark Texts" is ultimately a novel about the magnitude of love and the devastating effect of losing that love. Hall cleverly illustrates this loss as a conceptual shark that pursues his hero, Eric Sanderson, by devouring memory and essence - not flesh and blood. Borders' Original Voices committee said, "Hall created a great read for anyone willing to surrender disbelief and trust him as a storyteller even if the narrator can't be trusted."
Peter Godwin is the winner of the non-fiction category for his book, "When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa," published by Little Brown & Co. "When a Crocodile Eats the Sun" is a dramatic memoir of the disintegration of a family set against the collapse of a country. But it is also vivid proof of the profound strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of love. According to the Borders' selection committee, "'When a Crocodile Eats the Sun' has all the hallmarks of the best Original Voices non-fiction award winners. The story took readers somewhere unfamiliar and taught them something new. For those readers who thought they knew something, the book challenged that knowledge."
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: A Novel in Cartoons" written by Jeff Kinney and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers is the winner of the young adult/independent reader category. Middle school student Greg Heffley takes readers through an academic year's worth of drama in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." Greg's mother forces him to keep a diary, and in it he loosely recounts each day's events, interspersed with his comic illustrations, which serve as a hilarious counterpoint to Greg's often deadpan voice. According to Borders' Original Voices committee, "Nostalgic adults will empathize with Greg's snarky narrative about friends and family, further reminding readers why it's good not to be 12 anymore."
In the children's picture book category, the winner is author and illustrator John Rocco for "Wolf! Wolf!" published by Hyperion Books for Children. "Wolf! Wolf!" updates the classic tale, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," with a new twist and new point of view. The Borders' selection committee said, "This story has a delightfully clever and different ending than a reader would expect and is a charming read aloud for any child."
"Borders' 2007 Original Voices Award winners highlight some of the finest new and emerging authors of the year and titles that we are excited to recommend to our customers who look to us for the best in books, music and movies," said Rob Gruen, executive vice president, merchandising and marketing for Borders Group, Inc. "Through our exclusive Original Voices program, we are able to share our employee's passion for books directly with our customers."
Borders selects innovative and inspiring new books from first-time authors as well as works that represent a new direction for established authors for the retailer's Original Voices program. Throughout the year, more than 200 contemporary authors and illustrators from around the world are highlighted to customers through in-store features that rotate on a monthly basis. In November 2007, finalists for the Awards were chosen by both corporate and store employees via an online voting process. A committee of corporate staff members representing each of the four categories read each finalist and selected the winners. The winners will receive their prize money during an awards ceremony in March.
About Borders, Inc.
Borders is a subsidiary of Borders Group, Inc., a $4.1 billion global retailer of books, music, movies, periodicals and gift and stationery items with over 30,000 employees and more than 1,100 stores worldwide primarily operating under the Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) brand names. Currently, there are over 500 Borders superstores in the U.S. that carry up to 200,000 titles. Customers enjoy a comfortable shopping experience, as well as a host of in-store events and community-centered activities when they visit their local Borders stores. For more information, visit http://www.bordersgroupinc.com/.
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