You must have already heard about this new on the block, innovative concept that has been in the development stage for over a year! I am excited to have been invited to be a part of the panel of book bloggers that will read a variety of indie published works as part of a bookish contest that will hopefully unveil some overshadowed independent reads. BBNYA 2020 announcement of project was shared on Sunday by Esmee, you can check out her post here, where she chats all things prizes, and the idea behind BBNYA 2020.
So i’m here today with Dave, the man behind The Write Reads – he has brought so many people together through their love of books, as well as being a constant support to bloggers and has become a great friend to many. When he first approached me about potentially being on the panel for these awards, I basically bit his hand off and I am so excited to be a part of this! So thanks Dave for having me.
So Dave, the people of bookish twitter have been teased about these awards over the past few days, could you just recap for those who missed it, what is BBNYA?
BBNYA stands for ‘the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award’ and the idea is that we will bring together the biggest and most diverse panel of book bloggers that we can. And then self-published/indie authors/small press authors will be able to enter their books for the panel to judge and declare the winner.
That is an incredible and different concept for a book award. There are so many hidden indie gems that i’ve read over the past year of being a blogger that I would never have found if it wasn’t for Twitter, book bloggers etc. Some of which has become my favourites.
What is the aim of BBNYA?
I suppose really it has a couple of aims. The first one really is just some fun! There’s going to be so many books to discuss, so many opinions, so many bloggers involved that it should be great. And, of course, for the authors we would hope that if you are chosen as the winner it would be a tremendous boost for your book. I mean, seriously, who wouldn’t want to give something that’s been named ‘the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year’ a read?
I can’t wait for the group chats and discussions, as well as adding some diverse books to my TBR. I recently had a Q&A with an independent publisher publishing assistant who couldn’t stress enough the importance of supporting indies.
Why do you think it is important in the boosting of indie work?
Well, frankly, because there are some amazing hidden gems out there, but because the authors, for whatever reason just can’t seem to get the book’s name in front of people, or don’t have support to do so, they may never be read by more than just a tiny number of people. And that could mean, and, I think, so often does mean, that this hidden gem remains hidden forever. It’s sad to think of something really, amazing, a work of art, that goes unappreciated simply because the author has no way, or means of getting it out there. I think book bloggers above all else, love discovering good books. And what would be better than book bloggers discovering an amazing, underappreciated book, and possibly, just possibly, those book bloggers, getting behind it, pushing it, and causing something amazing to happen, causing it to break into the mainstream, causing it to become a phenomenon. I have no idea if we can do that. I have no idea if it is even possible. But I’d love to give it a try!
That would be such a phenomenal outcome, the amount of work and energy that goes into a novel should be appreciated because of what it holds independently, not the size of a campaign budget. As I’ve said, I have read some books that have blown me away, made me see something in a different way and that have just stuck with me, they deserve to be read and appreciated.
What would you like to see come from BBNYA?
For the first year, I’d just like all the mechanisms to work smoothly, for everybody to have a great time, and to find an amazing book… or maybe a few amazing books!
Fingers and toes crossed that it goes as smoothly it could possibly be. One last question before you run off and start more organising – how can indie authors get involved?
We are still finalizing all the exact details, terms and conditions and stuff. So until all of that is finalized and written in stone, we obviously will not be taking any entries, but if authors want to get updates and stay up to date we do have a mailing list which you can find in Esmee’s post here: https://servillasspeaks.wordpress.com/2019/11/17/the-official-reveal-of-bbnya/
So there you have it people, some more details on the recently announced BBNYA 2020, to keep up to date on information you can follow the Twitter page @BBNYA_Official and the sponsors of the awards The Folio Society @FolioSociety. 2020 is lining up to be a great bookish year, oh and tell all your indie author friends!
The Reading Closet 
This is exciting!! xx
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