DA and Smart Bitches Present March Madness for Romance
By Jane • Mar 13th, 2008 • Category: Misc • •
It’s March Madness time which means brackets, spoilers, and, of course, romance books! Admittedly, the last element of the list is a rarely known component of March Madness, one that is often lost amongst the basketball hoopla. Which is so wrong, we will do all kinds of crazy shit to make it right.
We thought it was time to shine a light on the major, but forgotten, player. This year, Dear Author and the Smart Bitches have combined their internet foo to bring you the DA BWAHA tournament. (That would be the Dear Author-Bitchery Writing Award for Hellagood Authors for the acronym challenged).
It is a tournament of books that will be held during this month of March to determine THE ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL. (No comment on which book will bind them. That’s kinky, and we don’t go there on the first date.)
This tournament will be run exactly like the NCAA Collegiate basketball tournament. If you’re not familiar with bracketology, March Madness, or the absolute insanity that is the NCAA basketball playoffs, hold on to the seat of your pants.
1. There will be a field of 64 nominated books published in 2007 that were nominated by the bloggers of Dear Author, Smart Bitches, Speak Its Name, The YA YA YAs, Uniquely Pleasurable and Teddy Pig.
2. There are eight nominated books in each category. The 8 categories of books are:
- Young Adult
- Erotica/Erotic Romance
- GLBT
- Paranormal
- Contemporary
- Historical
- Category
- Novel With Romantic Elements
3. Each reader who wishes to participate will have a few days to fill out his or her bracket of winners.
4. Once the tournament begins, we’ll be holding daily votes to determine which books advance through the tournament. We’re pitting book against book within the categories, and then, as the tournament advances, books will face off against one another across genre and subgenre until we reach the Book of the Year, or, the ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL. (Again: bondage? Not yet. Buy us another drink.)
5. Readers and authors are in the running for fabulous prizes, bondage not included. The reader whose bracket is the best match to the end result of the tournament will win:
- A 6-month subscription to PaperSpine, courtesy of the fine folks at PaperSpine.
- A selection of the books that make the Elite 8 of our DA BWAHATournament
- Mad Props
- Big Ups
- A graphic for your personal site proclaiming to all and Sundry (Sundry, I know for a fact, is SUCH a silly cow so you totally want to rub it in her face) that you are The Winnah.
- A $50 gift certificate for irreverently awesome style from Lochers.com
6. Authors whose books make it to the Final Four will win:
- A hot pink bad ass ostrich feather quill pen
- A graphic for your personal site proclaiming to all and that wanker Sundry that you are Hella Good
7. The author whose book is proclaimed Book of the Year, aka the ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL (now we’re ready for the bondage; pass the marabou wrist cuffs!) will receive:
- Aforementioned feather quill pen
- The graphic proclaiming your book the winner
- A free one-month ad space on both Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and Dear Author, month and content to be determined.
- A $50 gift certificate for irreverently awesome style from Lochers.com
- Plus, you’ll experience pimpage like nothing else, guaranteed.
Any questions? Email Sarah or Jane, or leave a comment at SmartBitchesTrashyBooks or at DearAuthor.
Please feel free to diss our selections, bemoan our picks, and excoriate us for not including certain books. It’s no fun without dissent. Get your pencils – or mouse buttons - ready. The DA BWAHA Tournament goes live on Sunday to determine the 2007 Book of the Year – or the ONE BOOK THAT WILL RULE THEM ALL (Ow! Do it again!).
Jane is a long time romance reader whose passion is, you guessed it, reading. Jane also does not like to talk about herself in the third person, but apparently this is the way that this biography thing works (although in a true biography, someone else would be writing this blurb). Anyway, currently Jane loves urban fantasy authors Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews. She's really excited about this year's crop of historicals including Joanna Bourne's The Spymaster's Lady and Sherry Thomas' Private Arrangements and the upcoming Loretta Chase Her Scandalous Ways.
She's looking for a good contemporary author. Email her with a recommendation!
Email this author | All posts by Jane
Bring it on! So excited for this. :)
You know, I just commented somewhere else that I’ve no interest in writing a book, so no one has to worry about me writing under another name. But dang, I want to win an ostrich feather quill pen…
I posted a comment over at SBTB how this is the DOG SHOW competition of the romance fiction world! We’ll have Pugs facing off against Dalmations and Pit Bulls. We’ve got a thread going on over there about having to clump some sub-genres which aren’t necessarily the same into a single category. A Yorkshire Terrier and a Silky Terrier may look the same but they are separate breeds. Spaceships and shapeshifters may all fall under paranormal, but they don’t always appeal to the same reader.
That said, it’s too late to change for this year, but it’s worth looking at more closely for next year’s Champion Tournament!
;-)
An ostrich feather quill pen? I’m with Angela. I want one of those!
Well, that’s a lot more interesting than the brackets the DH does.
For those people wondering what we’re basing this on, here’s an explanation of what the tournment is all about.
I think of it as the Ultimate Fighting Challenge of Romance…
Show me the mantitty!
OH…a book smackdown!
Sounds like fun!
Tee hee. Angela and HK - Reminds me of that scene from the movie: “Tickle your ass with a feather?” What movie was that…?
Sounds like a fun time will be had by all, Jane. Can’t wait!
Are you holding the votes the same days as the tournament - i.e. opening round is really busy, etc?
I think this is pretty awesome, and I just know I will be spending time figuring out which title will be the UNC, Texas, Kansas. Oh, so who will be the Coach K, the Bob Knight, Rick Barnes etc of writing????
(I’m obviously waaaaaaaaay into March Madness)
This sounds very fun!
Yes, we are going to hold votes on the same days at the tournaments. Some polls will be here at DA and some will be at SB. The tournament software we are using is pretty cool so I think it will be easy for people to participate. I’ve been testing the polling software this week in the sidebar and that seems to be working pretty well.
I am so in this! Jane, show me the way on how to play!
Sorry everyone but I rule in pools like this. Nah Nah. :)
Oh fun! I love March madness, the tournaments, the brackets, the games, the guessing who will win!
Let the games begin! Heh
Can I throw chairs?
Definitely want to play. Will there be cheerleaders? (When we used to go to UCLA basketball games back in the day when who was going to win was never a question, that’s where dh had the binoculars pointed)
Oh, this looks like fun.
Will we be able to smell the sweat? (Just wondering, since that’s what I remember most about basketball games.)
Ohh, an Ostrich Feather Pen!
I like the sounds of this tournament. :)
This sounds like fun! Let’s play.
Count me in!!!
I’m definitely in this one! Sounds like super fun!
The tournament is looking great so far. I have 3 out of 4 of my Final Four picks still in it. I’m hoping I can win my office pool.