Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year
Awarded forOddest book title
CountryUnited Kingdom
First awarded1978
Currently held byDanger Sound Klaxon! The Horn That Changed History by Matthew F Jordan (2023)
WebsiteThe Diagram Prize

The Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, originally known as the Diagram Group Prize for the Oddest Title[1] and commonly known as the Diagram Prize, is a humorous literary award that is given annually to a book with an unusual title. The prize is named after the Diagram Group, an information and graphics company based in London,[2] and The Bookseller, a British trade magazine for the publishing industry.[3][4] Originally organised to provide entertainment during the 1978 Frankfurt Book Fair,[2] the prize has since been awarded every year by The Bookseller and is now organised by the magazine's diarist Horace Bent.[3][4] The winner was initially decided by a panel of judges, but since 2000 the winner has been decided by a public vote on The Bookseller's website.[5]

Controversy has arisen since the creation of the awards: there have been two occasions when no award was given because no titles were judged to be odd enough;[5] Bent has complained about some of the winners chosen by the public;[6][7] and the 2008 winner, The 2009–2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais, proved controversial because rather than being written by its listed author, Philip M. Parker, it was instead written by a machine of Parker's invention.[8] The most recent winner, in December 2023, was Danger Sound Klaxon! The Horn That Changed History by Matthew F Jordan.[9]

History

Although the award was created by The Bookseller, the idea of an award celebrating books with odd titles was proposed by Bruce Robinson and Trevor Bounford of the Diagram Group in order to provide entertainment during the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1978.[10] Originally known as the Diagram Group Prize for the Oddest Title at the Frankfurt Book Fair, any book that was at the fair could be nominated, but other books outside of the fair were also included. In 1982, Horace Bent, diarist for The Bookseller, took over administrative duties.[1][3] Following two occasions in 1987 and 1991 when no prize was given due to a lack of odd titles, The Bookseller opened suggestions to the readers of the magazine. In 2000, the winner was voted for by the public instead of being decided by Bent. In 2009, online submissions sent on Twitter were accepted.[1] This resulted in the highest number of submissions for the prize in its history, with 90 books being submitted (50 from Twitter), almost three times the number from the previous year (32). However, Bent also expressed his annoyance at people who gave submissions that broke the rules, with some of the books mentioned being published as far back as 1880.[11][12] The 2014 prize allowed nominations from self-published works, the first book being Strangers Have the Best Candy by Margaret Meps Schulte, which won the prize.[13][14]

The Diagram Prize receives considerable press coverage every year.[15] In 2008, more people voted for the Diagram Prize (8,500 votes) than The Best of Booker Prize (7,800).[16][17] The prize is either a magnum of champagne or a bottle of claret for the person who nominates the winning title,[15] and increased publicity for both the book and its author.[18] In 2014, the nominator was Brian Payne, who works as the deputy chief sub-editor of The Bookseller. Due to his position he decided to reject the bottle of claret that he won, saying it "would remain in the cellar."[19] In 2018, all the nominations came from staff at The Bookseller, so the claret was awarded to a random voter who voted for the eventual winner.[10]

Format

Nominees were originally limited to just books at the Frankfurt Book Fair, but this was extended to submissions sent in by The Bookseller magazine's traditional readership of librarians, publishers, and booksellers in order to decrease the risk of no award being given. In 2009, submissions could be sent to either Bent's or The Bookseller's Twitter accounts.[1] People cannot nominate their own works, nor can they select books they publish themselves. Titles that are deliberately created to be funny are normally rejected.[20] Also, nominators, judges and voters are actively discouraged from reading any of the nominations, "for fear that becoming too close to the work may cloud their judgement in declaring the text's title 'odd', especially considering the prize champions 'odd titles' and not 'odd books' (see the Man Booker for the latter)".[1] The winner was originally voted for by a panel of judges, but since 2000 the winner has been voted for by members of the public via the Internet. Bent resisted this move and threatened to resign, but he later reconsidered and now creates the short list of finalists.[5] Also, the title of the book must be in English, although the language in the book can be any language.[10]

Books about the prize

In September 2008, a book about the Diagram Prize was published by Aurum Press entitled How to Avoid Huge Ships and Other Implausibly Titled Books. With an introduction written by Joel Rickett, the book was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the prize. It featured a collection of book covers from winners and runners-up from previous years.[21] A follow-up book was released in October 2009, entitled Baboon Metaphysics And More Implausibly Titled Books, including an introduction by Bent.[22]

Controversy

So far, there have been two occasions in which no award has been presented. Bent did not offer a prize in 1987 and 1991, as he felt there was no title that was odd enough to deserve the prize.[5] The prize has become noteworthy enough that, in 2004, The Bookseller castigated publishers for choosing titles with a view to winning it, saying, "There were too many self-consciously titled entries – presumably in a bid to emulate the 2003 champion, Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories".[6] Bent has also expressed his dislike of people voting for ruder titles, stating that he himself would not have voted for the 2007 winner If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs.[7]

In 2009, the choice of The 2009–2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais as winner of the 2008 award was controversial, as Parker did not write the book himself, but used an automated authoring machine which produces thousands of titles on the basis of Internet and database searches.[8] Philip Stone, charts editor and awards administrator at The Bookseller, commented by saying: "I think it's slightly controversial as it was written by a computer, but given the number of celebrity memoirs out there that are ghostwritten, I don't think it's too strange."[23]

In 2018, one of the nominations, Joy of Waterboiling, was controversial because the book was written mostly in German, but the rules of the prize state that only the title needs to be in English in order to qualify for nomination.[10]

Diagram of Diagrams

Two special anniversary awards known as the "Diagram of Diagrams" (the name reflects the "Booker of Bookers")[2] have been presented to honour both the 15th and the 30th anniversaries of the Diagram Prize. The nominations of the prizes were all of the previous winners up to that point in time. In 1993, the winner of the 15th anniversary award was Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice, the winner of the first Diagram Prize.[24][25] The second "Diagram of Diagrams", announced on 5 September 2008, was Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers, the 1996 winner.[25]

Winners

Year Title Author/Editor Publisher Notes
1978 Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice Various authors University of Tokyo Press Medical studies done using laboratory mice with inhibited immune systems[26]
1979 The Madam as Entrepreneur: Career Management in House Prostitution Barbara Sherman Heyl Transaction Press About working in prostitution
1980 The Joy of Chickens Dennis Nolan Prentice Hall About breeds of chicken[27]
1981 Last Chance at Love – Terminal Romances Various authors Pinnacle Press
1982 Population and Other Problems: Family Planning, Housing 1,000 Million, Labour Employment Various authors China National Publications About the demographics of the People's Republic of China
1983 Unsolved Problems of Modern Theory of Lengthwise Rolling A. I. Tselikov, G. S. Nikitin and S. E. Rokotyan Mir Publishers About rolling as a metalworking technique[28]
1984 The Book of Marmalade: Its Antecedents, Its History, and Its Role in the World Today Anne Wilson Constable About the history of marmalade[29]
1985 Natural Bust Enlargement with Total Mind Power: How to Use the Other 90% of Your Mind to Increase the Size of Your Breasts Donald L. Wilson Westwood Publishing Company About bust enlargement through positive thinking[30]
1986 Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality Glenn C. Ellenbogen Brunner/Mazel Humorous and parody articles about psychiatry[31]
1987 No award given
1988 Versailles: The View from Sweden Elaine Dee and Guy Walton University of Chicago Press Catalogue of an exhibition at the Cooper–Hewitt Museum on the influence of French Baroque and Classicism on design in contemporary Sweden[32]
1989 How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art Kathleen Meyer Ten Speed Press About responsible treatment of one's waste in wilderness areas[33]
1990 Lesbian Sadomasochism Safety Manual Pat Califia Lace Publications A guide to BDSM and safe sex[34]
1991 No award given
1992 How to Avoid Huge Ships John W. Trimmer Cornwell Maritime Press Advice to pleasure boat sailors on the dangers of shipping lanes[2]
1993 American Bottom Archaeology Charles J. Bareis and James W. Porter University of Illinois Press Full title American Bottom Archaeology: A Summary of the FAI-270 Project Contribution to the Culture History of the Mississippi River Valley[35]
1994 Highlights in the History of Concrete C. C. Stanley British Cement Association About the history of concrete[36]
1995 Reusing Old Graves: A Report on Popular British Attitudes Douglas Davies and Alastair Shaw Shaw & Son About reusing old graves[37]
1996 Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers Derek Willan Hellenic Philatelic Society of Great Britain Cancellation numbers in the Hellenic Post[38]
1997 The Joy of Sex: Pocket Edition Alex Comfort Mitchell Beazley Pocket edition of The Joy of Sex
1998 Developments in Dairy Cow Breeding: New Opportunities to Widen the Use of Straw Gareth Williams Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust
1999 Weeds in a Changing World: British Crop Protection Council Symposium Proceedings No. 64 Charles H. Stirton British Crop Protection Council Another title, Male Genitalia of Butterflies of the Balkan Peninsula, with a Checklist, was originally a favourite, but it was later rejected for being deliberately odd.[39]
2000 Designing High Performance Stiffened Structures IMechE (Institution of Mechanical Engineers) Professional Engineering Publishing About stiffness in engineering[40]
2001 Butterworths Corporate Manslaughter Service Gerard Forlin Butterworths About corporate manslaughter, i.e. corporate liability for manslaughter[41]
2002 Living with Crazy Buttocks Kaz Cooke Penguin US/Australia Humorous essays on contemporary culture, including female body image and other topics[42]
2003 The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories Alisa Surkis and Monica Nolan Kensington Publishing Eight stories in a pastiche of dime novel styles from different decades, each involving lesbian romance and horses[43]
2004 Bombproof Your Horse Rick Pelicano and Lauren Tjaden J A Allen Full title Bombproof Your Horse: Teach Your Horse to Be Confident, Obedient, and Safe, No Matter What You Encounter[44]
2005 People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It Gary Leon Hill Red Wheel/Weiser Books About dead spirits who take up residence in bodies that do not belong to them[45]
2006 The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America: A Guide to Field Identification Julian Montague Harry N. Abrams About how to identify abandoned shopping carts[46][47]
2007 If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs Big Boom Simon & Schuster US A self-help book written by a man for the benefit of women[18]
2008 The 2009–2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais Philip M. Parker Icon Group International Computer-generated combination of boilerplate text and public-domain data related to fromage frais, a type of cheese[8]
2009 Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes Daina Taimina A K Peters, Ltd. Mathematical book featuring crocheted hyperbolic planes[48]
2010 Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way Michael R. Young Radcliffe How-to guide on managing a dental practice[49]
2011 Cooking with Poo Saiyuud Diwong Urban Neighbours of Hope Thai cookbook – "Poo" ("ปู") is Saiyuud Diwong's nickname.[50][51]
2012 Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop Reginald Bakeley Conari Press Guide to banishing fairies from your home[52][53]
2013 How to Poo on a Date Mats & Enzo Prion Press "The Lovers' Guide to Toilet Etiquette"[19][54]
2014 Strangers Have the Best Candy Margaret Meps Schulte Choose Art Self-published travelogue[13][55]
2015 Too Naked For the Nazis Alan Stafford Fantom Films Biography of Wilson, Keppel and Betty published by Fantom Films[56][57]
2016 The Commuter Pig Keeper: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Pigs when Time is your Most Precious Commodity Michaela Giles Old Pond Publishing Practical guide to looking after a small herd of pigs[58][59]
2017 No award given
2018 The Joy of Waterboiling Thomas Götz von Aust Achse Verlag[60] First non-English language book to win the prize (published in German with English title)[61][62]
2019 The Dirt Hole and its Variations Charles L Dobbins Self-published[63] First posthumous author to win the prize[64][65]
2020 A Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path: Animal Metaphors in Eastern Indonesian Society Gregory Forth McGill-Queen's University Press First Canadian author to win the prize[66][67]
2021 Is Superman Circumcised? Roy Schwartz McFarland & Company A study of the Jewish origins of Superman. The author responded to his win, saying, "The competition was stiff, but I'm glad I was able to rise to the challenge."[68][69]
2022 RuPedagogies of Realness: Essays on Teaching and Learning With RuPaul's Drag Race Lindsay Bryde and Tommy Mayberry McFarland & Company An academic work based on RuPaul's Drag Race.[70][71]
2023 Danger Sound Klaxon! The Horn That Changed History Matthew F Jordan University of Georgia Press The history of the klaxon horn.[9][72]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Bent, Horace (21 October 2009). "A Bluffer's Guide to the Diagram Prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Lyall, Sarah (27 March 2009). "Odd Prize: Judging a Book by Its Title". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Rickett, Joel (2008). How to Avoid Huge Ships and Other Implausibly Titled Books. London: Aurum Press. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1-84513-321-4.
  4. ^ a b "Diagram book for Xmas". The Bookseller. 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 1 April 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d Rickett, p. 9
  6. ^ a b Ezard, John (21 January 2005). "Bombproof Your Horse wins title fight". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  7. ^ a b Bent, Horace (12 January 2009). "An odd question". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  8. ^ a b c "Fromage Frais wins odd title prize". The Bookseller. 27 March 2009. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Danger Sound Klaxon! picks up the Diagram Prize gong". The Bookseller. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d Bent, Horace (26 October 2018). "When success is not enough". The Bookseller. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  11. ^ Neilan, Catherine (3 February 2010). "Record number of submissions for the 2009 odd title prize". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  12. ^ Bent, Horace (2 February 2010). "The 2009 Diagram Prize: A Prequel". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  13. ^ a b "Strangers Have the Best Candy wins Diagram Prize". The Bookseller. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Nether regions and pavements hot on Diagram Prize shortlist". The Bookseller. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  15. ^ a b Rickett, p. 10
  16. ^ "More odd than odd". The Bookseller. 7 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  17. ^ "Midnight's Children wins the Best of the Booker". Man Booker Prize. 10 July 2008. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Oddest book titles prize shortlist announced". The Bookseller. 22 February 2008. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
  19. ^ a b Bent, Horace (21 March 2014). "How to Poo on a Date wins Diagram Prize". welovethisbook.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  20. ^ Rickett, p. 7.
  21. ^ "Oddest title is crowned". The Bookseller. 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  22. ^ Aurum Press Catalogue: Autumn 2009 (PDF). London: Aurum Press. 2009. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2011.
  23. ^ Flood, Alison (27 March 2009). "Oddest Book Title prize goes to treatise on fromage frais". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
  24. ^ Flood, Alison (5 September 2008). "Greek Postmen win oddest book title prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  25. ^ a b "Greek Postman wins Diagram of Diagrams". The Bookseller. 5 September 2008. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  26. ^ Klein, Jen; Geib, Rob; Wernet, Dorothee (8 July 2005). "Book Reviews". Immunogenetics. 7: 565–566. doi:10.1007/BF01844046. S2CID 39024367.
  27. ^ "Mantex Newsletter – Issue 35". mantex.co.uk. October 2000. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  28. ^ F. E. Dolzhenkov. "Unsolved Problems of Modern Theory of Lengthwise Rolling". Metallurgical and Mining Industry. 1 (1): 33. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  29. ^ Rickett, pp. 38–39
  30. ^ Rickett, pp. 88–89
  31. ^ Bent Horace, pp.16–17
  32. ^ Russell, John (4 March 1988). "Art: Versailles Palace in Swedish Perspective". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  33. ^ Rickett, pp. 94–95
  34. ^ Rickett, p. 78
  35. ^ Rickett, p. 90
  36. ^ Rickett, pp. 24–25
  37. ^ Rickett, pp. 66–67
  38. ^ Rickett, pp. 34–35
  39. ^ Ezard, John (27 November 1999). "Weeds oust insects' genitalia to win title". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  40. ^ Aerospace Industries Division, Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Great Britain) (2000). Designing High Performance Stiffened Structures (Imeche Seminar Publication). ISBN 978-1860583087.
  41. ^ Yates, Emma (30 November 2001). "Manslaughter Service kills off competition in battle of strange titles". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  42. ^ "Australian Humour > Living with Crazy Buttocks". bookworm.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  43. ^ Simon, Anna (7 November 2002). "Review: The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories". The Portland Mercury. 3 (23). Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  44. ^ Rickett, pp. 46–47
  45. ^ Hill, Gary Leon (2005). People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It. ISBN 978-1578632978.
  46. ^ Rickett, pp. 26–27
  47. ^ "Trolley book wins odd title prize". BBC News. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  48. ^ "Book mixing math and crochet wins UK 'odd' prize". The Independent. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  49. ^ "Genghis Khan dentistry book wins odd title prize". BBC News. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  50. ^ "Cooking with Poo wins Diagram Prize for oddest title". BBC News. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  51. ^ "'Cooking With Poo' wins oddest title book award". The Telegraph. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  52. ^ "Goblinproofing wins Diagram Prize for oddest book title". BBC News. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  53. ^ "'Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop' wins prize for year's oddest book title". Fox News. Associated Press. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  54. ^ "How to Poo on a Date wins Diagram Prize". CBC.ca. Associated Press. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  55. ^ "Diagram Prize: Strangers Have the Best Candy wins odd title award". BBC News. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  56. ^ "Too Naked For the Nazis claims 38th Diagram Prize". The Bookseller. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  57. ^ "'Too Naked for the Nazis' wins odd book-title prize". AP News. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  58. ^ "Some pig: porcine sizzler claims 39th Diagram Prize". Bookseller. 27 July 2017.
  59. ^ "'The Commuter Pig Keeper' wins 2017 Diagram Prize". booksandpublishing.com.au. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  60. ^ "The Diagram Prize 2018 shortlist revealed". The Bookseller. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  61. ^ Bent, Horace (23 November 2018). "Full boil: foreign language entry wins 2018 Diagram Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  62. ^ Flood, Alison (23 November 2018). "The Joy of Waterboiling: kettle cookbook wins oddest book title award". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  63. ^ Bent, Horace (1 November 2019). "Life begins—again—at 41 for the Diagram Prize as six vie for title". The Bookseller. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  64. ^ Bent, Horace (29 November 2019). "The Dirt Hole cleans up to claim the 2019 Diagram Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  65. ^ "The Dirt Hole and Its Variations by Charles L. Dobbins wins prize for oddest book title of 2019". CBC.ca. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  66. ^ "Let it flow: A Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path wins 42nd Diagram Prize". The Bookseller. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  67. ^ Harrison, Ellie (27 November 2020). "A Dog Pissing at the Edge of a Path wins oddest book title of 2020". The Independent. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  68. ^ "Is Superman Circumcised? wins Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year". The Bookseller. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  69. ^ Flood, Alison (3 December 2021). "Is Superman Circumcised? wins oddest book title of the year award". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  70. ^ "RuPedagogies of Realness wins the 2022 Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year". The Bookseller. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  71. ^ "Oddest Book Title of the Year shortlist announced for The Diagram Prize 2022". The Bookseller. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  72. ^ Bent, Horace (10 November 2023). "All-American line-up revealed for this year's Diagram Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 8 December 2023.

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