[OPLINLIST] looking for a few romance readers

[Lynne Welch]

Hello colleagues,

The Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America hosts a competition every 
year called the Booksellers' Best Award, and relies upon librarians and 
booksellers across the country to volunteer as judges. The results are 
announced at the RWA professional conference in July.

This is a "people's choice" award and is your chance to voice your 
opinion in a highly-visible, very popular genre. All books are new 
(issued 2006) and many are autographed; you will be sent a packet of 
them next month (February) and asked to evaluate each book on its own 
merits rather than compared to the others in your packet. Usually there 
are 5 books in your chosen category, and you will have until the end of 
April to read them and respond with your opinion. The books are yours to 
keep. This year they are also offering the judges a chance to win 25, 
50, or 100 books in a giveaway as an expression of their appreciation 
for your volunteerism.

If you would be interested in participating, please see 
<http://www.gdrwa.org/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.52> for 
the Judge's Entry Form.
You may either mail the form or - especially since time is so short - 
just use the information from it to email Michelle Celmer, this year's 
coordinator, with your preferences. Her email address is 
<michelle at michellecelmer.com>.

I personally have participated in judging this contest for several years 
and it's a great way to (1) be introduced to new-to-me authors who might 
fit into my collection; (2) give back a little to all those romance 
authors who have been so very generous in donating their work to our 
library; and (3) snag new romances for our collection. Feel free to 
contact me directly if I can answer questions.

Lynne

Lynne Welch
Herrick Memorial Library
Wellington OH USA
tel. 440-647-2120