Using Awards Lists As A RA Tool: The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and Some Bonus Debut RA Advice

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.  

Click here to go to the full list

Today I want to start you week with DEBUTS! Seems fitting. New week, new month even, so let's bring on some new voices. Discovering first time novelists is a joy and the Center for Fiction is really all about the joy of a great read. From their about page:

The Center for Fiction is the only nonprofit literary organization in the U.S. solely dedicated to celebrating fiction, and we work every day to connect readers and writers. In February 2019, we opened the doors to our new building in Downtown Brooklyn, creating a home for NYC’s literary community, and in July 2019 we launched this website to reach readers and writers around the globe.

One of the best things the Center for Fiction does is promote debut voices with their prestigious First Novel Prize. They released the long list last week here. 

You can go to this page and browse all winners and the short and longlists from the past as well. I of course prefer the longlists because they have more titles, which means more reading suggestion and display options.

The Center for Fiction gives out other prizes as well. Click here to see more details but they also include:

• Medal for Editorial Excellence
• On Screen Award
• Lifetime Excellence in Fiction Award
• The Center for Fiction/Susan Tamil Emerging Writer Fellowships

All of these awards are ripe for displays and suggestions that go outside the boxes we usually hem ourselves in with, but back to the point of today's post....first novels.

First novels are an excellent resource all year long as well, and you don't have to wait for awards to identify them. 

Literary Hub has an entire category "Debut Novelists." This tag includes lists of debuts, yes, but I really enjoy the essays they host by debut novelists. Since they are newer voices, there is often less out there for us to know about these writers. As a result, the pieces that run in Lit Hub are very useful for us, the library worker to not only decide if we want to add these titles to our collections, but they also help us to identify more targeted readalikes. When we get the background on a book from the author themself AND it is written by them, we can see how they write and see where some of the appeal factors may line up with other authors. It helps us to have better success as we suggest debuts.

When we think about debuts and their appeal, it is important to remember that readers love finding a new authors early in their career because they feel like they are in on the buzz from the start, and yet, it also frustrates them because if they like the book, there are no more to read. This is why we need comp titles ready to go as well. It is both to entice our readers to try a new voice AND to give them something to enjoy AFTER they finish the debut and love it.

Looking at the appeal of the category of "debuts" is as important as thinking about the appeal factors of each specific book.

And here are two last bonus RA tips regarding debuts. Make a display of debut novels by your other popular and award winning authors. Many authors broke through with second or third or even fourth books. It is very fun for people to discover Colson Whitehead's first novel The Intuitionist,  Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine, Daniel's Silva's The Unlikely Spy, or Ann Patchett's The Patron Saint of Liars, to name just a few library perennial favorites. With these popular authors, you will also have many of their first novels on your shelves, waiting to be read. These authors [and others] have many fans. Why not showcase where it all began.

And finally, debut title by popular authors are also an excellent resource for Book Discussion Groups. This allows your participants to use their knowledge about what the author has done since the publication of that first book to enrich the discussion. And it is very fun to go "back in time," to see a well known author before they were popular.

Yay to debuts. Every novelist has to start somewhere and why not celebrate it. You will be passing on "new to you" suggestions to your readers. Whether they are brand spanking new authors publishing this year or old favorites who had to start somewhere, let's showcase these wonderful titles so our readers can find them.