If there's one literary prize that sounds like another more prestigious literary prize, it's the Blooker, awarded to the best blook (that's blog-turned-book) of the year.
The books on the 15-strong "shortlist" (what was the longlist like?) all look intriguing. Among them: Rebecca Agiewich's BreakupBabe, which fictionalises her dating woes; The Doorbells of Florence, which imagines the story behind 36 Italian doorbells (with photos of each one) and Frank Warren's My Secret, which turns popular secret-sharing site Postsecret into hard copy.
The winner, who will take home $10,000, will be announced on May 14.
The prize capitalises on a powerful trend in the publishing industry. The success of blooks ranging from Angela Nissel's The Broke Diaries to Abby Lee's Girl With a One-Track Mind has ensured that nearly every blogger now nurses secret hopes of being discovered.
And if things go really well, you get more than just a bestselling b(l)ook to your name: Nissel now produces US sitcom Scrubs, while Billie Piper will star in an adaptation of Belle de Jour's infamous (alleged) memoir. The winner of last year's inaugural Blooker was Julie Powell's brilliant Julie and Julia in which the author details her attempt to cook every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a single year. Nora Ephron will direct the movie. Newest to this club of bloggy privilege is Catherine Sanderson of La Petite Anglaise, who was famously sacked for blogging at work. She's now under contract to produce two books for a six-figure sum, with rumours circulating of a possible film.
But things don't always turn out well for potential blookers. Heather Armstrong, better known as Dooce, was also fired for blogging. She's since established a huge following but got into legal trouble last year when she tried to back out of producing a blook. She was court-ordered to edit one instead. And Jessica Cutler, author of lurid and semi-fictional The Washingtonienne is frank about her blook's disappointing sales figures. But new bloggers are still being snapped up by publishers, most recently Judith O' Reilly, AKA Wife in the North who'll receive £70K for the book of her fledgling blog.
My favourite blogger Mimi Smartypants, however, is refreshingly down-to-earth. Despite the popularity of The World According to Mimi Smartypants, she has no further literary ambitions, comparing her blook (not quite accurately) to "having my grocery lists published".
Whether glorified grocery lists or literary genius, Blooker sponsor Lulu.com, is encouraging would-be blookers to use its print-on-demand services. This has its advantages: Lulu is reputable and turnaround is quick. But if you want your blook to be a hit, you can't just copy and paste from screen to page. Editing is key: don't include that post about what you had for lunch, or the results of the "Which Desperate Housewife Are YOU?" quiz from 2005. It also helps if your blog has a theme: from terminal cancer to "surviving infertility". And make it relevant, timely and very well written.
Ironically, the best thing you could say about any blook is that you'd never guess it was a blook at all.
