Falling for the Gold
It’s officially fall. And for us here at Book Business and many of you, fall can only mean one thing: It’s time for the Gold Ink Awards issue and the 19th annual Gold Ink Awards/Hall of Fame Banquet.
This issue is a favorite of mine to work on—it’s jam-packed with success stories. Every piece that wins a Gold Ink Award, whether Gold, Silver, Bronze or Pewter, is a testament to the complex effort involved in manufacturing a book, something I feel privileged to get a glimpse of.
It’s a unique feeling when you’re sitting on a train or walking through a park, and you see someone reading a Gold Ink Award-winning book or magazine, and you know who published it and printed it, what paper and ink was used, what equipment was used in its production, and the level of skill and craftsmanship with which it was made. It’s just one of those tiny moments that I secretly get a kick out of.
You also know what the book went through to take home its award. The judges (see page 29) take their work so seriously in evaluating each and every one of the 1,500 entries, using loops and light boxes, turning books almost inside out, running their hands along the spines and corners—it almost feels like you’re watching doctors perform a book physical.
After watching the process, you are even more aware that those who take home awards are truly accomplished in their quality and presentation, and I love being able to showcase the winners here in the pages of Book Business and to say congratulations to them for a job exceptionally well done.
While you can’t all be here to experience the judging process, you can now at least get a sneak peak into it—we video-recorded interviews with a handful of this year’s judges. We will be presenting it all on our Web site so you can get a glimpse into what the judges were looking for in the Gold Ink Awards, what made certain pieces stand out from the competition, and other interesting tidbits that you couldn’t have seen before. So, keep an eye out for it on our Web site at BookBusinessMag.com.
Speaking of our Web site, we have some other big news: We’ve re-launched BookBusinessMag.com with a brand-new look and a lot more content to help you in your book publishing careers. There is breaking industry news to help you stay informed on industry people, companies, trends and happenings, there is a list of upcoming industry events, a whole bunch of helpful resources and organizations, interviews with leading publishing executives, “communities” of information on specific topics of interest, and a regular reader poll. There’s an article archive so you can search for articles on things you want to learn about. Of course, the usual useful stuff is still there too—places to renew and update your subscription information, to sign up for our e-newsletter, and to submit comments and questions. And of course, there are links to the Gold Ink Awards and Book Business Conference and Expo Web sites.
Check it out—it’s pretty cool if I do say so myself.